Supply Advice for First Welder

[ToolCrazyDude]

Hi Everyone,

I just bought my first welder, a used miller 211 transformer type. I have quite a few projects lined up for this welder once i wire up 220v in my garage (mostly 1/8th - 1/4 inch projects). My question is, what welding type supplies should I load up on for regular use? Any suggestions on tips (and/or kits), wire, brushes, chipping hammer, magnets, etc. I'd appreciate links and/or brand types so I can find what you're suggesting. Thanks for the help!

Any other advice for a beginning welder is appreciated too!

 

[isb cornbinder]

You did the first thing 100% right. Miller Blue will make you look like a professional.
Here is a good place to go for advice and stuff. https://weldmongerstore.com/
I have had only Miller Blue for 40 years. No problem.

 

[matt_i]

You probably need some coupons to practice on, 1/8" thick is decent stuff, whatever shape you can find it in. Unless you already weld somewhere else and this is just a machine for home. I'm guessing you have a line on a helmet and some gloves.

Other than some contact tips, you probably need an angle grinder with a flap wheel, thin cutoff disk, and a bunch of c-clamps. Don't need a chipping hammer for mig, only stick welding. A vise has some utility and a table has some more. It takes awhile to burn thru a roll of wire.

 

[tarmy]

Find a good metal seller...make friends...beer at Christmas.

Most yards have scrap they sell by the pound...buy some to practice on.

Get lots of tips, welder plyers, lots of flap wheels, couple of grinders...

Good helmet and a FIRE EXTINGUISHER...keep it handy and hang out after you are done welding for a while to check for fire.

Check out Cyberweld for stuff...

Join WeldingWeb forum...

Great first machine too

 

[joe49]

Welding tips and tricks, Miller, videos and forums.
Avoid chucke2009, and many forums until you have enough experience to weed out the bull shitters.

 

[1953mercury]

Something I've found useful over the years, are reduced diameter nozzles for getting into tight areas and inside corners. Also makes it easier to see what you are welding.They make nozzles specifically for inside corners, but I've found the smaller diameters work just fine. Mike

 

[Kaizen]

Get big spools of wire. If you don’t have a good table get a few fireball squares if you can affford it.
Do not go get gimmick stuff. Hd and Lowes has stuff on the shelf that usually satisfies any need. Amazon is cheaper for stuff of course. Grinders and much grinding discs.

I have my autobody set up and my heavy metal setup. Both have their own needs. Any idea what thickness you will be playing with first?


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[ToolCrazyDude]

Thanks for all of the responses! I have the red harbor freight welding helmet (probably not the greatest) and a dewalt 11amp angle grinder with a few wire brush attachments and grinding discs. I don't have much else because I'm just getting into welding.

I'll be playing around with 1/8th inch - 1/4 inch metal for the most part. A lot of square tubing and plate steel in my future. Looks like I probably need a handful of tips and nozzles from somewhere based on how the mig gun looks.

I'm also curious where you spray the "no splatter spray" that came with the welder (mig tip or project?). For some reason the guy had two 10lb spools of flux core wire and only one 10lb spool of solid wire. I'm curious why you would flux core weld more if you had a gas tank available?

 

[2002maniac]

I'm curious why you would flux core weld more if you had a gas tank available?

It's nice to have some around for when you run out of gas. Also, Flux core may be preferred for welding outdoors if wind is blowing away your shielding gas.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Flux core can be used outside in the wind. It takes different drive wheels and maybe a different diameter liner.

I mostly use .035 solid wire . The drive wheels, the liner and the tips are sized to it. I buy Miller tips in packages, as Ol' Shakey here gets the odd burn back, melting the wire in the tip. Tips are consumables. After using an edge of a screwdriver years to clean the inside of the nozzle of splatter, I bought a nozzle cleaner, it has spring blades. Wish I had done that earlier. I'm only on my second nozzle, and even then it was optional.

The odd time I've done sheet metal, I've used .023 solid wire, changing the drive wheels , liner and the tip. Since my Miller 250x is the second worst welder Miller ever made, the 250 was even worse. Their start up is rough, blowing holes in sheet metal. By the 252, Miller got it sorted out. There is mod that will smooth it out, but I shy away from electronics.

Since I mostly use .035 , I buy the big reels of the expensive wire. Cheap wire can be dirty making a mess of your liner, causing struttering when you are trying to weld. Keep the reel clean of dust.

 

[Bopbop]

Lots of good info above. I second The videos at Welding Tips and Tricks.
I would add getting a pair of MIG pliers and a jar of nozzle jelly. Makes cleaning the nozzle and tips easy.

 

[isb cornbinder]

My shop can ba dusty. I bought some lubricated clip-on pads for the sire. The lube-pad mounts just before the drive. These pads pick the dust off the wire. The manufacturer suggests the lube make the wire move easier.
You might like to try the clear Pyrex nozzles. The Welder you picture is one of the best. I bought a Miller-Matic over 40 years ago. It is still in service and never gives a problem.
Having the ability to weld will open up your world.

 

[Kaizen]

It's nice to have some around for when you run out of gas. Also, Flux core may be preferred for welding outdoors if wind is blowing away your shielding gas.

