Cool Little Welding Rig Info/Advice
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finn
Well-known member
For a beginning welder, learning on their own, I would suggest a mig setup.
On the other hand, once you learn oxy acetylene, picking up mig and tig is trivial.
My first welder, nearly fifty years ago, was an oxy acetylene rig. I gave up trying to master it in short order and bought a mig setup.
I still have both, but mostly use the acetylene setup for heating stubborn fasteners.
On the other hand, once you learn oxy acetylene, picking up mig and tig is trivial.
My first welder, nearly fifty years ago, was an oxy acetylene rig. I gave up trying to master it in short order and bought a mig setup.
I still have both, but mostly use the acetylene setup for heating stubborn fasteners.
Learning to weld with a oxygen acetylene is a real good prerequisite for becoming a good welder.
Mig welding is like a glue gun. Being able to manipulate a puddle is the lesson to learn. Will make a difference with your welding.
Mig welding is like a glue gun. Being able to manipulate a puddle is the lesson to learn. Will make a difference with your welding.
Unless they go dirt-cheap (they won't), my advice is to pass and get a modern synergic/inverter welder to get good results quick.
Something like this or look for one that includes a MIG regulator.
Something like this or look for one that includes a MIG regulator.
I disagree, I believe stick would be a better process to start with. With GMAW (MIG) or FCAW (flux core) you can lay a bead on the steel with minimal penetration, or as I call it, the hot metal gun. With stick you will get penetration and need to manipulate the electrode to get a decent weld. Also, even a bad stick weld will hold, in my experience.
I absolutely agree with this. Unfortunately, I have never gas welded, or even seen any gas weld. Fortunately have worked with some very good welders that have given me tips and have critiqued my welds as well as my process. With that being said, I just stick metal together at home.
alwaysFlOoReD
Well-known member
I would agree that learning to manipulate the weld puddle with oxy-acetylene will be a great benefit in other welding processes.
I wouldn't pay too much for that set up without some one showing that it works.
I wouldn't pay too much for that set up without some one showing that it works.
oxy/fuel is always a good thing to have stashed in the corner of the shop.
You'll go through the small tanks quickly, but the right accessories will allow
you to weld (eventually!), cut, bend, heat, etc. If they rip you deal, go for it.
Just make sure to get some of the cool little round goggles
You'll go through the small tanks quickly, but the right accessories will allow
you to weld (eventually!), cut, bend, heat, etc. If they rip you deal, go for it.
Just make sure to get some of the cool little round goggles
That's a nice little oxy acetylene set, not a welder per sai . you can steel weld or braze with that but I suspect they have fallen out of fashion over the years . it would be good fro cutting but oxygen will get expensive in that small bottle. it would be good for heating & bending, but again , a pricey set up if you do any real larger projects
I have a very similar set up, it's handy to have but not cheap to run
I have a very similar set up, it's handy to have but not cheap to run
Chris_Hamilton
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Gas welding is still relevant in automotive restoration. Gas welding aluminum sheet is actually superior IMO than TIG welding Al sheet. If you are making an aluminum tank a properly welded gas weld will never leak. Learning to gas weld makes learning to TIG a breeze really as they are similar.
MIG is really a different animal than TIG, gas or stick. It is very useful, not too hard to get started but difficult to make aesthetically pleasing looking welds. Some of pulses MIG's are better at that but a quality pulse MIG is not cheap and really overkill for most tasks. Pulse MIG's are useful welding very thin (22 gauge) exotic (HSS, HSLA, etc) steels that are now found in modern automotive construction. A typical MIG is still a very useful machine and can weld as thin a material as most will encounter.
Whether the equipment pictured will work well is unknown. Not enough info. Ideally you want a 2 stage OXY and Acetylene regulator set, single stage will work but a 2 stage is nicer. No need to constantly adjust as the bottle empties. Smith and Meco both still make nice little torches. Obsolete but nice are the old Victor aircraft torches. You will want to have a selection of tips as well. One size does not fit all. Here is a handy tip chart for a bunch of the aircraft style torches.
Kent White of TM Technologies was a great source for tools, supplies and trainings for welding AL and steel. Unfortunately he passed last May (Godspeed Kent) and the Business went along with him. Whether it returns is unknown. Aircraft Spruce still has some of his training videos.
MIG is really a different animal than TIG, gas or stick. It is very useful, not too hard to get started but difficult to make aesthetically pleasing looking welds. Some of pulses MIG's are better at that but a quality pulse MIG is not cheap and really overkill for most tasks. Pulse MIG's are useful welding very thin (22 gauge) exotic (HSS, HSLA, etc) steels that are now found in modern automotive construction. A typical MIG is still a very useful machine and can weld as thin a material as most will encounter.
Whether the equipment pictured will work well is unknown. Not enough info. Ideally you want a 2 stage OXY and Acetylene regulator set, single stage will work but a 2 stage is nicer. No need to constantly adjust as the bottle empties. Smith and Meco both still make nice little torches. Obsolete but nice are the old Victor aircraft torches. You will want to have a selection of tips as well. One size does not fit all. Here is a handy tip chart for a bunch of the aircraft style torches.
