looking for advice on a welder

[woodscavenger]

I want to learn to weld. My PH truck needs some patches done to the firewall and the undersurface of the cab. I don't have any current plans for larger scale frame welding and such.

I have seen wire feed welders advertised at Harbor Freight for ~$120 on sale. It is 115V, 90amp with flux core wirefeed capabiltiy.

The price is right. Will this do what I want it to do? What other options should I search out?

[bob_amos]

I have one of their 110 welders that runs around $245. It was on sale as a rebuilt unit so I got it for $145. delivered. It has enough power to do the light panel work. I would trust it for heavy work. But then, if I had something needing heavy work I'd have a professional welder do that. But again, mine works very well on floor pans and firewall work. It also does not get a lot of work so I just didn't see the need of spending loads of cash for something that is hardly ever in use.

[greg g]

I have one of their 110 volt jobs. It is fine for sheetmetal and tacking stuff.

I have done some trailer repair with mine and they have held up so far. Only problem is the welds look like bird doo, a lot of spatter unless the surfaces are free of all rust. If you get one do yourself a favor and go to a reputable welding supply shop and get some good wire. Also check around at your local Boces or tech college. they will usually have a non credit class for welding. its worth taking. If non are available, go to a local body shop and ask them if they have some scrap panels you can have. Then you have some stuff to practice with. You can then cut them up and do some overlaped wekds some seam welds, and some plug welds. Plu welds are where you put a holes in the patch piece where it overlaps with the piece under it. You then fill the hole with wire. when you get good at it they look like factory spot welds and don't need a lot of grinding down. Wire welding is pretty easy, you get a feel for it pretty quickly. While you are getting stuff get on of HF mid range selfdarkening helmat. The cheapies work OK sight wis but the head band adjusters are cheesy.

The caveot on these things is their duty cycle is pretty short, so you get about 10 seconds of welding for a minute of clock time. the good part of this is it keeps you from overheating your panels with too much welding in one spot.

Oh almost forgot, I made myself a heavy duty 12 foot extension cord for the welder. I bought the heavyest three wire stuff they had at the hardware store and the HD plugs. I went to my circuit breaker box and stole a leg fromthe 220 set up for the clothes dryer.

Only thing I have to watch is not to be welding when the dryer is in use.

[Norm's Coupe]

I use a cheap 110 volt ARC Welder that is adjustable up to 70 AMPS. It was only about $90 when I bought it back in the late 90's. Also have a stitch welder and spot welder attachment for it. I bought this unit because back then the 110 volt wire welders were over $300. However, if you use the right amp settings and the right thickness welding sticks with it, the welds are just as easy and look just as good as the wire welders.

Like Greg said the duty cycle is short though. However, if I want to I can even cut steel with it by using a higher amp setting and thicker stick, depending on thickness of the steel.

Either way, stick or wire fed you should pop for an auto darkening helmet. If you do that, you can learn to weld real fast by simply reading the instruction book that comes with the welder, and practicing. I look at welding just like soldering with an electric soldering gun now. To me, it's the same process, except with more heat.

You can practice on anything. I made these two yard deco's for the wife as practice. Each one is two old beat up hubcaps welded together. So........you can even have fun when you practice welding.

[55 Fargo]

Good advice so far, I have the 110 volt Campbell Hausfeld, it can be used with flux core or mig wire, to date I have used only .035 flux core wire.

It's an 80 amp unit with a 20 % duty cycle, weld 2 minutes rest 10 minutes.

I never welded much before I bought the machine, there is a learning curve, once you can learn to adjust your heat and wire speed to the work piece you have, it will go fairly smooth. Welding on the bench is fairly easy, upside down under the car is another story, I have done all angles of welding with this little machine.

The harbor feight machine sounds like a good price, at least for learning and using on sheet metal and light mild steel.

Once flux core welds are wire wheeled, they loook not bad, mig welds are a lot cleaner and tighter looking though, but you need the shielding gas, the wire is thinner too.

