Trying to weld for first time

[lrrowe]

I am not a welder, but want to do my non-structural welding myself.
I habe been looking at welders starting with the 80 amp HF model. As I read more and listen more to others, I plan on moving up from HF to one that I am reviewing now, an Eastwood 135 amp, 120v unit for $249 on sale.
http://www.eastwood.com/mig-welder-110v ... utput.html

What I hope to do is to able to do simple welds around the CT and home. And for anything which requires structural welding, I could tack weld it and take the job to a pro to finish.

To our good amateurs and pros out there, am I headed in the right direction with this Eastwood unit? I will mostly stay within it's 3/16 thickness range, will want the Coated wire and gas capbilities and mostly to keep the cost under $300 as it will not get constant use.

And for what it is worth, I do not always take the lowest cost solutions. Afterall, it is only my kids inheritance I am spending.

[Treeview]

I've got a 110v Miller that I like a lot. It's done some great work for me. Like most purchases there are lots of choices. Make your decision based on local spare parts vendors. If you can't get parts you're dead in the water.

Unless you NEED to do a lot of outdoor/windy welding get the gas and skip fluxed wire. YOu'll get a better weld.

I bought the larger spool of wire and keep the small spool that comes with the unit as a backup if I ever run the large spool out and I need to get the job done before buying more wire.

There are lots of good training videos on uTube. Then the fun starts! Melting metal.

It'll take a while to learn how to set the power and wire feed rates to get a good weld. I try to set up with a higher power and slower wire feed rate if I weld thick stock.

Tom

[Dale M.]

My welder of choice for light work was a Hobart Handler 140.... Made in USA and has good warranty... And also has a online forum for welding/fabrication help and tech. support...

http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/w ... andler140/

IF you want to save a few dollars and are not afraid of refurbished equipment...

http://www.hobartweldshop.com/refurbish ... t-welders/

IF want to learn to weld.... Go to Youtube and look up "weldingtipsandtricks".... This man is a pro and no nonsense ... There is a lot of hacks on Youtube but this man is not.... He also has a website ...

http://weldingtipsandtricks.com

I try to stay a way for Chinese made welding equipment as they are cheaply made and tend to fail when you want it most and its dubious where you can get replacement parts or warranty honored...

Also explore gas shield welding VS. flux core MIG.... My choice is gas shield but there is also times and places flux core wire is appropriate.... Even if you plan to use flux core wire consider a welder that has gas shield capabilities, not all low end machines (120VAC) have gas capabilities... With gas 'option' you get the best of both worlds....

Also 120V welder had limitations of in range of 3/16 to 1/4 inch maximum thickness they can weld in single pass, if you are going to weld "heavy" stuff consider going with a 240V machine (you can always turn down heat of high end machine, but once you max out heat on low end machine that is it)... A better choice if you feel you need a bigger machine may be something like the Hobart 210MPV which can use a 120VAC or a 240VAC input and has capabilities of welding thicker materials on 240VAC...

Accessory or additional needs (at start up) ...

Welding helmet, my preference is Auto Darkening (AD). They also have capabilities of adding "cheater lenses" (1.5 and 2 diopter) for people with different vision needs... Most hoods allow you to use any prescription glasses under hood, but check potential purchases for clearance...

Good pair of welding gloves.

Welding jacket, not necessary but keeps good clothes good...

Extra roll of wire (.030 is generally good size of most applications), usually roll of demo wire (usually flux core) that comes with unit is very small...

You can use "non stick" cooking oil spray instead of expensive nozzle jell or anti spatter shield to keep nozzle/cup from forming slag build up...

Good pair of diagonal cutters for clipping off excess with before starting weld (MIG 'tool' is nice but not necessary)...

Most manufactures (ESAB, Miller, Hobart, Lincoln) have support forums and there are several independent welding forums, great places to learn and ask for help (just like TNTT.com) ...

The adventure begins...

