The Ultimate Tool
BusaDave9
Always Off-Roading Jeeper
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- 1979 Jeep CJ5 with 304 V8, T18 Transmission, Dana 20 Transfer case with TeraLow 3:1 gears, 4.88 axle gears, Detroit Locker up front and Ox Locker in back with 1 piece axle shafts, 36" SuperSwamper SX Tires, Shackle reversal, MileMarker Hydraulic winch, MSD 6A ignition.
I just bought a Millermatic 211 MIG Welder.
I have a floor drill press, an air compressor and impact wrenches. I love tools but I think a welder is the ultimate tool. I can't think of any tool as versatile and useful. It can repair things made of steel. You can also fabricate things from scrap metal.
But I am a beginner welder. Before yesterday I never welded at all. The welder came with a DVD on setting up the welder and basic, getting started, videos. That really helped. There are also videos on the internet. This one is really good. GMAW MIG Welding - YouTube It's 45 minutes long and has lots of very good info in it. I'm sure you would find it useful even if you have been welding for a few years.
I have been collecting scrap metal to practice on but I only did 2 test welds before I was saying I want to do a real project.
I have always thought my fireplace grate was too small so as my first project I used rebar to make it bigger. I was thinking How can I screw this up? It's heavy metal but doesn't hold much weight.
For my first attempt at welding I think it came out pretty good. Most welds looked good but I had this one that has gas bubbles in it.
This next one had such penetration that the weld almost seemed to be recessed. I don't know if that's much of a problem. It would have been a problem if it was thin metal.
But hey, I'm thinking this is easy! I've got a million things I'd like to do with my welder, and half of them are on my jeep.
At first I was thinking of getting something inexpensive as a first welder. I'm glad I didn't. People were telling me that before long I'd be good enough for bigger projects and I wouldn't want to sell a smaller welder less than a year after buying it. Nor did I want to start off with stick welding and later move up to MIG.
The Millermatic 211 is a powerful welder. It uses 110 or 220 volts but you need 220 to weld anything over 3/8 inch thick. It has an AutoSet feature so I just set the wire diameter and metal thickness and it does the rest. Or if I want I can set the wire speed and voltage if i want to go the manual route. It has a chart inside the door to help with the settings.
But I am a beginner welder. Before yesterday I never welded at all. The welder came with a DVD on setting up the welder and basic, getting started, videos. That really helped. There are also videos on the internet. This one is really good. GMAW MIG Welding - YouTube It's 45 minutes long and has lots of very good info in it. I'm sure you would find it useful even if you have been welding for a few years.
I have been collecting scrap metal to practice on but I only did 2 test welds before I was saying I want to do a real project.
I have always thought my fireplace grate was too small so as my first project I used rebar to make it bigger. I was thinking How can I screw this up? It's heavy metal but doesn't hold much weight.
For my first attempt at welding I think it came out pretty good. Most welds looked good but I had this one that has gas bubbles in it.
This next one had such penetration that the weld almost seemed to be recessed. I don't know if that's much of a problem. It would have been a problem if it was thin metal.
But hey, I'm thinking this is easy! I've got a million things I'd like to do with my welder, and half of them are on my jeep.
At first I was thinking of getting something inexpensive as a first welder. I'm glad I didn't. People were telling me that before long I'd be good enough for bigger projects and I wouldn't want to sell a smaller welder less than a year after buying it. Nor did I want to start off with stick welding and later move up to MIG.
The Millermatic 211 is a powerful welder. It uses 110 or 220 volts but you need 220 to weld anything over 3/8 inch thick. It has an AutoSet feature so I just set the wire diameter and metal thickness and it does the rest. Or if I want I can set the wire speed and voltage if i want to go the manual route. It has a chart inside the door to help with the settings.
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