Want to get into welding, simple needs

[raul segura]

[ Please excuse my long windiness ]

Gas is very versatile. Also nice for Bronze cast work. Wished I had one.
These are my unprofessional thoughts,

I picked up a Lincoln with 110 power @ Lowe's. Plug in anywhere ! My needs are less structural than building heavy duty frames etc. $$.
I actually cut a band saw in half... . 3/8th thick cast iron, adding 12 in. clearance from the 7 in. I had, worked well.
Have made work tables benches, fixed lawnmower, and car manifolds.
One of my favored wood working tools !
Welding thin pipe is difficult with my MiG wire/flux /no gas. You want a gas welder or MiG w/gas. and more if fusing aluminum. Keep parts for aluminum and oily metal apart as aluminum needs to be very clean !!

Most likely better get a name brand welder, But I researched this one:
eBay: ... . Product: Lotos 3in1 IGBT Pilot Arc 50A plasma Cutter/200A TIG/STICK
Bad thing I found was getting repair parts [China] and only one rep. in the USA.


Things to make life easier, I recommend in time:
1. Harbor freight, cheep leather apron, gloves. [always cover up skin, where a shirt, don't ask ! where cotton and have an extinguisher handy !]
2. Harbor freight, Dimming helmet about $50.00 with coupon very nice !
3. Also thin grinding wheels 10 pack 4.5", [not the 4" ] very cheep.
4. I have several nice grinders, black and Decker is use mostly ?
5. You should get yourself a large vice while using these blades or they run out very quickly, (vibration). I Don't have chop saw, more difficult w/out, but get square results.
6. Use black and silver felt pens to mark.
6. A small squirrel fan that puts out flat stream,
I use a fan between me and the work, w/out blowing the flux gas off the metal. [I use when welding conduit w/ zinc coating, (very bad idea, not recommend, but very cheep excellent framing material )].
Also more difficult to weld because of the Zinc. (I flatten the ends w/ vice then weld, make sure you have the spliced side of tub on top or bottom before bending).
Bed frame angle iron is ideal very good, stiff metal.
Square fence pipe at Lowe's = $12.00 for a, 2" x 2" x 6'3" piece, with several bolts and Acorn nuts. Price that Separately !
7. Water based Anti-Spatter Spray [ works very nicely, much les grinding of the tags, in cleanup, well worth the price].
After grinding I sometimes Lip stick the welds by floating, Durhams water putty over the top, Sand and Seal. Hides the shameful welds Body filler is better, but Durhams is easier to work and longer shelf life.
9. You can weld pipes together end to end buy making a jig out of angle iron/bed frame. Ill have to do a right up on this very simple if you have a welder.

These are calculators for cutting pipe angles that may be printed, very good for customizing PVC parts.
1.
http://www.harderwoods.com/pipetemplate.php
2.
http://snip.awardspace.com/
3.
http://www.metalgeek.com/static/cope.pcgi

H.P. also has a decent pipe notcher that can be modifide to be more accurate, but I here it works well.

One of my favorite tools now is my dust collector with a nicely designed baffle !! Thanks for that.
Once you get a welder you'll never go back.

[Phil Thien]

I'd like to thank everyone that responded. I have not purchased a welder yet. I was going to go look at some this weekend but got nailed with a "can you migrate our mail server this weekend" request. Soon, though. Real soon now.

[ray hampton]

I'd like to thank everyone that responded. I have not purchased a welder yet. I was going to go look at some this weekend but got nailed with a "can you migrate our mail server this weekend" request. Soon, though. Real soon now.

Phil, your welding clothes are more important than your welder machine, I do not intend to say the wrong words but you will smell of smoke but some people are tooo polite to tell you, I never heard of smoke detectors around a welding area, what say you about smoke detectors

DO NOT WEAR white shirts, the white shirt will reflect the light from the arc straight to your eyes

[Rick Lizek]

You really should take some classes and have things welded in different shops until you figure out how serious you want to get. Anyone can start welding dumpsters in no time with a Gas Mig set up. Having spent a number of years as a Metalsmith making hardware and such with Mig, Tig, Oxy acetylene. I'd never give up my Oxy acetylene for it's versatility to weld, silver braze, heating to bend and free frozen parts and cut steel. It's also cordless. I'd buy some smaller tanks instead of leasing.
I'm looking at the
http://www.multiplaz.com/multi-function
The Multiplaz, if it really does what it says it does, could really shake things up. Not needing tanks of shielding gas is pretty appealing.

