Anything welding

I am suprised @Kwikvette hasnt chimed in.

I am not experienced welder like a bunch of these guys but I really like my primeweld mig 180. Inverter machine but I haven’t had any issues in a year of use. Comes with a spoolgun and you can stick weld as well as scratch start tig. It’s a whole different class of welder than your lookin at but for me I am very happy with it, and it’s only $600. I am near concord nh if you’d like to give it a closer look and try it out.

 

You need to remember prices are crazy right now.

Maybe Check out the prices on Cyber Weld to give you some idea of prices.

Any more between $ 5 and 10 thousand for a good multi process machine .

Since our Prime weld sales person likes that brand Cheaper in the long run to buy a dedicated Mig machine and AC tig to do Aluminum which everyone really wants.

Changing a control board is easy all plug and play ! Getting the correct one can be tricky.

I would never buy a used welder with any problem with output or control problems .

With a welder 5 years is considered a decent time to still get new parts. Not to be confused with consumables.
The over head to stock so many different expensive parts is really expensive.

Happy Hunting

 

I normally would but our 10 month old didn't nap at all yesterday

Had sent this to my wife



His favorite color is blue as I tested it a lot with different toys, scrambling them, and even handing him a different color toy

 

Just picked up a miller 215. First project in mind is something similar to this: https://rebeloffroad.com/xcap-enclosure-for-xplor-half-height-bed-rack-jeep-gladiator-2020/

I have a full canopy now with a light RTT up top. The idea is to still be enclosed but same time match the height of the cab to the back with a RTT mounted. Low COG. Probably gonna take a long while to complete.

 

It'll be too difficult to go through and read every response but I'm going to chime in here based on this specific post.

You want TIG, just to learn on your own.

You don't want to skimp on machine quality, but also don't want to heavily invest since you don't plan to TIG a lot. I've welded with various welders and that included the 210MP so I'll share my short experience with it and anything else.

The one thing I didn't like about the Lincoln 210MP when I compared it directly with a Miller Multimatic 215 was that the Lincoln felt like it ran out of steam way sooner than the Miller. This was around the time I was learning MIG and doing it for 4-6 hours a day so I had plenty of time to play with the two side by side. The menu system was a bit more clunky and something I didn't care for, especially when I'm happy with just two knobs (or a knob and a hand crank).

I did look at the used market just to add one or the other to the stable and constantly see the Lincoln's come up for sale around here, specifically the 210MP. When I did more looking into them, I found that the knobs break off easily, and the LCD screens go out. Having to replace the main board is something not too common but happens enough that people talk about it a lot. For those reasons I said NOPE.

Onto TIG, because the "running out of steam" scenario was applicable to MIG only. The 210MP is a lift-arc style TIG setup. Now, if you're not familiar with this it means that you must touch your electrode to the metal you wish to weld, then lift it to start your arc.

If you have never done TIG welding before, then lift-arc just means you'll need to incorporate a few more steps (but should become habit in no time). This includes turning your gas valve on at your torch, initiating your arc, welding, then flicking your wrist to break the arc and bringing it back to your weld for your post-flow.

Having also TIG welded on various machines with high-frequency, I will say that high-frequency is much more forgiving for the novice and something I still prefer now with some experience. With high-frequency you simply bring your electrode close to where you wish to weld, either hit that thumb switch or pedal, and you're welding. To break the arc, just let go of that switch and keep your torch pointed at your weld for your post flow. That simple!

Or, if you have a MIG welder already with SMAW capability, you can actually incorporate your own scratch-start TIG setup for the cheapest introduction to TIG. You'll utilize a torch with a gas valve on it going directly to your bottle, and initiate your arc in a 'scratch' style the way you do with stick. I had fun with this actually but would only suggest it on mild steel, not stainless.

With that said, I'll pose two scenarios for you -

Depending on your current MIG welder (if you have one), if it's a nicer machine I would probably suggest you buy a cheaper TIG welder focusing on the style TIG you wish to pursue.

If you have a low-end MIG welder and want to get a multiprocess machine, I'd highly suggest the Miller Multimatic 215 or higher.

When you go multiprocessor, you're not giving up much in the way of TIG welding if you're only sticking to mild steel and stainless.

