Anything welding

He had asked about cutting 3/8" (assuming mild) and I stated the CUT60 is capable of 7/8" with people having posted videos of cutting 1".

The above post with pictures is just to inspire a little confidence as stainless steel is a bit more temperamental to cut on air, and it's easily done with a CUT60 at a thicker gauge than his inquiry. And of all things, done so by a member that couldn't even figure out if his plug was fully inserted correctly days ago.

 

I just want know:

I'm glad you got it dialed in with such decent results.

 

You've got yours dialed in right?

What all thickness metals do you cut anyway?

 

1/4" is the thickest. When cutting, I'm using 16 or 18.

Not gonna be cutting for a couple months. Makes me sad.

 

Months?

Why not? Shoot, I look for stuff to cut out

 

I'm 800 miles from home for a bit longer.

 

Ahhh ok

You got 3-4 houses or what?

 

Just an RV.

We go to South Carolina for the cold months.

Am looking forward to some projects.

 

In my area, hot rolled 16 ($2.33/sqft) is now a little cheaper than cold rolled 18($2.48/sqft). That's a switch. My supplier only carries 18 in cold rolled.

If I didn't have a request for a 44" x 33" two layered sign I would have just bought two sheets 16 gauge. Trying to keep weight down on the large sign.

 

Damn, 18 gauge is expensive out there

 

This is our welding trailer we put together at work a couple years ago.

 

M1008?

 

Yep.

 

Hey fellas, looking for opinions or input here. Between myself and my buddies I have enough projects where I could justify a multi-process welder without breaking the bank. My eye has been on the Lincoln 210 MP for a while now. Seems like it has a very good track record for what it is. The dual voltage is a requirement in my current situation (120v) but future proof with 240v. Also, the aluminum spool gun option is attractive. Though to be honest Im not sure how much Id use it

Most my experience is MIG. Think I only done stick once or twice when I was a kid, so MIG is what Id use most. But would like to try my hand at TIG one day, hence a multi-process unit.

Now that the 215 MP is out it seems like prices are dropping on 2nd hand 210s, though theres not many in New England.

I think my biggest hangups / questions right now are
A) I dont know what I dont know
B) Hows the longevity of new inverter based machines? Or Lincoln support in general?

There's one on marketplace right now in NH for $1800. Like new condition with spool gun kit, but the screen is messed up / full of old school CRT TV 'static'

 

If your experience is MIG, stick with MiG.

The aluminum spool gun skill is easy to pick up if you got MiG experience.

Tig and stick are useless to me.

Unless you plan on doing a lot of remote welding, the stick doesn't get you much.

How much tig work do you for see? When was the last time you needed tig work done?

I'm a MIG welder fan boy. I actually used a multi purpose china made welder last week. For a 110 v unit it worked very good on the MiG setting. I can't tell you how long it will last.

I'm a fan of transformer welders, but am not afraid to say the newer inverter units do the job very well.

They are so cheap, they are almost disposable.

I've been fabricating for a long time, damn it goes by fast, but a can't remember ever needing tig or stick welding done.

I got use the Harbor Freight MIG max last year, it worked great!

I've been MIG welding north of 25 years. It makes no sense to waste time trying to master all three types of welding types. Pick one and learn it the best you can. You will never stop improving.

For working on cars, MIG wins hands down!

General fabrication, MIG wins hands down!

In case I wasn't clear, think hard about a multi purpose machines that you will very seldom use 2 of the other styles of welding.

I get it, we are guys. We like our options and figure why not have all for a few dollars more? In this case, it's really not gonna gain you much.

If you got 2 other friends and all three want to master 1 of the styles of welding, then by all means grab a multi purpose welder.

I'll just be brutal. It seems pointless to have a multipurpose machine. You just don't have enough time to master all three unless you do it for a living. Even then it would be pointless to have one at home because why would you make your work your hobby?

 

Thanks for the input. Ill touch on a few points:
Never needed TIG, I just want to learn. Ill never do enough welding of any kind to 'master' it, so Im not overly concerned with that. I do understand there are different kinds of TIG, and the 210 can only do DC. So I need to read into that a bit.

Being so cheap "they are almost disposable" is my main concern. That 210 with the messed up screen has been on FB for a few months now and Ive done some research into it. Seems my only real option would be to throw parts at it (assuming I could get parts) until it starts working again. Not a cheap option..

 

Do you have a welder of any sort at the moment?

 

there is this, in fact, that welder with a bad screen seems to be an extremely common failure mode-- it's one of the top searches to show up as i was typing it in...
https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/718721-Lincoln-Power-Mig-210-Screen-Problems

otherwise, it's going to be a $160 screen
https://www.ebay.com/itm/155502991021

or the main board replacement, which appears to only be a service center part, which likely means their rates apply, and add up quickly.

if it's cheap enough, it's not a bad thing to try, but i doubt it'll be that cheap...

 

The lower end multi process units are all a big comprise .

Lincoln support in your area try and track down the Lincoln rep in your area ! Since half of Texas and Arkansas were up here building pipelines Lincoln has done a full court press in many cases bypassing local distributors selling direct to the end user. In the North East.

This was a Die hard Miller welder area.

In most cases when Inverters fail outside of warranty they are to expensive to repair.

When I worked I used all three processes for anything but thin sheet metal I like my stick welding . To me Tig welding seems almost holy it is just so pure.

Happy shopping!

It is really hard buying a used machine I would down load the users manuals of any machines you have interest in. Get an idea of what they should do.

 

Does JB Weld count?

Yup, its a common search. Ive read that exact thread before and looked at replacement screens. Making an educated guess Id say a new screen wont solve the problem, probably a board which as you say might be a service center only thing..

I was wondering if anyone on here had first hand experience with the 210 MP? Im hoping its the same as some Tacoma issues we read about on here. Lots of vocal folks online when things go bad, not so much when things are running smooth.

Thanks for the tips. I imagine Maine Oxy is my closest supplier, I should stop in one day and chat with them

To your point about compromise, I was hoping a machine retailing in the $2500 range would be less of a compromise than some other cheaper ones but idk.