As Norm mentioned, invest in an Autodarkening helmet, makes a big difference, I still don't have one, but will get one someday, before the next big welding project.

For the amount of welding you may do, this light duty machine might be just fine, I would have liked to get the low end Miller, or the Lincoln Mig Pak 10, good little machines.

Heavy welds I would go with an Arc welder, and for me would get a welder buddy to do the job..............Fred

[Young Ed]

As Fred kinda mentioned everything I've read on this has said you get much better results with the inert gas over the flux wire. I've been doing some pretty great looking welds on the 50 chevy and its pretty much my first project.

[oldmopar]

I have a Lincoln wire welder forget what model something like 155. Had it a few years is a 220 volt machine from what I read they run longer and work better. I used it for a few repairs on a truck and on a lawn mower. Not much experience welding so my welds look bad. I went with a name brand I figured parts,repairs and resale would be better.

[Don Coatney]

I have an old 220V Monkey Wards (AC only) stick welder that I bought used several years ago. It suits my needs. I also have a gas axe.

[Norm's Coupe]

In addition to everything everyone has mentioned, taking a class at some school WILL NOT make you into a welder, or make your welds look better. Even buying the most expensive setup you can find/afford won't do that. The only thing that will make your welds look better and stronger is practice. The only thing the class might do is help you become familiar with the basics of welding. However, like I said, that's in the instruction books you get with the welder.

Also, I wouldn't worry to much about how my welds looked as long as they were strong enough to do the job. That's one reason they make grinders, to smooth out rough welds, etc.

[grey beard]

I taught weldinb for many years in an ag mechanics program. Everything that has been said here is "right on" in my understanding of things. My own problem is that last time I set up to use a mig welder, my eyesight had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer possible. That's what 24 years of diabets will do to you unless you're lucky.

Don't get me wrong - I can still pick my mother-in-law out of a line of pretty girls, but inside that welding helmet I am useless. Oh, those "golden years" . . . . . .

[Plymouthy Adams]

eyesight fails over age for all of us though maybe at a lesser pace than with diabetes...I use my oxy/acetyle more than any other welder Ihave...I can weld tin cars together with it no problem..however..let it be known that the ole eyes and bifocals and tilting the head can drive you nuts..I found reading glasses for a fixed focal point are right on under the goggles and can be bought at any dollar store. For my arc welder and self darkening lens..same thing..I do hve the correct di-optic lens for my regular weld helmet but rarely use it anymore with the new self darkening..for those in need of them..they can be bought at TSC..less than 5.00 each.,.,

[Norm's Coupe]

Diabetes can be hard on the eyes. Have a close friend who has it and it has really affected his eyes too. I complain about my arthritis, but if I had a choice between the two, I'd take the arthritis. Take care Dave.

[greg g]

Speaking of TSC, you might want to check out their selections of wire welders. They are a step or two up from the Habor Freight and probably worth the difference. I think they are Campbell Hausfield made.

This one is 169 locally and they have an upgraded one for 239.00 Says they are good for 3/16" stock.

[Normspeed]

So for things like welding mufflers and exhaust pipes, will just about any of these do the trick?

[55 Fargo]

Greg, I have a smilar model, its sold at Canadian Tire, made by Campbell Hausfeld. It comes with a regulator and hose to use with gas and mig wire. The handle is nice, the wire sometimes gets caught up, but all in all not too bad, never tried it with gas yet. I paid $279.00 in Canada, thats like $199.00 in the USA, our dollar maybe be strong but our prices are always higher

[Norm's Coupe]

So for things like welding mufflers and exhaust pipes, will just about any of these do the trick?

Yes, any of the welders we discussed will work fine on these. However, even though I have a welder, I'd never weld my exhaust. I just use clamps. It's a lot easier to put them on and get the pipes apart when you need to. That said, even a pipe thats clamped together will have to cut off. The heat swells the pipe a little, plus all the rust that will accumulate seals it up pretty well, and you still end up cutting them off.

