Piecing together a welder

[bsaint]

If I have a nice wire feeder from a 3 phase welding station, can I buy a cheap arc welder and use it as a power supply?

 

[welder4956]

You need a constant voltage power supply. A stick or tig welder is a constant current machine, meaning you can adjust current setting, but not voltage. The voltage will vary as arc length changes. Mig needs to maintain a constant arc voltage even though it can be adjusted to account for thickness of the metal being welded. The current changes as wire feed speed is increased or decreased.

 

[bsaint]

Ok thank you.

Its hard to find a C.V. power source that I can use my wire feeder with that will be worth the money. I can buy a all in one mig welder for the price of a c.v. single phase power supply.

 

[Josh_C]

Ok thank you.

Its hard to find a C.V. power source that I can use my wire feeder with that will be worth the money. I can buy a all in one mig welder for the price of a c.v. single phase power supply.

This is very true. We have several Lincoln Invertec V350 multi-process welders at the shop that I absolutely love. I am sure you don't want to spend ~$5,000 though. I have a Lincoln MIG welder at the house that I run fluxcore out of. I think it's a SP-140, but I'm not positive on that. Something like $700 new but I am sure you can pick one up WAY cheaper than that on CL if you really want to get a wire feeder setup. I bet you could sell your feeder to somebody that already has a power source and put that towards a dedicated machine. Good Luck!

 

[brownbagg]

not neccassy, the suitcase welder is a spool welder hook to a stick machine

 

[sberry]

It isn't worth the effort for (most of) this crowd. The designers have worked long and hard on these stand alone feeders for this market, so economical and practical its hard to beat a new one even if someone gives you most of the stuff.

 

[bsaint]

I found a couple good deals on Miller XMT 304 under a grand. Can't beat 7kw of power for less than a thousand bucks (including how much the used wire feeder cost me.)

 

[Flyna-58]

Google Miller Shopmaster! I have one, it works for me!

 

[Josh_C]

I realize that it doesn't really matter, but I wanted to correct my previous post. The little MIG machine I have at the house is a SP-125, not a SP-140. The XMT 304 is another good one, I like my Lincolns better, but I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed.

 

[bsaint]

While I wait for a good deal on an xmt, can I dismantle a cheap mig welder for the power supply end of it? Wire speed on my wire feeder doesn't need to be translated back to the power supply does it?

 

[welder4956]

You will need to run a 2-wire cord to the power source to operate the contactor, or jumper it so it is hot all the time. I'm not a fan of hot all the time, because you can burn up a lot of tips and cause arc marks on your work.

 

[bsaint]

But the mig welder itself doesn't need to know any "info" about the wire feed rate on my wire feeder right?

 

[2mJps]

I wish some one could answer this. I see the sell for scrap price all the time. I dont under stand why it cant be done. But like every thing what is your time worth.

 

[bsaint]

the 170 amp mig is on sale this month at HF. im gonna give it a try. I dont care if the wire is cold or hot start. Ill remove the lead from the wire feeder on that and attach it to my Gilliland feeder.

 

[bsaint]

So today I gave it a shot because I had 200 bucks to burn. Worked great. Look at the size difference between the stock wire feeder and my external wire feeder.

First I removed the wire feeder. Everything came off with a clip, nut, or connector except the trigger and I just severed them in a calculated spot.

After my first attempt I didnt get any spark so I had it apart checking with my meter and realized its a cold tip.

Stock drive motor

The one in my feeder

A sample bead. It'll take a bit to play with all the settings because my wire feeder feed rate doesnt translate perfectly with my power supply. Also I am pretty rusty as its been 10 years since I was a mig welder.

 

[1953mercury]

That's a nice feeder. Shouldn't take too long to get the hang of it. Mike

 

[theknurl]

Bryan;
find a machinery auction or used machinery dealer
and get a real welder that takes full size spools of wire

i traded 4 T size bottles for a still bolted to the pallet Lincoln SP-200, the #2 Tweco gun was still in the box
don't get an SP-200 without the 'Spot/Stitch' switch, its a tiny switch to the right of the wire feed control...open the door on the right to confirm the timer control box is there

http://yabe.chudov.com/VERY-NICE-LI...G-WELDER-SINGLE-PHASE-460v-1916/1916-0002.jpg

 

[bsaint]

I don't want a all in one unit.

 

[theknurl]

I don't want a all in one unit.

the full size feeder in a SP-200 lifts out.....you just need a longer power cable, gas line, 2 wire control cable and ground

we used a crane on mine once.....the whole damn thing