Wyoming B.S. Thread

Nice man. You taking a class down there? Yeah I think you find welding gas will be a little better but the mechanics are the same.

An off-road trailer would be a fun project, Nate and I were going to tackle one for his rover, but the falconry thing is what he's into now so who knows when that will happen.

 

I still drool over your truck. So clean.

 

You can weld with CO2. It spatters more than ArCO2 and finding the sweet spot is harder (yhink narrow bandwidth). A lot depends on the welder - older migs were designed to run on CO2, newer not so much. What welder do you have.

 

Gotcha, I'll have to bite the bullet and get a ArCo mix tank.

Nah no class, was in Foco and Greeley for some oil well location staking.

Yea trailer would be simple enough and lots have done it with info on it.

Thanks dude! Pumped to see your MT come in

It was given to me as a out of service demo for a sales group. It's a "Smarter tools" MIG 135. Even tho its no name its been pretty good. I'm basing that on my first time ever touching a welder being able to make a decent join and looking weld

 

WOW.

 

I know Mike. Great game, crappy outcome. I was rooting for a rematch.

 

Yeah, not the outcome you wanted. What an emotional roller coaster ride that was.

 

A free welder is one of the best brands. I have a Hobart 140 - very similar to the one you own. Things I have found out about my welder:

It runs best on a dedicated (nothing but the welder on the circuit) 120v 20a breaker 12 gage wire, 2nd best would be a dedicated 15amp circuit. No more than a 25 foot extension cord, 12 gage.

The original work clamp is a POS and should be replaced with made of brass. You can use the original if you make sure that the clamping place on the work is bare (shiny) metal. A bad connection with the ground clamp causes a voltage drop producing erratic welds and loss of arc power.

My welder works best with 0.030 dia flux core wire and while it will burn 0.035. it doesn't do it very well - as shown with the ;big' hammer tests.

Welder with gas: I have a MM251 w/C25 also straight argon for aluminum in my spool gun so I mostly use the 140 with flux core outside or close inside my open garage door. I've made several projects and a lot of small repairs, mostly with 1/16 - 1/8 sq tubing and fc. My opinion is that unless you are doing mostly sheet metal 1/16 or less in thickness, 0.030 flux core gives the best results - Argon/CO2 with 0.023 solid wire for the sheet metal. I did use the 140 with both gasses and found them OK with a preference for CO2 just because of the better penetration (prior to welding, you can spray the joint with anti-spatter spray - think Pam or cheaper cooking spray) for ease of clean up.

Here's the downside of your welder; it's heat output is very limited. The specs probably indicate 2500 - 2700 watts (that's input to the machine), after power losses in the welder (transformer and other parts) output will be in the 1900 - 2000 watt range at the arc (wifes' hair drier). Nearly all welder manufactures exaggerate the capacity of their welders. Mine lists settings for 1/4 inch thick steel and I can stick it together and have a pretty decent looking weld that is suspect in it's fusion and therefor strength. There are skilled welders that with proper joint preparation and technique can do so (but they probably wouldn't). Yours and my welders are good for 1/8 inch thick material.

Sorry to be long winded but thought you and others ought to be aware. In any event, use the welder you have to build your skills within the limits of the machine (and use the hammer or try etching the joint - requires cutting and smoothing) to educate yourself just what those limits are.

 

@INBONESTRYKER Thanks for the detail! Was playing with it more today and am getting better. Been practicing with 3/16ths. It seems to do pretty well with .035 flux core on max but have to move slow to get a good join. Your right that free is the best brand

 

Man I tell you what, there is no shortage of strange ppl and threads on this forum. Lol a guy could spend hrs on here sifting through stuff. And yes I've been bored

 

Learn anything sweet in your recent search through the depths of TW?

Slowed my puddle movement today with the welder and the welds look great! @BossFoss

 

Noice! And no lol. So much great info here, but I hate how you have to wade through so much garbage to get to it. Such is life I suppose. I hear weathers been nice at home lately.

 

Sconnie, Pictures?

I'm assuming that you have a grinder, be aware that grinding sparks start more fires than welding sparks - be careful of where you point them. A half hour or so after you've finished go snooping and sniffing to make sure there is nothing smoldering. Sparks also will make pits in glass and paint (I'd really hate to hear that the paint/clearcoat on your truck or wife's car got messed up.

 

Yea was super nice today! Got out for a great hike today. Yea wading around sux. The search function helps alleviate that wading some.

No pics today, my phone stopped taking pics so I'm down to my 6d and the wife's phone which lets just pretend I can't use... Haha. Yea the ginder makes some awesome fire showers! Don't worry, I always clear my workspace of flamables and keep the truck/car outside when I'm grinding/welding.

I'll fire up the welder this week some more and get some pics of progress.

@Digiratus your shocks might come back to you with a penis welded on them




...jk buddy

 

hey you gotta try aluminum welding some how right?

 

Just let er rip and see what happens right!? The more I weld the more fun it is. Pretty relaxing for me. I love the control it gives me. Good for the anal/ocd personality I think I have.

 

Nooooo!

 

My first aluminum welding project.

 

I had the same leaking issue and it turned out that I pushed the new seal in too far and it didn't seal on the CV. Glad all is well!

 

Looks like the boges I just pulled out of my nose probably better than my first go would be right now.