http://www.multiplaz.com/portability

[Larry Gipson]

I bought a Miller 211 a couple of years ago new for $1k, then added a tank and stand. Total was $1.6k with tax. The 211 will run on 110v or 220v. I talked my wife into it by promising her a cover for her chicken coop, which I made from 1 3/8 galvanized fence top rail and a little chicken wire. Recently I made her a 20ftx20ftx6ft cage with 4 10x10 compartments for various critters. She's got chickens and turkeys in it now. I still have my welder. :-)

I saw a 211 recently on Craigslist for $400 used, but that one probably lasted a day. If you stay with Miller, there's a reasonable chance you'll get a good machine. I'd probably buy a 135, 175, or 180 if I were looking and couldn't find a 211. (Note that the 175 & 180 are 240v) Don't forget the tank and the helmet.

So that takes care of the nails & glue. Now how will you cut sheet steel or sand it into shapes? I decided I needed a small saw and sander, so I bought a couple of Makita 4" grinders. One has a cut off wheel in it all the time. The other has either a grinding wheel or a flap disk in it. These are really handy tools for working metal. I've really put a lot of hours on them, hiding how bad my welds are. Galvanized may be the worst steel to weld. (The trick is to use a higher setting than normal to blow off the zinc coating, then weld quickly before you blow a hole in things.)

I also bought a 14" cut off saw, but it's not accurate enough to bother with. At least I have trouble with it. Maybe I should have bought a better one? I can cut angle iron and so forth much more accurately with an angle grinder.

I later added a plasma cutter. This is sort of the functional equivalent of a table saw or maybe a skil saw. It's amazingly fun to use. (Hypertherm 45) All I do is set up a fence out of thin wood or metal, clamp things down, and drag the torch across at a nice rate. You look down and your shoes are covered with metal filings instead of sawdust. Then a big piece falls down and hits the ground. The heat is so centralized that the metal doesn't heat much, unlike the acetylene torch I've had since I was a kid. An air compressor is used to blow (dried) air though the torch, which pushes the molten metal out of the hot zone. It makes a clean 1/8" kerf.

There are specialized tools you may find you will want at some point. For instance, when I was welding tubing, I found I needed a tubing cutter. These things cut a shape on the end of a tubing so that it can be easily welded to the side of another piece of tubing. I first bought the Harbor Freight tool, but gave it away in about a week. Now I have the Lowbuck tool - the same one that the fence companies use around here.

I mentioned I have an acetylene torch. I actually have a big one and a little one. I only use them now to bend steel. Once in awhile, I'll do some soldering on the house and find I can't get enough heat on something with a propane torch, so I'll drag out the little acetylene torch. It's possible to melt copper into a pool, so you do have to be careful when you soft solder with acetylene.

I keep thinking I need a metal lathe and a bridgeport mill, but I know my wife would never go for it. Maybe I can convince her she needs to raise ostriches or something? :-) And a forge, and a hammer, and a huge anvil, and a . . .

Larry

[Larry Gipson]

I forgot. Don't set your foot on fire! Don't ask me how I know that . . .

:-)

Regards,
Larry

[ray hampton]

I forgot. Don't set your foot on fire! Don't ask me how I know that . . .

:-)
Larry

Regards,

do you smell something burning ? , I turn the torch off and remove my boot in 15 seconds because I got a burn on my foot

[Ole Anderson]

As far as an angle grinder, I have a 4.5" Skil Professional and my son has a 6" Metabo. Hands down the Metabo is the better. Seems to be the choice of the job site ironworkers. Soft start and tons of power, but the big difference is the extra diameter of the wheel. The 6" lasts so much longer for cutting. Recently we got a few Dewalt 0.040" thick cutoff wheels at Lowe's and they seem to last forever. I now use the Skil mostly with a knotted wire cup brush for rust and spatter removal. I have a 3 hp Kalamazoo 10" chop saw with a thin abrasive blade for simple cutoff work.

[Larry Gipson]

do you smell something burning ?


I was concentrating on getting a nice weld one day, welding outside. I thought "jeepers, the sun is really hot today on my foot." Then I thought "now my leg is hot too". About then I looked down and my pant leg was on fire. Nice. Stuck my foot in a bucket of water, then finished the job with wet pants and shoes. It's funny. When you have that mask on and your concentrating, the world can just go away . . . until it drags you back.

They sell leather spats and things to prevent this. I just am too darned hard headed to buy them.

