You Welders "in the know"

[dustin19]

lincoln tombstone best investment i ever made

 

[MattT]

That's the reason I bought the Miller 211. You can run 240 or 120 by simply changing the plug (both of them supplied with the welder) and it's not too big to travel.

That's why I bought a Maxstar 200. I can weld pretty much anywhere. And being an inverter machine the leads and bottle weigh more than the welder.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I bought AC/DC Lincoln tombstone about 10 years ago and really like it. If you do decide to get an ARC welder I would suggest getting AC/DC because it welds smoother and you can put a high frequency arc stabilizer on it to TIG weld. I got a used arc stabilizer for $50. Im no pro welder but IMHO 6011 takes a heck of allot of practice make good looking beads, but once up master it to the point that the beads look good you will be able to make quality welds with good penetration.

Chris

 

[sberry]

Yes, those could be neater, they are in the position they were done. The point was for technique and the camera really shows up faults. It also requires a bit of consistent practice to make things pretty, not so much for structural but for consistent appearance and its a rare day when I get to run more than a rod or 2 anymore or my work is so rudimentary its not much of an issue.
BTW, 7018 is pretty much a DC electrode.

 

[Zeke]

I haven't welded in 20 years, and ROP shop class was 27 years ago. Check my memory: 7018 is a hydrogen flux rod; good for overhead on AC, pretty beads with a thick, easy to chip flux-residue. 7024; good basic rod. 6011; a weird looking white flux and it made ugly beads, my instructor only brought it too class as it was donated.

Any of that correct?

I still have my drop-helmet, sold my little Miller stick welder years ago. This makes me want to run a bead.

6010 and 6011 are deep penetration rods. 6011 is for AC and DC. 7018 is a low hydrogen fill rod and 7024 has a nickname that I can't think of right now. The nick name essentially means "too easy." Like speed rod or something.

As I said, if you get the right size rod and the current correct, you can be way ahead of the game. The difficulty with the 6010-11 series is keeping a constant arc length and going slow while weaving in the puddle.

 

[Hemihead2]

Just got an online ad from Eastwood showing 2 MIG units on sale. The 110 version for $400 and the 220 version for $600 (this one includes a free spool gun, as well). They look just like Lincoln units, but they are branded Eastwood. I have no info on their internal differences, though.

 

[bucs012]

Thanks for all the input, Guys. Looks like I will be looking into the pro's/cons for me personally within the following units.

Hobart- 140, 187 or 230

Miller 211

 

[sberry]

The farther up the food chain you go the better, a bigger unit will do all the work a small one will. 120V circuits are just so limiting, its not that the welder isn't good, its just only so many watts come thru that circuit. I think a 187 is 6 or 700 and a 230 is around 14. I have used 140, 187, 210 but haven't taken a spin on a 230 yet, the 140 is about as good as it gets on sheet but suffers on the top end. The 187 is good all the way thru.

 

[djd99]

Thanks for all the input, Guys. Looks like I will be looking into the pro's/cons for me personally within the following units.

Hobart- 140, 187 or 230

Miller 211

Another option to think about is look for a used miller 200 it's a hell of a machine and still reasonably priced, you should be able to find a nice used one for 700 give or take a few bucks. I have the best of both worlds I use my millermatic 200 for all my mig welding and my hobart 210 for aluminum.

The millermatic 200 is a beast of a machine and will not lose value even being 20 years old. You can still have them serviced and will run circles around any box store machines.

 

[sberry]

I keep my 210 loaded with alum most of the time too. I feed it with the same bottle as the tig.

 

[sixball]

I keep my 210 loaded with alum most of the time too. I feed it with the same bottle as the tig.

I wish I didn't already have a welding cart for mine, I have a mower deck in the corner of the garage I've been saving for something. Thats a cool idea !

 

[brianvantol]

7024 is commonly called "jet rod" and is a flat weld only rod. I agree that the hh187 and the mm210 are the perfect machine for what you want it to do.

 

[38Chevy454]

You can get special 7018-AC rod to use with an AC buzzbox stick welder. The problem with normal 7018 is the arc will go out using AC, can't keep it going. The 7018-AC rod has extra stuff in the coating to help the arc restart. It does work better, I have used it on my AC buzzbox. I typically use 6011, good penetrating and works good on AC. MAybe not the prettiest welds, but no problems with breaking.

But a MIG (GMAW) or TIG (GTAW) is the choice if you need to do thinner materials. Stick welder (SMAW) is good for thicker materials.

 

[wearetheromans85]

miller's millermatic 180 is an awsome welder for the price and portability.