Anything welding

the thermal arcs are pretty solid! the company I work for bought a few for the shop to "try out"

I talked with my old boss in the shop and he loves them! says they feed wire well, and tig much better than he expected.

I did notice a couple weeks ago that I didn't see any in use. mostly cause there are plenty of miller xmt's to go around though I think. and in that shop, the xmt is THE multi-process machine to run unless they are all in use

 

in my experience, if your looking to make money as a welder, ie, get a job in the field, learn stick welding. learn it well, as in 6g certified well, with an "R" stamp if the school will offer it.

learning to fabricate in-shop is awesome, but, again, in my experience, it is hard to make money in a shop environment, no matter what you know. the big money is in pipe. stainless process piping is flooded with young people from what I see, and most process guys are perfectly capable in sch. stainless too, so no money.

regular old carbon piping welded with regular old stick is what makes the money, especially in boiler systems and oil. and the best way to do it is to get your own truck, your own machine and tools, and "subcontract" for larger contractors. out here, a subcontractor that can consistently do x-ray passing welds makes 60-100 per hour. they have a setup for stick, and most do stainless also with a tig setup. that's all

I work for a company, and do ok, but next to guys that make much more money just because they have a machine on their own truck. keep in mind though that this route means you find your own work, are liable for anything that is not perfect, and also must carry huge insurance to even drive your rig on some jobs (like, in case you drove into a pipe at a refinery and cost millions in damage and production losses)

 

awesome! i havent heard anything bad about them so far and they are affordable, so ill be ordering one

 

Hey guys I havn't been able to read this whole thread because I don't have time, so sorry if this question has already been answered. I know how to weld, and went through two years of vo-tech in high school in metal trades. I also took classes at my community college. I'm looking for a small wire welder that can handle 3/8" to 5/16" thickness. This will take care of any small welding I have around the house or most farm equipment, also should be able to put some rock sliders on my Tacoma, although I don't know what the average thickness is with most sliders. What are some good value small welders? preferably 115v so I can hook them up in the carport. I know the duty cycle will likely only be 20-30% but that should allow me to get my projects done easily. I already own a Lincoln 225 stick welder but this would be easier on my dad to use if i'm not around. About what price range will I be looking at? And what are the better name brands? Thanks in advance for any help

 

Just now seeing this. But thank for the info man! I'll look into this!

 

random shots from jobs i did at work aluminum stainless steel and titanium

 

meh, salright

 

Going tubular for V2R

 

Permanent? Selling your other?

 

any little wire feeder would do fine. I have a little Lincoln I got for 80$ from the local pawn shop that does great. no gas port so I just run flux-core. .035 flux core in that machine does 5/16" fine triple passed. the problem with that wire though is that it makes light stuff (less than 1/16") hard to do. if you are not familiar with flux cored wire it takes a bit of practice, wire speed is crucial for proper flux coverage.

I liken it to running 6010 rod. 211 wire runs well up hill as well as it does down, and is very aggressive with a slow deposit rate. just remember to set your machine with electrode negative!

 

plant steam/condensate?

 

It sold 4 weeks ago to a local 2wd.

 

No 110 is going to.up to the task of anything over 3/16

 

Thanks for your help and I have ran flux core before and really enjoyed it

 

Nah. I do ship board installs for the gooberment . The stainless was for a small boat fueling station . The aluminium I ran was for setting up to weld deck cribbing for a false deck and the titanium piece was replaced with ss tube for a water pump. The ti is sitting on my bench at home

 

Hey, how do you change the mode of transfer ( mig welding) on a lincoln dh10 / invertek 350 pro.mig welder?

Thanks

 

Skids on...

 

Jody from Welding Tips & Tricks posted this video today. It talks about the cheap Flux Core MIG machines.

If you're considering buying one, there are some compelling arguments for getting something other than a 115V machine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=KzSNpsLT40Q

 

Ya, they suck and can barely weld anything. At the very least get something that runs off 110/220 so that the 110 is for a worst case scenario

 

Any girl welders out there? I have been trying to stay after work and learn to tig weld! It's addicting...