Anything welding

That’s really not bad considering the welder you’re using.

 

Thanks, I actually upgraded the grounding clamp and it made a big difference.

 

@Brian422 creepin behind you on welding posts apparently haha

Thought I’d get some advice on MIG set ups. Looking to weld up to 1/4” steel, I doubt I’ll need to weld much thicker. Truck stuff, tractor, fence, random fixes all hobby stuff. Mostly stationary, but have a 240 generator if I ever needed to move it. I have access to either 120/240 in my shop.

Will buy a TIG set up in the future, so not looking for the Cadillac of MIG units, but would consider a combo welder if the TIG didn’t suffer for it...not sure if that exists.

As far as cylinders- what’s a decent size and price to pay for one? Leaning towards 80 cf right now. All hobby welding, maybe an hour or two every other weekend. What gas mixture is ideal for MIG? Any other caveats?

Edit: Lincoln 140 looks like it might fit the bill. Any thoughts?

 

Damn, I need that for a "D" day reenactment. All I need after that is a landing craft. LMAO
Zim

 

I'd get at least a 125 cylinder. The price of gas goes down a lot as you go up in cuft. And you won't have to worry about exchanging cylinders for a while. I have a 125 and weld at least 3 days out of the week, and it lasts me several months.

 

Newbie here, take everything I say with a big grain of salt...

I bought a HF Titanium 170 and have been very pleased with it - it's a 120/240V unit. I've been surprised how well it does on 120V. In time I'll run 240V to the garage, but for now I've not felt at all limited on 120V - typically doing 16ga to 3/16" stuff. I've also been pleased how well it does on my 2300/2500watt 120V inverter generator.

Cylinders - price seems to vary by location and who you're dealing with so be sure to call around. Last summer I bought an 80CF cylinder from a local small town welding / supplies shop - cylinder was $175, and the C25 (25% CO2 / 75% Argon) fill was $31.50. Haven't had to get it refilled (swapped) yet. Yes, shielding gas is 100% worth it.

 

The titanium mig 170 would fit the bill well and not break the bank. Seeing as you have access to 240 and you want to weld up to 1/4", you'll need a 240v machine which this one is. With this coupon, it knocks it down to $477 before tax.

As far as gas, I'd get the largest tank you can own, which varies by location. I had a 60, then an 80 which was the largest. I blew through that in a month and said fuck it and bought a 390 CF. $100 a year to lease the tank plus $120 a fill. I've had it for like 6 months now and the needle has barely moved lol

Whatever size you decide on, I wouldn't get smaller than an 80. Mixture you want is C25 which is 75/25 argon/co2.

 

What brand manufacture has the best support in your area ?

Nothing like having to ship a machine on your expense for a warranty problem .

As long as Harbor Freight has the no question return policy it might be an option I have yet to get into a store and ask about warranty service or after warranty service . As of yet they have not responded back to us about tech support and parts


Combination machines until you get into the high end I feel they all lack something then if your just starting out most likely you would not know.

Gas cylinders most Big Distributors will only sell 80 cuft and smaller but there is always exceptions . They make money on cylinder rent and gas selling hard goods is a necessary evil. Hard goods being the welding machines consumables anything to support selling more gas. Local Independent distributors will sometimes sell any size cylinders every one is different.

Gas mix depends if your not to fussy and can put up with more splatter and the price is cheaper go with straight CO2 if the price is close to 75% Argon /25% CO2 go with the blend . When you buy your tig machine your going to need a cylinder of straight Argon.

Walk in customers get raped fact of life Then this China Flu has things very different from before as far as customer interaction no idea how things are in your area.

 

When I had decided I was getting my tig welder I knew I was going to need a tank for the gas.

Luck would have it... my dad had several cylinders he no longer used since he older and not able to handle there size anymore. So I was able to pick up a nice in daye 220cf oxygen tank that the local gas place swapped out for a 250cf argon tank. It did require a some paperwork as I had to setup a new account and sign some papers attesting the tank was personal property customer owned and was not stolen from another gas company. The reason given.. it was a size thank that is not commonly owned but usually a rental.

 

Wow lol. Just came in here to post that and tag you and say maybe its meant to be! lol

 

Do it! The welders don't typically have coupons or sales so it's worth jumping on them when they come up.

 

waiting on that stimi check lol. Should drop any day now.

 

I just picked up a Lincoln 140 and tank. The harbor freight didn’t look bad, just felt more comfortable getting the Lincoln since airgas carries all their goodies here locally. Thanks for the advice!

 

Should be! I got mine last week sometime. Stimulated the heck outta the economy with new seats for my truck lol

 

Going to be struggling a bit on the thicker stuff. Should have gone with a 240v machine since you already have your shop wired for it. The 240v machines are just much more efficient with anything thicker than 1/8".

 

Nice, My shackles for my hammer hangers and cross tube come in today so ill be putting that on tonight. Gonna be a bitch lol.

 

Anything I’ll be welding over 3/16” I’ll use its flux capability since it goes up to 5/16” single pass. it’ll be for the tractor or something I don’t need to look pretty anyways. The next step up didn’t have dual voltage and I’d like it to remain a little more portable. I’m saving the Gucci money for a TIG set up later haha we will see how it goes, but 110 has been plenty for me thus far.

 

Yep - welders are rarely on sale and usually are excluded from the other coupons.

Handy HF coupon site - Harbor Freight Tools Coupon Database - Free coupons, 25 percent off coupons, 20 percent off coupons, No Purchase Required coupons, toolbox coupons (hfqpdb.com)

 

Question(s) for the masses:

I will be trying to make basically this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeHNTY50zJA

It's a bracket to hang a ski lift chair that my wife bought. Ours will look more like the yellow one on the table in the video. The pin is 1-1/8" diameter by 8" long. The chair isn't super heavy, 80-ish lbs, and will potentially have two humans sit on it together.
My questions are: what thickness/gauge of flat bar would you think the bracket pieces should be made from? And, is it ok to just fillet weld them together in a t-joint? (I'm newish, so forgive if that terminology is funky). Here's a couple screen grabs to show what I'm looking at:

 

If I were building that, I would make it out of 1/4" and add gussets on each side. It'll help with side to side movement as well as give more weld surface area.