I lost a little hair that day, but no real burn. I can still move pretty quickly when I have to. :-)

The most painful experience with hot metal occurred when I was soft soldering on a project when I was a kid. (high school age). Molten solder dropped down into my shoe, burned through the sock, which held it against my skin until it hardened. I still have the scar. It's probably why I weld with a bucket of water around. Not only can I temper metal, but I can put my foot out if I need to.

This is my tubing notcher: http://www.lowbucktools.com/notcher.html
These notchers are supposed to be good if you want a more precise bimetal hole saw based tool: http://www.jd2.com/t-notchercomparison.aspx

Regards,
Larry

[Larry Gipson]

As far as an angle grinder, I have a 4.5" Skil Professional and my son has a 6" Metabo. Hands down the Metabo is the better. Seems to be the choice of the job site ironworkers. Soft start and tons of power, but the big difference is the extra diameter of the wheel. The 6" lasts so much longer for cutting. Recently we got a few Dewalt 0.040" thick cutoff wheels at Lowe's and they seem to last forever. I now use the Skil mostly with a knotted wire cup brush for rust and spatter removal. I have a 3 hp Kalamazoo 10" chop saw with a thin abrasive blade for simple cutoff work.

I never thought about angle grinders with cutoff wheels being dangerous until a guy came over a few weeks ago to buy I tool I had for sale. He couldn't move a few fingers on his right hand. Apparently a cutoff wheel exploded and pieces went deep into his hand. He almost lost those fingers, but instead lost dexterity. I usually use my welding gloves with the grinders, but not a face mask. I might have to rethink that.

The soft start idea sounds great. After a few hours with a grinder, the jerk can be really annoying.

Larry

[ray hampton]

I never thought about angle grinders with cutoff wheels being dangerous until a guy came over a few weeks ago to buy I tool I had for sale. He couldn't move a few fingers on his right hand. Apparently a cutoff wheel exploded and pieces went deep into his hand. He almost lost those fingers, but instead lost dexterity. I usually use my welding gloves with the grinders, but not a face mask. I might have to rethink that.

The soft start idea sounds great. After a few hours with a grinder, the jerk can be really annoying.

Larry

the CUT-OFF wheels will burn right thru a welding glove or any glove except M A I L ,so keep both hands on the handle, DO YOU KNOW how far a piece of the wheel will travel when the wheel explode, the guard will not protect you unless you are in the right place

[raul segura]

If you go to the Lincoln welder site they have plethora of info. on all welding and how too.

"Aluminum" This is considered soldering, but can be stronger than base metal... . Aluminum weld rods", 8 pack @ H.P.
Can use map torch depending on how much heat is drawn into base metal. Solder a beer can to 1/4 in. Alum. Base metal will give out before weld/solder, if worked right.
Ox / Ac. is easier more controllable on tubing or muffler pip, less burn through, but takes time to learn, my experience.
You can also get tips for a torch and switch to ox / propane for, silver brazing, heating, forging / blackening, at a quarter the cost, "no acetylene".
If keeping to a budget and no room for a hole new set of tooling Id go for the Oxy/Ac. large tanks if not having to get around.Nothing worse than getting stuck in the middle w/o fuel.
Just a last thought, Good luck !

[Kent E. Matthew]

I have used a couple of these 110 machines at work. One runs on 110 or 220. Honestly performance on 110 is not that swift. The bottle neck that I have observed is input with these 110 machines. You need to find at least a 20 amp circuit. A 30 would be better. These machines are next to worthless running on anything less. Get a good quality heavy guage extention cord too. Or no extention cord would be better.

[Mac McQuinn]

While a 110V machine is never going to have the capabilities of a 220V, IMO there is certainly a need due to all the 110V receptacles in a garage. I have a 20 year old SP100 Lincoln I've used quite heavily through the years. I have the optional 20amp corded plug for mine which is plugged into a dedicated 20 Amp outlet and as long as you work within the machine's potential, it performs very well. When using the flux core wire process, I have no problem welding 3/16" rusty plate with one pass with a excellent penetration weave pattern showing through from the backside while welding. Selection of wire, machine settings, new contact tip and excellent ground connection all make for a good set-up. Wear that welding respirator, welding fumes are nothing to take lightly.

Mac

I have used a couple of these 110 machines at work. One runs on 110 or 220. Honestly performance on 110 is not that swift. The bottle neck that I have observed is input with these 110 machines. You need to find at least a 20 amp circuit. A 30 would be better. These machines are next to worthless running on anything less. Get a good quality heavy guage extention cord too. Or no extention cord would be better.