Welding

[scarecrow]

I use both stick and mig depending on the job at hand. Proficientcy comes with practice, lots of practice.
Steve

practice is the key to becoming a good at anything
as far which welding process is the best well they've all got their strong points and weak points
most of my welding would be with an ark Welder which you can buy cheap and cheerful even for a fairly large ones my biggest is a 260 air cooled AC which I converted to DC a lovely Welder but not as nice as an old oil cooled
I also have a DC tig and ark inverter with lots of bells and whistles which is by far the nicest of the 2 for ark welding and a very good tig Welder which I'm trying to learn that the moment im also thinking of buying a small mig just for lighter gauge material

I am a member of a diy welding forum and the debate of mig tig and ark
and cheap versus expensive rises it head every now and again but the general consensus is by as good as you can afford
then depending on the type of welding you do determines which type of Welder you should go for

mig the is by for the easiest to learn and very good on light material but they get very expensive for the bigger ones and they are much faster and cleaner than an ark Welder which is important for welding shops

ark is much harder to learn but is very versatile as you can Weld inside and outside and you can pick them up fairly cheaply even the big ones but the expensive ones are by far the best

tig is difficult to learn but you get the best quality of Weld from it. ac tig is the best for welding aluminium but they are ridiculously expensive machines

Well that's more or less my two cents worth the more you practice the better you will get if you don't it doesn't matter what machine you have

 

[Bill_C]

Did Noah use an ark welder?

 

[Willl]

Here my take as an amature. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The thing about a stick weld is that if you can make it look good, then it's probably a good weld (usually). You can make really pretty mig welds that won't hold.

Im going to have to disagree. (imagine that )

 

[arrow]

Did Noah use an ark welder?

Yes he did along with a p.i.g. welder, a pawsall and a monkey wrench.
( I really just wanted to get to my 400th post)

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Did Noah use an ark welder?

Must have. Ark welders are the best for gopher wood.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Im going to have to disagree. (imagine that )

You can't just disagree and then run away. We have to get into a heated debate now .

I'm a self proclaimed ambitious amature, so please do enlighted me. I know that I've made pretty welds with my new (to me) MIG that won't hold. Any weld I can make with my old stick that is tolerable to look at has held. What's your take?

 

[jenkinsph]

You can't just disagree and then run away. We have to get into a heated debate now .

I'm a self proclaimed ambitious amature, so please do enlighted me. I know that I've made pretty welds with my new (to me) MIG that won't hold. Any weld I can make with my old stick that is tolerable to look at has held. What's your take?

Sounds like a lack of penetration and tie in to me. What size metals were you using with what size wire?

While building wrought iron gates and fence using light guage tubing I use an .023 wire but while building my new landplane with heavy weight tubing and 1/2" plate I used an .045 wire. I have a Miller trailblazer NT with a suitcase mig and use the stick to do fill in work when I don't want to change out the wire in the mig.



Steve

 

[czechsonofagun]

I tend to agree,but the real problem is the assumption that a good looking MIG weld IS a good weld.
I would think we have all seen the stories where some guy has built a trailer or motorcycle with a little 110v MIG and has had a catastrophic weld failure.

ouvej, that's me. But the trailer is serving well for 6 years without problems. Since it is built from 3/16' wall square tubing, there was no need for bigger welding machine but my Lincoln Mig.

 

[bobodu]

But the trailer is serving well for 6 years without problems.

One of these days....someone is gonna fess up and say " My weld broke and killed my 17 year old son.".... but so far..someone ALWAYS say " I did it" and people continue to get hurt because they don't understand the importance of prep,sufficient penetration and multiple passes.

I COULD build a house using straight pins...but nails are better.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Sounds like a lack of penetration and tie in to me. What size metals were you using with what size wire?

While building wrought iron gates and fence using light guage tubing I use an .023 wire but while building my new landplane with heavy weight tubing and 1/2" plate I used an .045 wire. I have a Miller trailblazer NT with a suitcase mig and use the stick to do fill in work when I don't want to change out the wire in the mig.



Steve

Thin guage tubing and .025 wire. Sure are pretty welds. Sure don't hold.

It's my fault. I need to learn how to do it better. My gripe is that the quality control is harder. I can look at a stick weld and know it's bad. I can't tell yet with a MIG.