Dale

[MtnDon]

Choosing MIG is a wise choice, IMO. I weld mainly indoors, in a workshop. Outdoors you can run into issues with the wind blowing the shield gas aside. I keep a spool of flux core wire for those times when it is needed for outdoors or because the gas bottle ran out. I solved the running out of gas problem by buying a second cylinder. If you do change from solid to flux core and vice versa, change the polarity of the internal connections.

I had considered an Eastwood when I was last looking for a welder, but ended up buying a Hobart that was gently used. I do like the fact that thay have a large number of voltage settings and a continuously variable amperage (wire speed).

Practice on clean scrap, no paint, rust, etc. Note it does have a 20% duty cycle at 90 amps. That's okay as long as you plan your projects and take the time between actual welding. A higher cycle would be nice but costs $$.

HF does sell some nice auto darkening helmets though. Get one of those and one that has a variable darkness control. Always test the operation of the auto dark feature before pulling the trigger on the electric welder. Sparking a torch igniter in view is a good test. Sometimes waving a hand in front of the view port will cycle the auto dark.

3/16 is possible but on most of these home welders it is recommended to use flux core wire, not the solid wire ? MIG. That's something to do with the MIG / solid wire needing more volts to weld the same thing compared to flux core. You can weld thicker metal if you can bevel grind the mating surfaces and make several passes using solid wire / MIG.

[lrrowe]

I've got a 110v Miller that I like a lot. It's done some great work for me. Like most purchases there are lots of choices. Make your decision based on local spare parts vendors. If you can't get parts you're dead in the water.

Unless you NEED to do a lot of outdoor/windy welding get the gas and skip fluxed wire. YOu'll get a better weld.

I bought the larger spool of wire and keep the small spool that comes with the unit as a backup if I ever run the large spool out and I need to get the job done before buying more wire.

There are lots of good training videos on uTube. Then the fun starts! Melting metal.

It'll take a while to learn how to set the power and wire feed rates to get a good weld. I try to set up with a higher power and slower wire feed rate if I weld thick stock.

Tom

Thanks Tom,
I will check this out.

[Treeview]

MtnDon....

GREAT tip!

Sparking a torch igniter in view is a good test.

Lots of good advice already and quality links.

As an arborist I do like woodworking a LOT. That said...there is an amazing feeling about melting metal together with a controlled short circuit! Electrocution is the #1 killer of arborists. I'm glad that I control the flow of electricity with the ground clamp and trigger when I weld!

[MtnDon]

Testing saves your eyes.


Also use arm protection to prevent arc sunburn. I have some sleeves made for the job for those days when it is too hot to wear the leather jacket. Electric arcs give off a huge amount of UV. That is one reason arc welders use a mask like helmet. Keep the UV off the face and neck. And get some good welders gloves.

[lrrowe]

My welder of choice for light work was a Hobart Handler 140.... Made in USA and has good warranty... And also have a online forum for welding /fabrication help...

http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/w ... andler140/

IF you want to save a few dollars and are not afraid of refurbished equipment...

http://www.hobartweldshop.com/refurbish ... t-welders/

IF want to learn to weld.... Go to Youtube and look up "weldingtopsandtricks".... This man is a pro and no nonsense ... There is a lot of hacks on Youtube but this man is not.... He also has a website ...

http://weldingtipsandtricks.com

I try to stay a way for Chinese made welding equipment as they are cheaply made and tend to fail when you want it most and its dubious where you can get replacement parts or warranty honored...

Also explore gas shield welding VS. solid flux core MIG.... My choice is gas shield but there is also times and places solid core wire is appropriate.... Even if you plan to use solid core (flux) wire consider a welder that has gas shield capabilities, not all low end machines (120VAC) have gas capabilities... With gas 'option' you get the best of both worlds....

Also 120V welder had limitations of in range of 3/16 to 1/4 maximum thickness they can weld in single pass, if you are going to weld "heavy" stuff consider going with a 240V machine... A better choice if you feel you need a bigger machine may be something like the Hobart 210MPV which can use a 120VAC or a 240VAC input and has capabilities of welding thicker materials on 240VAC...

