120-Volt Mig welder.

[Shield Arc]

Shield, push that little bugger and see what you can do with it. I think it's really cool to see what you can do with it.

OK, hopefully some parts I ordered will come in tomorrow. On the way home I'll swing by the welding supply and pick up some 1/4, and 3/8-inch flatbar. May be when dragoneggs gets a break in his schedule he can bring over his Miller 211. I'm sure it is light years ahead of this little Lincoln.

 

[MinnesotaDaveChalmers]

Nice test Shield Arc - I'm with you on how slow they go with the low amps.

I'm not super surprised the little welder made it through that test, but I sure wouldn't want to do it often.
I bought my millermatic 210 over 10 years ago and love it . Still own my first little one though.

I'm not real sure about the little one making it through at 1/4" though, maybe if running vertical up, and using a thin backer strip so it doesn't suck too much heat? Or open root with a knife edge like for tig?

Anyway, looking good

 

[Shield Arc]

Dave I'm not kidding, I almost fell asleep, it was so slow! On the job we never got anything smaller than .068" wire.
I really like this little gun tho.

 

[MinnesotaDaveChalmers]

Yep, I repaired a Mac 130 mig welder for a neighbor and the gun was tiny and light

But for speed, you can definitely see why an impatient guy like me had to upgrade!

 

[Furu]

Well I stand corrected!
Even tho this is only 3/16-inch material, with 37 1/2-degree bevel. I'm sure it's pushing the limits of this machine. I don't have any 1/4, or 3/8-inch material. Next few days I'll go to town and pick some up.
I sure wouldn't want to do very much of this, slower than the second coming of Christ:shocked:! I almost fell asleep a couple times:laughing:. These coupons look very good to me:cool2:!

Nice!

Now with 3/16" plate and three passes to get the necessary quality weld shows that with proper prep and proper techniques, the little machine can do quality work. How many folks would go to the effort of what you did and the necessary cleanup between passes.

NOW the question I have is: How many folks would do three passes on 3/16" material? Or would they run one pass and call it good enough without getting a good tie-in and fusion into the base metal?

I remember when learning to do O/A welding from my father back in the dark ages you can weld thick stuff but it is a multi-multi-pass exercise to say the least even with a #4 or 5 tip.

So a pass for every 1/16 inch in thickness with the little machine is good.
Well a lot of sheet metal is in the ballpark of 1/16" (16 gauge) so makes sense I suppose.

 

[Big Barn]

I'm looking forward to the "pretend you're on a desert island with only 120v and to get off the island I had to weld 1/4 inch" What would the newbie do? How would the pro do it? Everybody can learn from this even those with 220v. And even the hobby/maintenance guy who "gets by OK". :drink:

I'd leave the welding to you experts and hang around with Mary Ann.



Terry

 

[brin]

I'd leave the welding to you experts and hang around with Mary Ann.

View attachment 386310

Terry

:thumbsup:

 

[Shield Arc]

Or would they run one pass and call it good enough without getting a good tie-in and fusion into the base metal?

I would! But I get to pick the machine and wire! :laughing:

 

[dragoneggs]

dragon I agree with Arc weld. The picture on the left looks like slow travel speed. Or like we talked about when you were here. Too much wire in the puddle. Even tho more wire means more amps, you have to have more volts to wet it out. I forget, are you right or left handed? If right handed try starting on your right side moving to the left, pushing the puddle.

I can tell you right now your 211 will weld circles around this little Lincoln of my brother-n-laws.
As you can see by all the over spray on it, he is a retired body & fender man who does a little work in his garage. He took this little Lincoln as partial payment for a job. I think he might have got stuck!:laughing:

Thanks again SA!!! Yeah that was left to right and I was pulling a little to see. I am right handed and totally forgot about going right to left. I guess I need to think about reading the puddle in Chinese! :laughing:

 

[KubotainNH]

Minus the bickering, this is a cool thread. Would like to see actual videos but I suppose I can find plenty on youtube.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

I'd leave the welding to you experts and hang around with Mary Ann.

View attachment 386310

Terry

Good choice, I'd take her over Ginger any day.

Thanks for taking the time Shield Arc

 

[Arc weld]

Pushing will have a little less penetration but give a flatter bead as well. The welds shown may have been very close to perfect had they been pushed instead of pulled. Still good looking welds. Decent was meant as a compliment but I should have stated they are very acceptable welds.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I love it when things get interesting.

 

[dragoneggs]

Pushing will have a little less penetration but give a flatter bead as well. The welds shown may have been very close to perfect had they been pushed instead of pulled. Still good looking welds. Decent was meant as a compliment but I should have stated they are very acceptable welds.

Thanks again, appreciate the insight. I hope to play around some more later this week as I tackle some simple outdoor garden furniture. And I better shut up here and keep listening.

 

[Sodo]

yes interesting

 

[crazyal]

Wow, seeing that picture of that Lincoln brings back memories. That was my first wire fed welder. I bought it from Costco for $270 in the mid 90s. It came with some very basic welding accessories. The welding mask was a flat hand held model that was about as basic as you could get and some cheap gloves. I bought it to do sheet metal work on cars to replace brazing. When my stick welder broke that little weldpak was used for pretty much everything until I got into racing and replaced it with my 255xt. Did I weld steel 1/4" and thicker with it, yep. Did it hold, yes. Would I use it to weld a roll cage (.095 ERW tubing), nope. But that's just me.

 

[jaotguy]

thanks for posting ...

we need a list of what it does well , so so , not so well and what to avoid (and switch to the next unit up )
please keep in mind , most of us here have "time" on our hands and the welding schedule isn't "shop" speed ....
keep it geared to the "average Joe" and his capabilities .

 

[LD1]

Certainly looking forward to the tests on thicker plate. Them "vee groove and bend tests":thumbsup:

I try to stay out of the bickering about 120v vs 240v machines. Used both with great success before. I have always been in the "get a 240v machine if you can, but 120v will weld the thicker stuff too with proper joint and technique". Many on here are always touting to never use a 120v on 1/4" + and I have never bought into that. Sure, it cannot do it in a single pass and no root opening. But give it a gap/vee groove, and make multiple passes and it should do just fine. But again, I just try to stay away from those conversations anymore. While I believe "I" can weld thick metal just fine with 120v, I know alot of people that buy 120v machines are first-timers and dont have a clue about proper prep. And will blob a single cold pass on top of 3/8" plate and think it will hold:confused2:

So certainly looking forward to the tests.

 

[LD1]

Certainly looking forward to the tests on thicker plate. Them "vee groove and bend tests":thumbsup:

I try to stay out of the bickering about 120v vs 240v machines. Used both with great success before. I have always been in the "get a 240v machine if you can, but 120v will weld the thicker stuff too with proper joint and technique". Many on here are always touting to never use a 120v on 1/4" + and I have never bought into that. Sure, it cannot do it in a single pass and no root opening. But give it a gap/vee groove, and make multiple passes and it should do just fine. But again, I just try to stay away from those conversations anymore. While I believe "I" can weld thick metal just fine with 120v, I know alot of people that buy 120v machines are first-timers and dont have a clue about proper prep. And will blob a single cold pass on top of 3/8" plate and think it will hold:confused2:

So certainly looking forward to the tests.

 

[pmsmechanic]

So my question is "what is the real problem with 120 volt welders"? Why are they only rated for 3/16th's steel? Is it because they can't develop enough heat to do a proper job of penetrating on thicker metals?

I realize too that manufacturers have no control over how their welders are used after they leave the factory. They probably under rate them because of safety and liability concerns and frankly that makes sense to me.

Your thoughts....