Welding Basics, choosing a machine
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Welding Basics
Choosing a mig welder and basic prep work
Now we are going to open a can of worms here. We will discuss a decent welder to buy.
No matter how much I stress it, there are always those who will argue, but here goes: You get what you pay for. Yeppers that is true. You do not need to go around looking for the cheapest wire feed welder out there, what you want is a good welder that can handle a good bit of metal. I personally like Miller machines but they are pricey, I think the Hobart line is a great alternative and is made by Miller now days. It offers a lot of bang for the buck.
What you will need to look for is a machine that can weld in both polarities and comes with a regulator.
OK, now there is a difference between wire feed flux core and mig welding, with flux core you are reversing the polarity of the machine and do not use gas. A lot of machines come with the unit set up for flux core and you will need to reverse the polarity when you go to true Mig welding.
The benefit of flux core is that you do not need a gas shield and that you can do it outdoors where wind will blow off the shielding gas of running it solid wire mig.
The benefit of Mig is a lot nicer weld is formed with a lot more control. So as you can see that cheap wire feed machine can be set up for one or the other, rarely both. Plus with a better machine the gauge of wire can be changed easily as the wheels are set up for many gauges.
A good machine will also have more heat and speed adjustments, you will have better control over wire tension and the gun is usually of a better quality. As that goes the feeds are usually longer also. There are a lot of things to consider here.
I suggest a machine that goes 140 amps or better and that seems to be the dividing line, at 140 amps they will run on 115 volts, at 180 most are 220. Advances are being made all the time so maybe a 180 amp machine will be running 115 soon.
Duty cycle is where they also get you, True duty cycle is the amount of time you can use the welder during a 10 minute period. I prefer the claims of the big companies, they are a lot more conservative and I think closer to the number. A 20 % duty cycle means you can use it 2 minutes out of 10, that is a lot of welding once you get good at it.
Now go out and look around for a welder, remember that new is probably best but there are screaming deals to be found used. Bring a friend who can use one to test it if you have any questions at all. No need to spend 250 clams on a used unit and find out it needs 200 dollars in repairs. Sheesh that new unit was only $435.
Perp is where it is at, 90 % of all welding is in the preparation work. Welds do not like any form of contamination at all so you do a few things to prep the surface to be welded, I like to have an area ½ an inch away from the weld prepped minimum so I know the welded are is primo. Get in touch with your wire brush, and grinder skills for this, as that drill with wire brushes, you want the surfaces as clean as they can be, remove all oils with Windex, all paint with those brushes and shine up the metal with the grinder. Once you are sure of that do a tack weld.
Next article will be reading welds, I should have it up next week.
Choosing a mig welder and basic prep work
Now we are going to open a can of worms here. We will discuss a decent welder to buy.
No matter how much I stress it, there are always those who will argue, but here goes: You get what you pay for. Yeppers that is true. You do not need to go around looking for the cheapest wire feed welder out there, what you want is a good welder that can handle a good bit of metal. I personally like Miller machines but they are pricey, I think the Hobart line is a great alternative and is made by Miller now days. It offers a lot of bang for the buck.
What you will need to look for is a machine that can weld in both polarities and comes with a regulator.
OK, now there is a difference between wire feed flux core and mig welding, with flux core you are reversing the polarity of the machine and do not use gas. A lot of machines come with the unit set up for flux core and you will need to reverse the polarity when you go to true Mig welding.
The benefit of flux core is that you do not need a gas shield and that you can do it outdoors where wind will blow off the shielding gas of running it solid wire mig.
The benefit of Mig is a lot nicer weld is formed with a lot more control. So as you can see that cheap wire feed machine can be set up for one or the other, rarely both. Plus with a better machine the gauge of wire can be changed easily as the wheels are set up for many gauges.
A good machine will also have more heat and speed adjustments, you will have better control over wire tension and the gun is usually of a better quality. As that goes the feeds are usually longer also. There are a lot of things to consider here.
I suggest a machine that goes 140 amps or better and that seems to be the dividing line, at 140 amps they will run on 115 volts, at 180 most are 220. Advances are being made all the time so maybe a 180 amp machine will be running 115 soon.
Duty cycle is where they also get you, True duty cycle is the amount of time you can use the welder during a 10 minute period. I prefer the claims of the big companies, they are a lot more conservative and I think closer to the number. A 20 % duty cycle means you can use it 2 minutes out of 10, that is a lot of welding once you get good at it.
Now go out and look around for a welder, remember that new is probably best but there are screaming deals to be found used. Bring a friend who can use one to test it if you have any questions at all. No need to spend 250 clams on a used unit and find out it needs 200 dollars in repairs. Sheesh that new unit was only $435.
Perp is where it is at, 90 % of all welding is in the preparation work. Welds do not like any form of contamination at all so you do a few things to prep the surface to be welded, I like to have an area ½ an inch away from the weld prepped minimum so I know the welded are is primo. Get in touch with your wire brush, and grinder skills for this, as that drill with wire brushes, you want the surfaces as clean as they can be, remove all oils with Windex, all paint with those brushes and shine up the metal with the grinder. Once you are sure of that do a tack weld.
Next article will be reading welds, I should have it up next week.
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