First Welder

[ford33]

i agree with the others here that 230v is better for welding but as you said you don't have that available.

I recommend taking a basic welding class at a local community college. I learned how to safely setup and a use a welder by taking a course. Having the instructor rate my welding efforts taught me what I was doing wrong and how to correct my technique. Information like that is valuable and may allow you to correct or at least compensate for the HF welder you currently own.

Too bad you don't live near an Eastwood auto body store. I received my Eastwood flyer in the mail on Friday and they are offering a MIG 135 at 120 volt welder for $199 which is a discount of $150. Flyer states "in-store coupon only".

 

[Todd1803]

All these suggestions are fine, but he has said repeatedly that he does not have 220 available.

My message would be the same for a 110v machine. Comb CL for a while, and you can likely find an older machine with a bottle and regulator for the price of a new flux welder from the big box stores. And the older machine will likely be better built and outlast the new versions.

 

[Kaizen]

adam couple of thoughts. I'm doing an auto restoration and have put on every body panel and made frame mods with my Eastwood 135. Its in the range of the Hobart and others at 300 on sale. Defintily get a tank and use straight wire. Only use flux core on a 110v machine when doing upper limits of its ability like 1/8th plate. Flux ***** but has its place when you need to do the heavy stuff with a small machine. If you want to to roll cages etc then I agree with the 220v guys. But not if you are just doing body work or small stuff. Yeah I want a miller.....who doesn't...but I'm not going to spend that kind of dough when my little one does what I need.

regarding yours. Sounds like the drive wheel is either worn or not on right. open it up when pulling the trigger and you will see where the wire goes over a wheel and is tensioned down. there is sometimes 2 grooves. one for thin wire like .025-.030 and another for .035 and up. that is a wear item. if that wheel is slipping its worn and should be replaced. also make sure you didn't tighten the spool too much. it should spin easily.
You can get a normal wire for testing without the tank. won't be good welds but might allow you to see if its more of an issue on the machine.

 

[brycez28]

I weld with flux core, yes messy but after practice you can get solid welds. Do you know what wire is in the welder? I have a Campbell Hausfeld from Menards. I've tried wire from Menards, Fleet Farm, Oreilly, Home Depot and Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight wire is absolute ****! I tossed out two full spools of the Harbor Freight wire in the garbage! I found the Lincoln wire from Fleet Farm worked the best, then Home Depot, then Menards.

 

[Adamski]

I replaced the wire with Lincoln .030

Last I read, replacement parts for the HF units just don't exist. That's why I've given up on looking in to fixing it.

 

[Bondo]

I replaced the wire with Lincoln .030

Last I read, replacement parts for the HF units just don't exist. That's why I've given up on looking in to fixing it.

Ayuh,.... No disrespect intended, but in yer earlier comments, 'n the fact yer a beginner welder, it sounds to my like ya just need more practice, 'n possibly different settin's,....

I weld with flux-core wire all the time, due to weldin' outdoors, 'n on jobsites,...
I've welded a few thousand miles of flux-core, in many different welders, from cheap junk welders, to name brand welders,....

Even with the tinist cheapest junk welders will lay a bead, once ya get the settin's right,....

Yer comment 'bout yer welder shootin' out little chunks of red hot wire, leads me to believe yer settin's are off by a mile or more,....

What, exactly are ya practicin' on for steel that yer weldin' on,..??

 

[Adamski]

just came across a Lincoln mig on craigslist for $300. I'm just going to pick that up and unload the HF unit.

I'm sure some of it is me, but I have welded before and was able to get a decent bead. I don't know much about these welders, but I know this one isn't working right at all.

Bondo,

I see you're from Chamount Bay. Good friend of mine used to have a camp up there and I spent a ton of time there. Actually took the kids up there last summer and spent a week in a rental. One of my favorite places for sure.

 

[Bondo]

just came across a Lincoln mig on craigslist for $300. I'm just going to pick that up and unload the HF unit.

I'm sure some of it is me, but I have welded before and was able to get a decent bead. I don't know much about these welders, but I know this one isn't working right at all.

Bondo,

I see you're from Chaumont Bay. Good friend of mine used to have a camp up there and I spent a ton of time there. Actually took the kids up there last summer and spent a week in a rental. One of my favorite places for sure.

Ayuh,.... I bought a couple of houses right in the river mouth, just inside the rte 12e bridge,....

Stop on by anytime,....
I'm the guy with the houseboat in front of the house,...

 

[Makoto]

I'm seriously about to pull the trigger on this mig:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200631880_200631880

my current northern tool wire feed welder cost 150 bucks 7 years ago and its still going strong. Its done just fine once i got some good wire in it. I don't need to do any thick stuff since all my fab is just car stuff (and I like the flexibility of the 115V).

 

[doojus]

What didn't you like about the HF welder, OP?

A word of warning on those 110v units, they're great for starting out and offer a low cost of entry, but once you start getting better and wanting to do bigger and better projects(and you will, trust me), you're going to need a bigger unit. Better to get one you can see yourself happy with 4 years down the line than get a small one and outgrow it in 2 weeks.

 

[Makoto]

What didn't you like about the HF welder, OP?

A word of warning on those 110v units, they're great for starting out and offer a low cost of entry, but once you start getting better and wanting to do bigger and better projects(and you will, trust me), you're going to need a bigger unit. Better to get one you can see yourself happy with 4 years down the line than get a small one and outgrow it in 2 weeks.

I keep hearing this "get bigger because you 'll outgrow it" but i've been using the same 115v welder since like 2008 for various things and its been more than sufficient. I'm only getting a new one because I want gas, more flexibility, and the ability to tig and do aluminum (for header and intercooler work).