I run a PrimeWeld MIG285 myself and even though I learned TIG in all 3 ways described above, I really preferred high-frequency as I did that for 10-12 hour days at my last welding job.

Unfortunately, my machine offers only lift-arc which I'm fine with but I don't TIG much at all anymore anyway.

 

I am curious about this statement why you would suggest not to scratch start stainless. I talked with a very experienced welder near me and he said he does stainless scratch start all the time. I got a setup and just need to get a bottle of argon then I am going to give it a try. I have another project in the works first though.

Is your concern tungsten contamination or loosing shielding gas at the end of the weld due to flicking off? or something else?

I guess the only pro to stratch start is it is cheap and durable...

 

Control; stainless steel is much more heat resistant and unless you've got some experience, it will be frustrating for a novice to weld on stainless without being able to apply more or less heat mid-weld.

If you have experience welding stainless via TIG, then it's no biggie but for a beginner, he or she will need time behind the torch to understand heat control, angles, movement speed, etc.

I like to start high, then let off a bit when I welded stainless via high-frequency with a pedal and let off slow adding a little extra bit of filler before letting my arc die.

 

Ah right, I remember that being a big issue trying to fluxcore it

 

HF pulse is the bomb for stainless. I only did MIG for a long time. I needed to do some sanitary brew fittings so I learned TIG. Still suck at it, but I never went back to MIG. Back purging also uses a lot of gas.

 

Just sharing my experience, I'm no pro.

I wanted to be as thorough in my response as possible.

 

I used pulse plenty in MIG and yeah on stainless it's the shit, especially doing large frame assemblies and you're whipping 2-3' long runs back to back!

Then again, I can't afford a $12k welder so...

 

Thanks for the response, appreciate the insight. Your line about 'Not skimping on quality but also not heavily investing since I wont TIG much' is exactly the boat Im in. Any welder I buy will be a weekend hobby, not a production machine. With primary focus on MIG. Im willing to make a few compromises in order to get the most functionality while remaining under that ~$2500 budget.

When you say ran out of steam, what exactly do you mean, overheating? I was curious about the menu too. Everything I read online people say its OK on the 210 MP, not great but certainly not terrible. And you can still dial in exact parameters if you want, rather than using the presets.

I dont have any welder currently. My dad has an old Lincoln Weldpak that I learned on when I was a kid. That thing has got to be pushing 25 years old and still works great. Hence why my first instinct is Lincoln. Ill have to look into the Miller stuff when I get some time.


To provide a little more background on why Im looking into a multi process - Im considering diving into a flatbed build this spring. Always been a dream of mine to have that Australian tray & canopy look on my rig. After a small fender bender last year, plus insane backorders and wait times at all the good body shops in my area this might be the time to finally pull the trigger. I figure making my own will be a huge challenge, but at the end of the day Ill learn a ton and also save some money compared to anything on the market right now like Mits Alloy etc.

Thinking a multi process unit with aluminum gun compatibility right out of the box would cover all my bases for a project like that

 

primeweld, mig180 even comes with a spool gun. but if welding is like marriage, mig, aluminum, and tig welding is like trying to have 3 families that don't know about each other in different time zones--as soon as you make one work well, the other will suffer.

there's also the primeweld mts200, but doesn't include the spool gun for an extra $135.

but also, if your ultimate goal is to build a flat bed, keep in mind that being that you haven't welded in quite a while/starting from scratch, speaking from personal experience, it's really going to take a good 3-6 months of every weekend you learning the welder, and how to make it do what you want. don't jump directly into your desired project, play around and figure out all the new tool and the settings needed first.

 

So, my initial response was simply to be thorough.

Now my second response might come a little bias because now I'm going to suggest machines.

You don't need to mention if it's for hobby only, or for lots of production; bottom line is you need a welder that will work when it's supposed to and there's nothing wrong with that.

If MIG is primary, then a multiprocessor is great as most perform their best as such a welder. It's only when you go dedicated MIG that you lose out on the other functions IE Miller 350P I used to weld on.

Your $2,500 budget is a nice little healthy one too, especially for a hobbyist setup.

