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 Post subject: welder help
PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 7:59 am 
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now that i have room for a welder i'm dyin to get one. i found this one and it doesn't seem to be to bad.what do you guys think ? i don't want one that needs gas. i'm just plannin on doing some sheetmetal work like making my own roll pan and fender work.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... RK:MEWA:IT

any good pointers you guys can give me ?? i know a couple guys here have burned their eyes pretty bad. like, will you burn your eyes if you have them closed but you don't turn your face away?

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 Post subject: Re: welder help
PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 8:08 am 
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bcg187 wrote:
i know a couple guys here have burned their eyes pretty bad. like, will you burn your eyes if you have them closed but you don't turn your face away?
Well being one of the dumb asses that burned his eyes, I can tell you that you don't want to get in a habit of welding without your helmet period. Even lookin away will still cause burns to your face. Kinda like a bad sunburn. I would invest in a autodarkning helmet if you can afford one. I know its hard to get welding when you cant see, and I think if you start trying to get your weld going without your helmet, your gonna get a burn. and believe me brotha, you don't want it!!!! As far as the welder on ebay. Lincoln is a top brand welder, but I think $200 plus, you might be able to find on cheaper from maybe harbor freight. My .02 :D


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 11:10 am 
yeah dont try to weld with out a helmet auto darkening is the way to go i love my helmet spent 350 about 5 years ago on it and now their cheaper no offense to luvnit but i personally like miller for welders we use them everyday building trailers at my dads metal shop and we have never had any problems with them yet we have burned lots of wire through all 3 of them


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 12:01 pm 
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for the average person that wants to do sheetmetal work and light duty weldin one of the Lincoln 115v migs is ideal. be advised that they need at least a 15amp circut to run well..... not that im trying to put down miller...i love using miller equipment but it can be very pricy for a welder that isnt gonna see everyday use. hobart is good also. ...asking a welder his favorite brand is like the debate between GM, dodge and ford.. :lol:

also i would get the gas. you should be able to lease a small tank for about $20 a year plus refills. and get mixed gas 25%Co2 and 75% argon...if you still dont want gas, at least be sure whatever welder you buy will be able to do both solid wire and fluxcore.

oh and WEAR YOUR DAMN HELMET!!!!!!!......flash burn sucks bad. if you can afford it get a autodarker...again Lincoln has a few that are affordable and work really well. i have one that i use everyday. if not a autodarker get a fullface lightweight helmet. i have one at the house that i got for like $20 at the supply store where i get my oxy-actelyene tanks filled.

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 12:59 pm 
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I would save up a little more and get the gas. $200 is a little high for a gasless welder. I bought one from Harbor freight tolls for like $89.00 and it has done great. I have found that Harbor freight will take any of their tools back If you break them, and replace it. If your patient enough to look around and wait for the right deal, you can get a gas welder. I picked up a used 300amp miller for $300 of ebay, looked like it went through a huricane, but it works great.

If you get a nice gas welder you could be so much more versitile in what you do, you could charge your buddies a little $$$ to make them a roll cage, make an exhaust system....etc

this in my .02 (yes I would be the other person who was sucessfully flash burnt. DON'T weld without a helmet, Eyes can't be replaced )

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 7:13 pm 
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on the helmet front, yeah yad better wear one, personally i like the hand held sheilds over the helmet but thats just me, and just off the topic, its always a good idea to wear some sort of safty glasses when grinding, last month i got a chuck of metal stuck in my eye that had to be scraped out wif a needle,

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 9:31 pm 
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Well my $.02...

For your application get a MIG.

Lincoln makes some nice welders. Can't go wrong with them. Hobart is another manifacturer that makes a reliable product. My uncle has a Hobart Ironman 210, and that is one smooth welder. Never had any experience with Millers althought from the sounds of it they are pretty good too. Either way, definetly get a gas not one of them gas inside core things....unless you like crappy welds. Also get a can of that stuff you spray on the end of the tip before you start welding. It keeps splatter from accumulating on your gun, and makes life that much simpler. I forget the name of the stuff we use, but it works slick, and I assume all splatter resistant stuff is similar, brand wise.. :?

As far as the helmet, I personally don't use an autodarkening because I find them too dark most of the time. I have gotten accustomed to the whole nod-the-head thing to flip the lid down. But DEFINETLY use a helmet, and invest in a good one. As said before, Flash burn sucks! :evil: Good Luck!


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:01 am 
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thanks for all the input. i found a couple i like. what one seems like a good deal ?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... umber=6098
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=44567
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... umber=6271

i'll probably go with the first one :D

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Last edited by bcg187 on Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:06 am, edited 3 times in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:14 am 
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bump*** this post is doing all kinds of things to me right now :?

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:59 am 
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wtf, still not showing i posted :?

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:53 am 
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alright let me try this again :?

thanks for all the input. i found a couple i like. what one seems like a good deal ?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... umber=6098
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=44567
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... umber=6271

i'll probably go with the first one

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:18 am 
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I'll take door number 1 :)


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:52 am 
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I'd say #2 if you want to stay w/ 120, otherwise #3

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 1:47 am 
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Quote:
I'd say #2 if you want to stay w/ 120, otherwise #3

whats the 120 mean ? :? [/quote]

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:42 am 
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I think he is talking about your power supply. 110, 120.


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 7:25 am 
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okay i got it now :wink: :D
i don't know nothin about welding. this will be my first welder :D i was maybe thinking of the second one. i don't really need anything heavy duty. i pretty much need one to do light steel work and a little fender work. i just want something to play with to get used too :D

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:14 am 
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That is what I meant.
Do a search on ebay for miller, hobart and lincoln. with either 135 or 140 amps. ie. "miller 135", in fact you might want to keep your eye on this...
welder

The harbor frieght units look like it has no adjustability for the amperage, just high or low. Also doesn't look like you get much of a choice for wire size either...

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:28 am 
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diarmadhim wrote:
That is what I meant.
Do a search on ebay for miller, hobart and lincoln. with either 135 or 140 amps. ie. "miller 135", in fact you might want to keep your eye on this...
welder

The harbor frieght units look like it has no adjustability for the amperage, just high or low. Also doesn't look like you get much of a choice for wire size either...


If someone walks away with that welder for 61 bucks, they got a hell of a deal. But it still has 4 days to go.. Anyways,diarmadhim is right, thats probably exactly what you need bcg187. :)


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:54 pm 
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Another thing to look at is the duty cycle. Those harbor freight models running that .030 or .035 wire is either gonna be run on "high" mode w/ high feed rate or the "low" mode slower. This is where the duty cycle comes in to play. A 10% duty cycle is not good. So if you run it on low, it'll take longer to weld something and chances are you will have to wait on your welder. With the high mode you can cover more quickly, but the time you have is less as well. Think of it like this... at a 10% duty cycle you have 1 min of welding time every 10 minutes.
Another thing to consider is servicing. The models from HF might give you fits trying to find someone to work on it if something goes wrong.

Bottom line you'd be better served getting a flux/mig machine like the hobart "welmark" 135 or 140. If you plan to weld sheet metal mig is a better alternative than the flux imo. Plus you will have greater adjustability with a hobart or lincoln or miller. We have a 140 hobart at work and my old man has the 135 version. They work very well and are easy to use. In fact Luvnit used one to weld his motor mounts in...
Just for reference, you can get them at a place here for $425 brand new, so my advice would be to keep your eyes on ebay and pick up a better machine than one from HF, you will be better off in the long run.

Sorry about the long post everyone. 8)

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