I've never needed to work with anything thicker than 1/4".

http://www.northerntool.com/images/downloads/manuals/628575.pdf

If you're like me doing pretty much only car stuff you'll be fine with the small unit but like others have said if you're into bigger stuff and see yourself doing some fab for the offroading community the 230V might be the way to go since that'll tackle thicker stuff.

On the other hand, if you do go bigger you can always keep this one since its pretty inexpensive in the corner as a backup capable of goin just about anywhere.

 

[doojus]

I've never needed to work with anything thicker than 1/4".



If you're like me doing pretty much only car stuff you'll be fine with the small

You can do 20 gauge up to 1/4 with a small mig
You can do 20 gauge up to 1/2 with a bigger mig

That's the point. Whatever your small one does, the big one can do, but it can do 1/2 too if you ever need to. There is literally no downside to getting the bigger machine.

 

[Makoto]

You can do 20 gauge up to 1/4 with a small mig
You can do 20 gauge up to 1/2 with a bigger mig

That's the point. Whatever your small one does, the big one can do, but it can do 1/2 too if you ever need to. There is literally no downside to getting the bigger machine.

sure there are or else everyone would have one. they aren't big ones but in my case they are deciding factors.

1. cost
2. availability of a 230V outlet

I know what I need, want to be able to use the welder elsewhere, and the 230 version of the machine i want only comes with the spool gun which drives the cost up.

Note: opinion is subject to change according to Texas weather

 

[doojus]

sure there are or else everyone would have one. they aren't big ones but in my case they are deciding factors.

1. cost
2. availability of a 230V outlet

I know what I need, want to be able to use the welder elsewhere, and the 230 version of the machine i want only comes with the spool gun which drives the cost up.

Stick with what you got then, that won't stop me from recommending OP go with something larger.

 

[Adamski]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to grab that Lincoln 110v for now and then add gas down the road. We're in the process of looking for a new house and having a 220 line is definitely on the list if "wants" for the new place.

 

[Heavymetalmechanic]

Glad to hear you found a good unit at a fair price. Best of luck and have fun making sparks!

 

[Adamski]

Thanks. I'm pretty excited about getting started. I looked into some welding classes and the only one available is 32hrs and $550. I think I'll try and hit up a couple of buddies and see if they be willing to show me the ropes.

 

[Heavymetalmechanic]

If you can get your hands on a bunch of scrap cut it into square "coupons" to weld up. Try all the major types and positions, and write a note on each with your position and settings. If you have a buddy with a hydraulic press have them press them until they fail, it will help give you a visual idea of the quality of the weld. If no press you can still get a good idea of quality by cutting it perpindicular to the weld with a fine tooth blade.

Practice practice practice, and don't cheap out on an auto darkening helmet, your eyes are worth it. Anyone who has had flash damage can attest to the hours of agony. Plus seeing the weld puddle makes a huge differance.

 

[Adamski]

The auto-darkening helmet I have now came with the HF welder and is also a HF brand. Considering, I don't have any experience, it seems to work as intended. The Lincoln I'm picking up comes with a $100 helmet (didn't get details) which I'm sure is better than the one I have.

 

[mburrus]

sorry, no pictures but...

i started with a century 125GL from northern and it served me well for a while... paid $350 new. bought an airco dip stick 160 on craigslist for 300 with 2 bottles... what a difference... the airco is a great machine with plenty of power. keep looking around, if you look long enough you will find a good deal on a decent used machine.

 

[Zeke]

There are quite a few tricks to tuning up a welder, cheap or not so cheap. I was using a Miller 210 with .023 wire with gas and having a lot of trouble with the auto settings and manual settings. I investigated and found that it had an .035 liner in the hose. I don't think the tip was small enough either. I had the owner order a liner and a couple new tips sized for the .023 wire. Fixed things right up.

So... you can't weld well with a dirty liner and having it coiled around the work etc. makes things worse. It will not feed smoothly and therefore not weld well at all. The wire feed has to be silky smooth, the right speed (and the speed adjustments on the HF welder are not adequate) and the stick out and voltage need to be correct.

From ESAB's tutorial site:

.... the voltage is set at the machine and amperage is determined by the speed that the wire is fed to the welding gun. Increasing the wire feed speed increases the amperage. Decreasing the wire feed speed decreases the amperage. Arc length plays an important part in welding with solid and flux cored electrodes......

To understand this, keep in mind that with the proper voltage setting, amperage setting, and arc length, the rate that the wire melts is dependent upon the amperage. If the amperage decreases, this melt-off rate decreases and if the amperage increases, so does the melt-off rate.

Source: http://www.esabna.com/euweb/awtc/lesson1_31.htm

Somewhere in that passage it's telling you to get a nice sizzling sound and keep the end of the wire in the puddle as you push the puddle forward. Splatter will be drastically reduced.

 

[Adamski]

Finally got to put in a few minutes with the Lincoln and it is great. The HF unit wasn't 1/10th of what this thing is. Awesome machine.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Congrats on the new (to you) Lincoln, how about a pic of it ?

 

[600SL]

If I was to buy a new welder for my garage I would buy a Lincoln POWER MIG® 210 MP Multi-Process Welder - K3963-1
does stick mig tig including aluminum with the spool gun for just over a grand.
Always wanted an inexpensive mig/tig welder.

This seams to be a great machine for the price but it will not do Aluminum. This is a DC only TIG.

 

[David Paul]

Somewhere in that passage it's telling you to get a nice sizzling sound and keep the end of the wire in the puddle as you push the puddle forward. Splatter will be drastically reduced.

Nice, I found more practical information reading those two sentences then reading paragraph after paragraph of theory.