 

[czechsonofagun]

One of these days....someone is gonna fess up and say " My weld broke and killed my 17 year old son.".... but so far..someone ALWAYS say " I did it" and people continue to get hurt because they don't understand the importance of prep,sufficient penetration and multiple passes.

I COULD build a house using straight pins...but nails are better.

OK, so to weld square tubing with 3/16" wall together, how much power do you need in your world? Small Mig is capable of completely penetrating that wall i.e. making satisfactory weld. Use a stick with more power and you will burn right through it.

 

[bobodu]

3/16"? I'll run 1/8" 6013 or 6011 all day long and know it'll hold at 150 amps without touching the duty cycle.
I can also weld body panels on trucks with 1/16" 6013 at 40 amps.
Or 3/8 with 5/32 6011 at 250.....

 

[SuperDuty335]

We should all get together and have a welding convention...

 

[greenmule]

I knew a guy one time could weld the crack o dawn,[but you had to get it within a 1/16th inch].

 

[SuperDuty335]

To quote IslandManMitch:
I use to say "I am a master manipulator of molten metal. I can weld anything from a broken heart to the crack of dawn. If I can step across it I can weld it. Give me a meat rod and I'll weld a mad grizzly's mouth shut."

 

[nunyabinis]

Last year I bought several 15 ft leaner deer stands on sale for the Hunt Club. They wanted $40 for a shooting rail for each stand.... half the cost of the WHOLE stand.


Pbbbttttt!!! I bought a bundle of ten 10 foot lengths of thin wall EMT conduit at Lowes and used my conduit bender and Lincoln Mig welder to fabricate the shooting rails. Then I covered the rails with polystyrene pipe insulation for cushioning. Turned out WAY better than the factory rails at a fraction of the cost.


Not to mention the practice I got welding thin stuff with .035 FCAW-S.



.

 

[Rob-D]

I run a Miller 210 MIG with a spool gun. It's the cat's meow. I had a 110v Lincoln that I gave to my nephew. I showed him how to weld with it and he does pretty good work. The little Lincoln kicks butt and I'm amazed at how much you can do with it.
If you don't weld everyday and I don't anymore, then the MIGs are a good choice. Regardless what welder you use you still have to know what a good weld is. The reason why you hear about MIG welds failing is because MIGs are the choice of many new welders who don't know how to weld. It's NOT the equipment.
Stick has its place but for my money the MIG is quick and good. I'm not welding underwater or the pipeline to the North Pole, most people aren't but my welds are neat and hold up perfectly.
If you are starting and you have concerns about your welds then take them to a pro welder or a supplier with a pro welder who can let you know what you're welds are worth.
I wouldn't buy a cheap MIG. The transformers are wound with lower temperature copper and the mechanicals are so-so. Spend a little more and get the little Lincoln, you won't be disappointed. You can get away welding aluminum without a spool gun but you have to be willing to accept wire bunching up. Lincoln sells an inexpensive kit and liner to do this. (keep your gun line as straight as possible though). If you don't do it everyday then you'll be fine.
If you're welding 1/4" then go with the fluxed wire when using the little welders, you'll get better penetration. It's also better when it's windy out. One more thing, you shouldn't be welding 1018 with 100% argon, go with 75/25.
I've used most welding systems. They're all good IF you use them in their best application. Each piece of equipment has design criteria, I know, I design stuff or at least I used to.
Remember this:
You wouldn't eat with a pitch fork and you wouldn't pitch hay with a dinner fork. Each is designed for a specific application. So it goes with welders.

Rob

 

[jfox]

Some of my welds don't look very good. I am thinking it is the amps and the fitment. I got a little sloppy.
Does anyone know if I can buy 1 " rod???? It takes a long time to fill the gap with 1/8 inch rod.

 

[LD1]

Some of my welds don't look very good. I am thinking it is the amps and the fitment. I got a little sloppy.
Does anyone know if I can buy 1 " rod???? It takes a long time to fill the gap with 1/8 inch rod.

What are you welding that you are using 1/8" rod and wishing you had 1" rod????

I use 1/8" most or the time because it's good all around to have for odd jobs.

If I know I am going to be doing a lot of heavy welding on thicker material I'll buy some 5/32, but I havent had much luck with 5/32 on anything much under 1/4"

 

[Transit]

J what in the world are you trying to weld that needs a 1 rod and what is your welding rigs rating? That size rod and you will need a power plant so supply the current.