General Fabrication

Nice!!

 

I just got a new welder. Have been holding out myself for a mor expensive model, however I have quite a few projects waiting on welds.. so for the next few years I will be rocking this one.

Got a owner bottle 150 cf argon/co2 from airgas $308 full.

Hobart Handler 210 mvp, .23-25 rollers, spool of .23 wire, gauges etc for $900 and change from cyberweld.

It comes with .30-35 smooth and .45 knurled rollers but my first project is body work :/ so I picked up the smaller wire.

I chose the hobart because the price is right. I have spent a lot of time on small migs, mainly Lincolns, but others as well. And time on large migs as well. After a project I did last year with a hobart 230 ironman, I was amazed how smooth the newer hobart was.

Time will tell if the 210 is going to be as smooth, but comparing it to other small migs the only competition in my mind is the miller 211.

Both are owned by the same company, and both have parts and service local to me. The big deal for me was the hobart has a better price.

That and I don't give a shit about the auto set. Continuous vs tapped was my second concern but after running the ironman 230 I don't expect a problem this go around.

 

I love Hobart stuff, I think they are perfect for the at home guy that doesn't want to weld everyday. For the professional there are some very small things you can get out of the Miller machines that make it worth the higher price tag. I welded with a Hobart at home for 5 years and never had a problem and made great welds!

 

I agree. Blue makes some nice stuff, but its not necessary.

Its amazing there is hardly any middle ground between junk, and high end. Hobart these days is a pretty nice option. For the money, and within a few hundred bucks I don't think the hobarts can be beat.

I considered a multi process machine, however I like simplicity.

 

Racetruck I'm building

 

Makes me want to cut the shit out of my truck and start over.

 

I own both the 210 MVP and Ironman 230.. The 210 won't be as smooth as the ironman but it's still a really nice machine for the price. Do your best to keep the dust away from the machine and turn it off when you're grinding or plasma cutting. I had a couple minor problems with mine, but I'm 99.9% sure it's from metal particulate getting sucked in with the fan always running.

 

I installed. . If you can call it that, the .23 rollers threw some wire in and started welding some today.

I have to say, this 210 mvp is the best small mig I have used so far. At least as far as I can tell. I did weld with a HH187 and it was buttery smooth too but its a 190 amp machine.

I haven't used a miller 211, but I am sure its nice.

I believe you are correct, its not as smooth as the Ironman. But the ironman to me was absolutely impressive, not just from the price but having a tapped power supply I never believed the kind of perfect smoothness it had until I spent a few hours burning welds on one.

So far I could not be happier with my purchase!

The ground clamp is pretty cheesy, and the mig gun itself is equally disappointing for a long session as the ironman but overall its going to work great!.

The drive roller for .23 wire is stamped hobart, but it came in a miller bag. Also the plugs for the MVP both say miller. Apparently these machines share more than I thought! I know ITW owns miller and hobart, but tthere is a definite level of similarity.

I made a 25 foot drop cord for it and set it up on a cart. All is well in my garage for the moment I can get back to work!

 

Also at one point I had an lincoln idealarc sp100 and it died, or rather broke down from the dust etc.. it cost more to fix than to replace so it got scrapped. That was when I learned not to leave it running!

 

Needed a cooling "shroud" for some equipment at work so I whipped this up in the garage this evening.

Need to cut out the other side for a small fan once that gets delivered.

 

Welding on an axle, '04 4R, which I would think would be the same tube as a 2nd gen: what is the tube thickness? Adding new shock mounts and control arm brackets. Leave diff oil in, remove, or leave in then replace? Is it cast, like the spindles, if so pre-heat?

 

The housing is stamped steel so you can go ahead and weld without any special treatment. Leave your housing complete and just slap those new tabs on there without thinking about it. No need to pull it all apart

 

Good to know, thanks. No worries about cooking the oil? What about the thickness?

 

I've heard others say to open diff, weld, drain and fill. I personally don't think it's needed but might as well change the fluid.

 

Should be around 3/16 or so thick. Reason you're worried about thickness ?

 

If your worried about cooking the fluid after your tabs are tacked in place jack up one side at a time weld and repeat That will keep the oil out of the way. But really it's not going to harm anything with just shock tabs.

 

Not really worried, but the tabs I will be using are the Ruffstuff 3/8", so they are considerably thicker than the axle if it is 3/16", just trying to figure out how much heat to throw at it.

Sounds like I am overthinking it, just wanted to get some others thoughts that have done this type of work before, thanks all.

 

Yeah you should be fine you will just need to stay on the 3/8th longer then the axle tubes so you don't over burn them.

 

Thickness is probably close to 3/16 inch. Don't qoute me for record its been awhile since I messed with one. They are all fairly thin, yes they are stamped. They just made the diameter bigger to make them stronger.

As for fluid its not a problem. Clean your tube on the outside and weld away. The gear lube drains out of the tube while its sitting and there shouldn't be enough air for a fire to worry.

I have welded a few without issues.

 

Weekend project, still need to do lower mount, skid plates and valance tabs. All dom