Kent White of TM Technologies was a great source for tools, supplies and trainings for welding AL and steel. Unfortunately he passed last May (Godspeed Kent) and the Business went along with him. Whether it returns is unknown. Aircraft Spruce still has some of his training videos.
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Beerhippie
Well-known member
Finally, someone mentioned brazing!
That is a brazing torch, likely used by a refrigeration guy.
Most folks who weld, especially newbies want results, something not readily available with that setup.
It’s the 21st century - get a modern welder, literally for peanuts, Learn how to put down a good bead, then fool around with that junk later for fun
It’s the 21st century - get a modern welder, literally for peanuts, Learn how to put down a good bead, then fool around with that junk later for fun
seber
Well-known member
The gas setup will be handy for brazing and general heating but is almost completely obsolete for welding. It is used but only for very special applications. The Weldpak is only 135 amps. You would be hard pressed to do anything more than 1/8" with that. If you buy either one, know that you will soon be wanting something else.
RedneckWelder
Well-known member
You need a torch but unless you need the portability of burgler bottles I recommend larger bottles.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
My old Millermatic 120 MIG--120 Amps--gets full penetration on 1/4", and if I bevel, gap and make multiple passes, up to 1/2".
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I have that 3200 and I have done some plenty of 3/16 and a little 1/4. If you aren't doing big projects and aren't trying to run a foot of weld it works fine. A motorcycle rack I welded up has held for 4 years now of twice a week use.
finn
Well-known member
Those lower power welders are quite adequate for welding sheet metal and even frame repair on cars and trucks. Most of my welding is done with my old HTP 120 volt MiG setup. I have a larger 240v Miller, but prefer the HTP for sheet metal and unibody repairs and restorations.
That little acetylene outfit would work for heating and bending, and doesn Take a lot of space.
That little acetylene outfit would work for heating and bending, and doesn Take a lot of space.
ez-duzit
Well-known member
Learn a bit about welding before just buying a pig in a poke.
cvairwerks
Well-known member
There's actually two torch bodies on that pile. One looks to be a Smith AW1, which is a great body to start with. New price on one is over 175$.
That O-A set is OK for a starter, but I wouldn't pay over $200-250 for those. Check with a supplier to see if you can get the tanks filled. For general welding you want the Ox. tank about twice the size of the acetylene, which those are not. My O-A setup of 45 years, shown ("B" Act and 80 Ox).
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mattthemuppet
Well-known member
Those smaller mig welders are really forgiving to learn on and they're great for thin metal. If I had the space, I'd have something like that Lincoln (or a Hobart) with 0.024 wire in it to go with my millermatic 211. Still, I've gotten a lot better at fixing blow through on thin tubing
speed bump
Well-known member
I'm going to disagree. I started on oxy-fuel and it's easy because you can on the fly manipulate the heat or the feed rate. Also welding with #4 shade is way easier than a 10 shade.
Despite the popular opinion of mig welding being a glue gun making good short circuit mig welds is actually fairly difficult because you don't get the heat you do with other processes. For a while I was cutting a lot of T-joint test coupons and it was surprisingly rare someone could get penetration into the root with short circuit mig. For that reason I prefer to start people on stick because you can see the puddle, get some movement (but without needing both hands), and it's not as picky when it comes to a making a decent weld.
KwikFab
Well-known member
Using oxyfuel for welding/brazing is a great way to get into TIG welding.
Once you learn heat and puddle control, you'll pick up TIG that much easier.
Once you learn heat and puddle control, you'll pick up TIG that much easier.
Chris_Hamilton
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Only folks who think gas is obsolete or not useful for someone learning are the ones who've never done it. I learned to gas weld first, it made learning to stick weld and TIG really easy. MIG has it's place, and is a process that is relatively easy to pick up on but like others have alluded to, it's easy to run cold beads as a novice and in situations where you want a nice looking bead it's not really a good choice.
In the work I do I use MIG for plug welds in sheet. I try to not use it for **** welds or exterior panels as it is extremely hard to planish out due to the hardness of the weld. Honestly when I can finally afford a proper resistance spot welder that makes OEM style spot welds ($25K+) my MIG won't see much use at all.
In the work I do I use MIG for plug welds in sheet. I try to not use it for **** welds or exterior panels as it is extremely hard to planish out due to the hardness of the weld. Honestly when I can finally afford a proper resistance spot welder that makes OEM style spot welds ($25K+) my MIG won't see much use at all.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
I use sub-arc for all my bodywork.
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Firebrick43
Well-known member
It’s a welding torch. Appears to be a Smith MW but hard to tell for sure with the pictures
All welding torches can be turned down to braze with if need be.
There are brazing torches (such as the turbo torch popular withh hvac guys) that can braze fine but cannot be turned up to weld with if needed.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
With those little bitty tanks, how far are you gonna weld? A foot of sheet metal?
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Running out of edits for today.
I should have said it's a brazing rig. Torches are torches.
Firebrick43
Well-known member
If it’s thin, quite a bit. A lot of A&P guys in the tube and fabric days had a set like this to repair a joint or two out on the flight line.
In all the factories we had a set up like that (with a cutting head) to do repairs high up. Had a large set of tanks as well in the shop but handy and portable win most of the time