When I ran the 215 blue, the 210 red, I was also running them alongside the 255 blue, 256 red, and several others. But between the two mentioned in my initial post, the Lincoln seemed to really fall flat on its face when it hit duty cycle. I mean this is normal...it's expected, it's why they call it a duty cycle. But the Miller kept pushing strong welds after exceeding the duty cycle for quite a bit longer. So to me it just seemed like Miller conservatively rates their small machines.

Going to the larger 255 blue and 256 red, I ran a lot of SMAW and even spray transfer, and both performed admirably. Speaking of SMAW, I remember the 215 doing better running 6010 as well. This right here has to say something about the Miller's output.

Back to your purchasing options, why do you heavily insist on the 210 MP? It seems you've made up your mind already by having mentioned it more than once, and if that's the case then buy it brand new. But it almost seems as if you found one (or more), and are trying to justify buying it. Don't need to do that with us, we're just here to help you make an informed decision.

Even though you don't have a welder now, how much experience do you really have? If I invited you over, let you borrow my welder, hood, and all other PPE, would you be able to weld up a bumper kit? I ask because I'm trying to gather more information about your experience.

If you're a novice (not in a bad way) then I really think you're looking through a keyhole and stuck on this whole RED vs BLUE and need to realize, even a Chinese machine will exceed your current capabilities.

Me, I'd rather own a 3 phase old transformer based welder like this that I used to use -



But, I have a small garage and I don't have 3 phase at home. I don't need fancy buttons and dials and shit and I was welding aluminum and steel with that setup (our other Miller power supply had a Cobramatic feeder with a push-pull setup for aluminum) shown here in the background -



Even after having run lots of hours on high dollar machines, both new and old, I didn't let the whole 'nicer machine' bug catch up to me because it really comes down to you as the welder to perform the right technique in order to lay down nice welds.

When we bought our second house here I finally had a garage, so I got myself a MIG180 and ran the hell out of it for tons of projects -



Never let me down, always reliable, super affordable, and came with a spoolgun.

Yeah that's a dedicated TIG welder there on the cart, and I got rid of it as I wanted to go multiprocessor to take up less room so that's when I moved up to the MIG285 -





Does MIG, SMAW, and TIG, and I'll run it against any of the larger machines I've used before (with the exception of the transformer based, cause those are 100% duty cycle).

The welder (behind the hood) is far more important than the welder he or she is using.

Just like people that wheel; some of us run our IFS rig in places even the solid axle Jeeps won't run.

 

Was able to copy a wheel mounted hammock base and save a chunk of change. Didn’t really get to set it up before the rain started today.

 

$200 for what amounts to a ratchet strap, 2" receiver tube, and a little angle iron?!?

honestly, that surprises me. most of the time, small projects like that, they sell for cheaper than most people can get the raw steel for.

 

Cut a smaller version, glad that it still retains all the detail



I'll fix the anchor portion on the top left. Just need to massage it a little to even the gap like I did on the bigger one.

 

That’s like innovation 4x slider kits. I think I’d spend more on raw materials then all the prebent and cut tubes

 

Well, Finally did it. first "part" cut on the homemade CNC plasma table.

I tried a test square from fireshare and ended up with a very unexpected result



it should have looked like this..



I figured it was a mistake on my part when generating the g code in sheetcam. So I decided to write some manual code to cut a 2"x2" square right inside mach4.



ok, the machine can cut a square, even though this was a bit rough, I played around some more trying to get a better result. with out much luck.

I then broke down and installed Fusion 360, I am not a fan of Fusion and much prefer Inventor, But Fusion has the CAM side I needed. I wanted to try something other Sheetcam an see if perhaps that was causing issues.

I drew up a simple 3"x3" square with a small circle and a rectangle on it. run the simulation and it appears to be working. I even ran a couple dry tests on the machine an again it all seems to be fine.

Run the actual part, and again not what I expected, this time the inner portions did not cut, for some reasons the torch did not fire, even though it traced the path for both of the inner portions. It did however cut a pretty clean square.





Considering I am still getting the motors tune, it came out nearly spot on dimension. So maybe Kerf width is the issue here.

 

Exactly. I thought the price was a bit steep for what it was and it was easy enough to make. Paint, strap and everything, I'm only $70 down, plus I had fun doing it. Now only if the weather would let up so I could play with it!