[greg g]

Follow the link to a posting on the HAMB. Fellow is building a rod and showing some of his fabrication pics. The welds shown are being done with a 110 wire welder, and they look real good, heavy stuff also. So I guess an experienced welder can make these work for frame and suspension welds as well as sheet metal.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219852&page=3

[48Dodger]

Rat Rods are often accused of being under buildt, and unsafe...110 on frame work? I'd never trust it. Woodscavenger, the harbour frieght 155v/90amp is perfect for the firewall and patch panels...you'll pick it up fast.

48D

I have:

115 Mig/ argon mix

Syncro 200 Miller Tig

Miller 675 plasma cutter

Arch welder

[Norm's Coupe]

Rat Rods are often accused of being under buildt, and unsafe...110 on frame work? I'd never trust it. Woodscavenger, the harbour frieght 155v/90amp is perfect for the firewall and patch panels...you'll pick it up fast.

48D

I have:

115 Mig/ argon mix

Syncro 200 Miller Tig

Miller 675 plasma cutter

Arch welder

As mentioned somewhere in this thread I have a small little cheap 110 ARC Welder. When practicing with it I always try to break my welds by hitting the steel with a hammer, throwing the part on the floor, etc. I haven't been able to break any of them so far using steel between 16 to 24 gage steel. I have a piece of railroad tie that I cut into two pieces some years ago. They are about a foot long each now. I've been thinking about trying to weld them together with my 110 ARC welder, just see if i can. Those are really heavy steel. If I ever get around to it sometime, I'll post the results. I don't see why I can't as long as I use the thicker stick and hold the stick in the same spot longer to get good penetration.

One of my motto's is. Never say I can't regardless of what I've been told, until I've tried it myself. It's amazing how many times I've been able to do something that others said couldn't be done. Of course, sometimes when I tried something, it didn't work. So.......it goes both ways, but I like to see for myself.

[greg g]

UH don't say Rat Rod on the HAMB. That term doesn't fit in their vocabulary. Most of the stuff looks scary but it seems to be well built. When I took welding way back in High School, we had to break our welds to see what kind of penetration we achieved for the grade. A lot of the craft may be in the tools, but a craftsman can get his work done inspite of not having the right tool.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Greg is right..lots of nice cars on the hamb and they hate the term...but then again..no matter how well the joints are welded, what brands you use etc..a unpainted rusty hulk with visible body welds will ALWAYS be a RAT ROD.....get over it...or get the damn thing finished...whereas in the Rat Rod class..that is the finished look....ole skool folks still knew how to pick paint colors or at least had smooth seams and quite often still in primer.

[48Dodger]

The debate between Hot Rodders and Rat Rodders is a storied one. I was pointing that out. I subcribe to serveral "rodz" magazines and enjoy thier creations. I read the H.A.M.B. posts. I build race cars, and have a belief system like anyone else. And using a 110 mig on frame constuction ain't one of 'em. IMHO

48D

[48Dodger]

Original use of the word Rat Rod was for an unfinished Hot Rod. Somewhere in the 80's they became seperate camps.

48D

[Plymouthy Adams]

While the 110 volt Mig is not the choice of professionals that is in part due to the low duty cycle most have...the average is two minutes of weld for about 8 minutes of rest at full power...and therein lies the key to thicker metal weld...POWER..the current must be available to weld and any weld to thicker metal and a longer bead that may nedd be applied flat out leaves the little 110 lacking due to the duty cylce at full power. However for the hobby guy..who does just a tad of welding here and there..the brand name US makers still sell a rather decent 110 volt outfit for a fair price suitable to your need..just don't expect it to perform miracles in record time..but still capable of welds to 1/4 inch..

[woodscavenger]

Thanks for all of the great advice. Norm, I have the same philosophy. I have built some great furniture from HF tools out of a carport and old laundry shed. In fact I now have a SawStop and 1000 sq.ft. shed and it has not made my furniture making skills any better. I think I will at least give it a try. I think I will step up to the 220V unit that can have gas added later as an option.