Also flux core on reverse polarity will usually weld thicker metal then gas. Look at the chart on it


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[ToolCrazyDude]

Thanks everyone! Ive been practicing welding on my miller 211. I like the suggested settings but i wasnt aware that most welders have charts inside the door. Ive found that i like to run a little hotter and lower wire speed than suggested.

I guess it's normal when welding cut pieces that the weld not penetrate all the way to the opposite side and close the seam off?

 

[sberry]

On thin it might penetrate with no gap, Gaps let the fill have a place to go and the edges melt to insure fusion. The wire speed is the heat, the voltage is intensity or arc length. Only got to increase it a little to burn off more wire.
This machine will run several things but Ideally has a 240v circuit, has 030 solid wire in it with C25 gas.

 

[ToolCrazyDude]

On thin it might penetrate with no gap, Gaps let the fill have a place to go and the edges melt to insure fusion. The wire speed is the heat, the voltage is intensity or arc length. Only got to increase it a little to burn off more wire.
This machine will run several things but Ideally has a 240v circuit, has 030 solid wire in it with C25 gas.

So if I understand correctly, I shouldn't place both pieces of metal I'm welding flush together, I should leave a gap to ensure wire penetration and fusion throughout. If so, what size gap is appropriate and how do you avoid welding to what your material is resting on?

 

[sberry]

Btw, Flux core runs straight. But,, the gap varies and can be set from experience. It doesn't have to lay flat on a bench. Here is a minor plate and I try to stop to leave it visable. This is welded from one side and can see a little hick I left on the back so one could see the fit.

 

[sberry]

These are meant to be descriptive and not perfect, so used to doing it one way, sometimes hard to show a specific defect. Another plate. Pic 3 is the back coming thru slightly. If I do this regularly I can really dial it in and control burn thru. It's so intermittent that don't get the practice.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Flux-core wire can be run with a shielding gas. This is called dual shield.
Jamie mentions this on his You tube channel, weldingtipsandtricks.com

 

[sberry]

This is a 210, similar power as the 211, note that it would help a bit to clean the plate but it can be turned up far enough, 030 on 1/4 to take the ripples right out of the puddle.
Somewhere I have the first bead I ran with the machine with the door chart, this is the second and third beads I do with it setting it myself and turning it up to see what it would do. No break in. Wide open right out of the box.

 

[sberry]

10 or 11 gage Web in this little beam. Cleaned up an existing cut, wanted to keep the dimension, so easy to fill a gap nearly as wide as a pencil in one pass with a couple stops.

 

[sberry]

Turn it up hot to build this sand separater. Copied from a picture, seems they want about 1200$ for it, it's been a while, took half a day while drinking coffee to design and build. Turn it up hot and melt.

 

[Kaizen]

So if I understand correctly, I shouldn't place both pieces of metal I'm welding flush together, I should leave a gap to ensure wire penetration and fusion throughout. If so, what size gap is appropriate and how do you avoid welding to what your material is resting on?

In sheet metal it’s the gap of the wire or a micron less.
For say 1/4 inch you should bevel both weld edges about thirty degrees. You often have to make several passes. First tack together. Second down the gap. Then build up next to those till you run a cap.
You can use a copper backer but I’d recommend a third piece of steel to practice. I only use copper in sheet metal.



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[sberry]

Yes, you can bevel, the pic above a couple posts was not. A little depends on how good it's got to be. This one is stick but the principle is the same, 1/4 without prep, gap only. Lots of steel water well casing welded this way, gap and run 5/32 6010.
Pic 2 is overhead, simply burning a hey hole in square **** plates. It can be done with any of the processes.

 

[sberry]

I will be glad to see how it's done and I don't always do it right but I can't even remember the last time I bevel or run a second pass on 1/4. I wouldn't mind seeing several passes and a cap in this joint.

 

[sberry]

This is the backside where it was simply stitch welded to improve it a little during a design change, no prep, just some weld till it melted thru. It's got a little more sticking thru than it needs but didn't matter

 

[Kaizen]

I will be glad to see how it's done and I don't always do it right but I can't even remember the last time I bevel or run a second pass on 1/4. I wouldn't mind seeing several passes and a cap in this joint.

All depends on required strength. Building a basic workbench and a square **** weld will work. Building a fence post for a swing gate or car rotisserie I like to do multiple passes to make sure it’s as strong as possible. Here is a vid for a larger thickness that shows to process.

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[cnc-me]

Good light over your welding area, you will be surprised on how much of a difference it makes.

 

[70staged]

Nozzle dip and a light. I’ve got a light that attaches to my welder tip. A good helmet, not the cheaper, remember it’s protecting your eyes.

 

[On-Wheel]

I think that 211 will accept a cheap spool gun from eBay for aluminum and maybe ss .
No such thing for a 212 Its Miller spoolmatic only.
Cheapest aluminum wire I could find was from welding direct.
If you order from a place and get a 6-8 week shipping email ,call them to see what they don’t have.I just went through this .They didn’t have an old style tip for my spool gun.
So I canceled tips and wire was sent out that day.
Other than that I’m pretty fresh at this myself .