Anything welding

You answered the question yourself in your first sentence. Time.

I don't have time to set up a TIG weld. I've made 2 cases of beer in the time it took you to make one.

Yes, you are semipro.

 

Cheers! Here's to burning metal!

 

Funny how any of us in this little debate about Tig welding comes any where close to being A hobby type welder !!

To me A Hobby type welder has a If they were smart a small Hobart threw away the 2 pound spool bought a 10 pound spool a cylinder 5 years ago and is still going strong on the same cylinder and spool of wire

I most often pay to weld other peoples projects when it is said and done

I have the set up to do DC Tig I keep saying I am going to Practice but never remember

It comes down to the prep time 15 to 30 year old trucks not going to happen

It comes down to everyone is correct

 

question. What's everyone prepping their metal with before tig welding. I brush and acetone. just wondering if there is another method I may be missing

 

I have a 2 car residential garage. I call it a shop because cars belong in a driveway unless they are collectibles. I am lucky to fit one of my motorcycles in there in winter.

When you look at hobbyists there are many types. The hacks who think they can do it and when they are done it may work. Then there are the tinkerers. They have some skills and generally fix whatever they need to with limited tools. The skill level increases until you have guys who produce professional quality or better work and have purchased the required tooling to work at this level.

I purchased my first tig because the only way I was going to learn was practice. Pretty hard to learn something without the tools to do so. If we had tig jobs at work there was no time to practice so they experienced guy did it. I bought mine and did one job followed by another and so on. Same once I got my AC tig. I would practice and practice and sit down with a guy who did very high end tig work and discuss issues I was having, pick up some advice / sort out my mistakes and continue on. So at what point do you tinker, become a hobbyist and then a professional? The hobbyist will aspire to become better and expand his capabilities by becoming more skilled and buying equipment to further those skills. I have a shit ton of equipment because of what I want to produce and what I want to learn. I spend money on my hobby.

 

Funny I must be doing things wrong my vehicles live in the garage

I must also fall into the hack group because things might work when I get finished or just blow up again.

 

I buy tools so my wife can't spend the $$.

 

what y'all think of this rig?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Weld-Pak-140-HD-Wire-Feed-Welder-K2514-1/100670934

Any comments on Campell Hausfeld stuff?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Campbell...-Flux-WG216001AV/202754695?keyword=WG216001AV

Also, what's the different between flux core and gas welding?

 

I'd like to answer, but am on my phone. Ill be on a computer later tonight.

 

thank ya!

 

You can help us help you better by telling us what you need/ expect from a welding set up. Then we(or those with more expertise than me) can point you in the right direction.

 

I want to weld some square tube to build coffee tables and then practice enough to eventually start on a SAS swap, likely leaf sprung. I will be working out of a 2-car garage.

I'm a total n00b so you'll have to forgive any ignorance about this topic lol

 

This helps. I'm up all night in front of a computer. Will update a bit later.

 

@thunderone I'm a newbie too, so listen to all the other advice you get, and take mine with a grain of salt.

Most of the suggestions and opinions I saw while I was researching welders were:

- Buy the biggest machine you can buy
- Take a class, then just practice, practice, practice
- Take pictures and post them up here or welding web and get feedback
- Have a friend that welds come hang w you and check out your welds

I bought a used Lincoln 180 for $250 bucks, but even with that deal I spent just over $800 putting my setup together. Shit is pricey! I'm cheap and like buying used gear, but to each their own.

There are differences between all the name brands, but mostly they all have a machine in 140v, 180v, 200v... Lincoln 180pro/weld pak, Hobart Handler 180, Miller 180, etc. There are even different versions of the same machines, like the Lincoln 180 pro / weld pac / 180C.

With all that said, I'd just figure out your budget, what projects you want to do, and buy a machine thats capable of doing that. The 140v machines will build coffee tables, but will probably be small for a SAS project.

 

My advice. Go MIG, forget flux core. Go with a bigger 120 volt machine, no need for you to buy a big 220v outfit. Any of the big three will serve you well, but I am partial to Lincoln.

 

I got the 140, works for what I need. Not real clean welds on the flux core but if you arent looking for pretty it does its job.

 

This is where everyone seems to get confused

First Self Shielded wire has flux rolled into the wire making the wire quite brittle

If the wire drive is not set or you need a liner the wire tends to break at the rear guide tube

Because of the Flux the smallest diameter is .030 wire which can be a pain on thin material and out of position welds

The heat of the arc turns the flux into gas which shields the puddle as it cools similar to Smaw electrodes most often run on straight polarity

Does not need a gas solenoid in the power source if your only going to use self shielded wire quite a few customers also don`t use nozzles

I tried this when it first came out back in the late seventies it sucked then for what I was doing at the time I have not used it since

People say it is much better

Not to be confused with Gas Shielded Flux Core wire that was sometimes called Dual Shield by different manufactures

Non welding counter people seem to get confused quite often.

Hard wire is just that solid wire that is gas shielded either a Argon /Co2 this blend came about to reduce splatter in production welding hence clean up time.

When using these 120VAC welders I would run straight CO2 it burns hotter and would only ever use .023 wire.(Here again most counter people will say to use .030 because it is in the middle between 023 and .035)

I don`t think your ready to get into custom gas blends and spray transfer quite yet

 

thanks, so do you think the Lincoln Weld Pak 140 HD Wire-Feed Welder I linked a few posts ago would work? It says it can be outfitted to work with MIG.

 

Lots of vocabulary I'm not familar with yet lol.. so does that mean when people say "flux" (which doesn't require gas) that is it is the brittle wire you speak of? I am guessing MIG would be gas sheilded flux? Or am I way off base? Would the 140 I am looking at need a blended gas or straight CO2?

 

What gas you use is up to you but if the welded joints on your coffee tables can be seen unless you don`t care about the splatter go with the Common 75 %Argon/25 %CO2

Then your local supplier may very well market the same blend with there brand name

Splatter is all the little wire pieces that bounce out of the puddle and land along the weld joint

They also stick to the inside of the nozzle

Most times with the 120 VAC Mig your using hard wire (solid wire) and the Argon / CO2 Mix Lacking in output to get into spray transfer