Accessory or additional needs..

Welding helmet, my preference is Auto Darkening (AD). They also have capabilities of adding "cheater lenses" (1.5 and 2 diopter) for people with vision needs...

Good pair of welding gloves.

Welding jacket, not necessary but keeps good clothes good...

Extra roll of wire, usually roll of demo wire that comes on unit is very small...

You can use "non stick" spray cooking oils instead of expensive nozzle jell or anti spatter shield>

Good pair of diagonal cutters for clipping off excess with before starting weld (MIG 'tool' is nice but not necessary)...

Most manufactures (ESAB, Miller, Hobart, Lincoln) have support forums and there are several independent welding forums, great place to learn and ask for help (just like TNTT.com) ...

The adventure begins...

Dale

I appreciate these comments Dale. I like that Hobart is USA made for sure. HF is obciously Chinese. Eastwood says theirs is made in China under their control.

First pass shows they are higher in cost. Maybe I have to rethink my budget and my application.

[lrrowe]

Testing saves your eyes.


Also use arm protection to prevent arc sunburn. I have some sleeves made for the job for those days when it is too hot to wear the leather jacket. Electric arcs give off a huge amount of UV. That is one reason arc welders use a mask like helmet. Keep the UV off the face and neck. And get some good welders gloves.

Thanks MtnDon.

[Dale M.]

Generally USA made units will be higher in cost, but a better quality and more reliable .... I am getting to a point in my life that I will pay higher prices and search out USA made tools and "stuff" as I am tired of cheap crap equipment failing at most inopportune times and I believe I want to keep US Dollar at home....

With welder and other tools you get what you pay for.....

Also ..

A good COTTON welding jacket will fit the needs of most hobbyist welder, it breaths on hot days and offers excellent protection... Get dark color (black) becasue light color jackets (light green) reflect arc flash into back side of helmet sort of blinding you...

Dale

[Shadow Catcher]

I congratulate you on the decision to leave critical welds to a pro
Most of my working career involved weld inspection form the space shuttle to refineries and a bunch of stuff in between.
I am NOT a welder, I know how to put the mistakes in and how to fix them. My suggestion practice on scrap pieces then bend/break them and see what kind of fusion you are getting. Take a class.

[Dale M.]

I appreciate these comments Dale. I like that Hobart is USA made for sure. HF is obciously Chinese. Eastwood says theirs is made in China under their control.

But what does that really mean.... Its all in the specifications and warranty....

Dale

[lrrowe]

60 day no hassle return. 3 year warranty.....I did not research into what that covers.

[vegask]

I owned a hobart 140 and now a miller 211. The hobart was made with all miller parts. When I broke a knob on it, it was a miller replacement part. They are great machines and the 140 (at the time) was the biggest 110v machine you could get. I'd avoid the china ones personally and finding a used lincoln on craigslist is typically pretty easy as well. One advantage of lincolns is that Lowes/HomeDepot sells consumables for them. But if you have a welding shop nearby then the advantage is gone.

Oh, one bit to add. When I called Hobart for that broken piece, a real person answered on the second ring.

[dales133]

European or American made machines are the best by far but you pay for the privlidge of owning them too.
I wanted something as higher amp as possible and also inverter when i was in the market for one as id owned one tears ago that was under 100amp and hopeless.
I ended up getting a chinese one that has a physical stor less than an hour from me on an ebay auction.
Its a 250amp inverter mig with remote wire feed and german moset card.
I realy cant fault it .
I watched auctions for months and this guy sold them outright for 2500 and i won an auction that finnished in the wee small hours for 600.
So while i agree completly that american and european ones are the best dont outright right off asian made machines as they do make some very good gear.
Ampz and inverter are more important to me as it makes for a much nicer machine to use.
I dont profess to be any kind of expert but have used migs on and off for a number of years.