Newbie welder

[daugen]

at the youthful age of 62, I want to learn how to weld. I've read the comments about a class at the local vo-tech, and I'm hunting that down.
I prefer buying older equipment and renovating them, and much of what I'm buying is dinged or dented, and more relevantly, cracked in places. Steel or iron only, no aluminum, just repair work. Seems the standard stick welder makes sense here and a good place to start. Tig, Mig, Stick, Hybrid, lot of options here. I've reread the Northern Tools catalog until I'm blue in the face and still am unsure. I know I need to practice no matter what, but I have to buy a machine to do that, so what to buy? $500-800 budget, so nothing too fancy or powerful. And I really don't want a Harbor Freight welder....
And my power is only 110-20 amps for now, so that limits what I can get.
I know this is a wide open question, but would appreciate your comments as to a good first general purpose welder, to fix farm/garden equipment. Thanks
Drew

 

[HCJtractor]

Your limit on power is really going to reduce what you can do. If you could find a source of 220V, I would recommend the Everlast Powerarc 200. Of course there are many nice stick welders in your price range. I have one and it is great, very economical and welds great. But for 120V, I guess I would go for a Hobart 140 wire fed welder found at Northern or Tractor supply for $500. But you are limited as to thickness of material and for general farm use on dirty or rusty metal, a stick welder would be better and more powerful. But I don't know of a good 120V stick.

Like you, I had the same desire to learn for the same reasons. I bought a dual voltage Miller 211 that runs on both voltages, but it costs considerably more. My little Everlast stick really is a sweet running machine and I have been very happy with it also.

Any way you can get 220V? I thought I was not going to be able to either, but after studying it, I had my electrician run a new 50 amp circuit to my carport that allows me to run either machine. It really did not cost that much. It would be easy to do it yourself if your panel has space for a new breaker, or if you could make room for it. You could also power it with a long extension cord from a range or dryer circuit in a pinch. Just would need a good heavy duty cord. I also power mine from a generator from time to time when I don't have a 220 source.

 

[deereman75]

I would say get 220v, and get a longevity stickweld 250. Much better for repair work then any 110v machine.

 

[yomax4]

You could get a 115/230 Stick welder and be able to do some repairs until you get 230v power.Say a 160 or 200 amp. Some of the new 115v inverters are capable of 100 amps from 115 volts. They have Hot Start and Arc Force making them a viable option.You can really burn in a 3/32 rod but you would be limited to 1/4" material without doing a bunch of passes. Plus you can tig weld Steel and Stainless too. You can get a nice 200 amp 115/230v with all the bells and whistles including Tig Torch and Regulator for less than $800.00.

 

[flusher]

Get 220V into your shop pronto. You are really limited with 110V welders.

Get a $400 Hobart LX Stickmate AC/DC stick welder (Tractor Supply) and a 10 lb box of 6011 and 7014 rods (1/8" dia). Run these on DC positive at 100-120 amps and practice making welded joints using 1/8" and 1/4" thick steel stock.

Get a good autodarkening welding helmet. Mine is a Northern Tool unit

Wel-Bilt Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet | Welding Helmets | Northern Tool + Equipment}

Get a welding jacket, hood (balaclava - like race car drivers wear) and welding gloves (sparks on skin are pretty painful--better safe than sorry).

If you're going to welding class somewhere, that's fine. If not, get yourself a stick welding DVD from these folks

Arc Welding I Video

Watch the video several times and then practice practice practice. You'll have to burn several hundred rods before getting the hang of it.

Good luck.

 

[k0ua]

Pretty much what others have said, a Stick welder would be a good place to start.. I highly reccomend a DC welder. If you can find one of the old Lincoln or Miller AC/DC units cheap that would be great or get one of the Inverter's like I have. I have the Everlast PA160.. very small and portable 160 amp 60% duty cycle machine and I love it. I also TIG with it. BUT it is a 220volt machine. They have some newer 110/220 volt machines now so maybe you would want to look into that. But two things in my opinion.. DC machine, it is so much better, and an auto darkening helmet. Get those to start, and you will have much less frustration. Dont to forget to get about 3 hand held angle grinders too... I know it sounds crazy, but I hate to change wheels/disks. and I find if I can keep a cut off disk on one and a flap disk on another and a wire disk on another, and grinding wheel on another... uh oh.. that is four isn't it... oh well... happy welding..

James K0UA

 

[daugen]

this is great advice, thank you. Yes, I will get an electrician to put a 240V outlet in my garage and I understand the advantages of AC/DC units. And since I like US made, I'll check out that Hobart unit. And I will get a good helmet and all the safety equipment. And practice, practice.... I have to go back to TSC to get a garden gate for my new garden; I'll check out what they have then.
I use to build HeathKits and am pretty good with a soldering iron, but this is sure a whole different ballgame. I've watched a lot of videos, but it's hard to see much because the light is blinding. I'm assuming looking through that dark hood allows one to see what's going on, or is this part "feel"? One video said you had to listen to and smell the weld too. Ok...
thanks again guys. Drew

 

[k0ua]

this is great advice, thank you. Yes, I will get an electrician to put a 240V outlet in my garage and I understand the advantages of AC/DC units. And since I like US made, I'll check out that Hobart unit. And I will get a good helmet and all the safety equipment. And practice, practice.... I have to go back to TSC to get a garden gate for my new garden; I'll check out what they have then.
I use to build HeathKits and am pretty good with a soldering iron, but this is sure a whole different ballgame. I've watched a lot of videos, but it's hard to see much because the light is blinding. I'm assuming looking through that dark hood allows one to see what's going on, or is this part "feel"? One video said you had to listen to and smell the weld too. Ok...
thanks again guys. Drew

If you have a few daysto browse. this guys You tube channel is the best I have ever found. He is a Pro. There are a lot of MIG and TIG, as you would expect a Pro to use but there some good stick videos and general fab up tips and tricks also..I highly reccomend his channel. Also his web site weldingtipsandtricks.com

weldingtipsandtricks's Channel - YouTube

James K0UA

 

[JimRB]

There is lots of info over at Miller. Miller - Welding Equipment - MIG/TIG/Stick Welders & Plasma Cutting Look in the resources area. I have a Handler 140 with gas. Works fine for all my small stuff. As everyone mentions if you are doing 1/4" or bigger you need a 240v setup. I just head to the friend's shop which is a pain. I discovered another friend nearby who has a 240 unit. I guess I could take my bottle over and visit him. He has a tiny bottle but I have a big one. I find that using the gas mix makes for nicer looking welds on clean metal. The flux core works ok for not so clean metal but not as pretty. Then again often my clean metal welding is pretty ugly.

 

[Shield Arc]

And since I like US made, I'll check out that Hobart

I wouldn't bet the farm on that statement. A lot of Hobart, Miller, and Lincoln's machines are built off shore! Even more of the components come from over seas. Been reading where some people are really having trouble with some Lincolns built in Italy.


This kid is most likely to advanced for you, but you can really see what he is doing.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHWqMC6ykEk]Watch Great Stick Welding on The Welders Lens Home Study Course - YouTube[/ame]