THSCC Forums

Good idea. I'm not a fan of 120v welders.
It's easy to leave out stuff like gas regulators, a starting spool of wire, gloves, etcetera.


I get mine from Holox. They are "hidden" about two miles off the north side of the Airport Road exit on I-40. They have no problem selling to individuals using cash, check, or credit card.


Yup, buy. My tank will sit for months sometimes. Here's one thing to keep in mind: when you "buy" a tank, you generally don't get to keep your shiny new tank. The filling place will take yours, and give you a full tank (that probably looks beat up). Of course, if you buy at a proper gas supply place, you won't get a shiny tank to begin with. Size: 150 cubic foot. That's the ~4 foot tall tank about 8" diameter.

Cheers,
Anders

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Lina Racing: As Seen On Radio

There is something to be said for buying from a good welding supply store to get support from them. If you are looking for cheap DIY, I would recommend looking at Welding Supplies at IOC on e-bay. They are a brick and mortar that sells over the Internet and I have bought supplies (nice welding helmet - something you should consider investing in) from them - if I didn't run into the deal I did on the welder I got, I would have bought my welder from them (again, remember I am a kook who will do it himself until the bitter end) since they offer good prices and free shipping (something to think about if you are getting a transformer-based welder which can weigh quite a bit).

Buying from Lowes or Home Depot is probably going to net you less support, since most likely, no one there has a clue about welding, whereas, with a mail order firm, you have bought stuff from them, and at least you can get some phone support from a specialty company.

I read to think about this twice before buying mail order on the Miller buelletin board. I would also look into a less "consumer" model welder and look at something a notch or two higher (hint, hint, not from Home Depot/Lowes), so you are buying something with longevity that you won't have to replace unless you need more welding power (in which case <grin> you just buy another welder/different process welder). Like they say in the IT industry..."no one ever got fired for buying big blue (IBM)" - the same applies to welding - Miller (also "blue") is the king of the hill. They are also more expensive than some of the other brands. I didn't shop MIG but I'm sure that you can read through tech specs and see the difference between models and brands, that related to marketing or real.

I think that brand matters less than availibility of supplies/consumables/service...

If you do get a "good" quality MIG that has a steady feed mechanism, by changing the cable/feed tube for the wire spool/rollers/parts and appropriate gas, you can actually weld aluminum with it (from what I've read and what Lincoln says on their site) - aluminum is one of the more "painful" metals to weld that you would find in automotive applications - I haven't done so yet, but I'm about to find out in a few weeks.



Like Anders said, you can probably pick the "litter" of the tanks if you tell them you are a hobbyist and it is not going to be stored outdoors to get the least icky one and I'll echo the 150cf tank. I think I've used 1/2 of my first tank and I've put in a good number of hours in the garage with the hood down.

--Ashraf

Ashraf, I will look at the eBay stuff some more. There is a good bit for sale and it looks to be populated by stores vs. individuals. I was hoping to run across a low mileage model for cheap. I felt even a bit more suspecious of the eBay stuff as it was even cheaper than Lowes. Again, wondering if I was comparing Apples to Oranges. You get stuff like SP-175, SP-175T, Pro Mig 175, etc. and they ALL look to be the same exact thing, but even if you look on Lincoln's web site, it is hard to determine EXACTLY what people are selling. I realize that this is a big argument for walking into a local B&M and buying something I can touch vs. doing it online or just picking up a box at Lowes and walking up to the cashier. I still am shopping, so I will figure this out before I buy anything.

I am trying to not fall into the "for a few bucks more" thing with the welder. Especially as it is not going to be something I expect to use as much as say my air compressor (which I did spend a bit more on). I just don't want to start out with an approx ~$600 budget (not including gas) and then the next thing you know, I am looking at a computer controlled $2000+ Mig welder and still not have anything to do stick or TIG. That is money I could spend elsewhere. I figure that even if I decide the higher end consumer model is not for me (i.e. I become a welding monster), I probably would do pretty well on resale if I don't beat it up.

Anders, thanks for the tip on the gas source.

_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

If you don't need to weld Aluminum (no A/C output) this does MIG, TIG, and Stick:
http://www.usaweld.com/products/mts/index.htm

You'll have to call HTP for a price...it was expensive ($1000-ish?) last I heard and the no aluminum thing is a deal-killer for me.

Regarding the Lincoln alphabet soup...it probably is what accessories it comes with or whether it was a Lowes/retail package or a welding supply model...

Unless you get a "power source" type setup (expensive, think separate audio components instead of a A/V receiver, if that helps) if you want to do all three processes, you are gonna need at least two welders (MIG and TIG/Stick).

--Ashraf

Richard,
You're on the right track with a 220 Mig welder that uses gas instead of the flux core.Teh 120 volt things weld like junk!!Lincolns are good as are Miller. You couldn't go wrong with either. Make sure you get the whole kit with flow meter and cables and gun (another item you should look at closely)
You will find that you get what you pay for with welding machines.The more adjustablity the higher the price. Used machines can often be found ,but it takes some time.
There are about three welding shops in the area. I use Machine and Welding in Durham.If you have an account ,you can rent bottles.I rent four bottles and it costs about $60.00/yr per bottle.Plus ,If I want to rent a bottles of nitrogen for a race,you can rent on a monthly basis.like $9.00 /mo.
Purchasing is an option,but if you ever move,you may not be able to get your bottles filled,because one company will not fill another company's bottles. As I remember,to buy a bottle was about $225.00 or so. I leased,because I didn't have a grand to buy bottles!!
For my MIG mix 75/25 co2/argon a bottle with about 130cubic feet runs about $35.00 to fill.It lasts about 4 to 5 cages. It's not the big bottle ,but onw in the middle as far as size goes.
Good luck.

I've got a Miller MIG that has both a steel gun as well as an aluminum spool gun. It's a pretty big beast, but it was the least of the Miller's that have both guns ready to go all the time (no switching) *and* has connections for both tanks (you need argon/co2 mix for one type and pure argon for the other). I found it easier to just rent bottles, too. I also use Machine and Welding in Durham. Back when I got my stuff David Tillotson took great care of me.

I learned to weld by having a *very* experienced friend teach me (and he's taught a lot of people). That route isn't bad, but I'm sure the CC route is better.

Now I'm considering a plasma cutter. I've just never gotten comfortable using a torch for some reason. *shrug*


--Donnie

I've been quite happy with my 120V Hobart welder from Harbor Freight. It's served me well for 3 or 4 years now, but I don't use it for hard corse stuff. Just to make a bracket every now and then, and do misc little projects (exhast pipe, desk chairs, etc). I made the brackets that my race seats sit on, and i even feel safe.

Flux core wire is no fun, but has it's advantages at times. That said, I've never wanted to go back to it after I finally bought a gas cylinder.

My cylinder is a small one (3 feet high) and was about $110 from Holox (Anders mentioned them). I've had the tank for two years now and it's still got penty of life left in it (I buy spools of wire every few years). When it's time, I can trade the tank in for a new one/get it filled (at Holox) and it should be cheap. For me, renting a tank is just silly, I'll own it before it's empty.

Scott

Well Tina suprised me when I got home. I found a Lincoln Pro Mig 175 in the garage as well as some air tools I had been wanting!!

This is the 220 V unit that will do gas. It comes with a flow meter, hose, gun, extra gun tips, cheap mask, manuals, video and two spools of wire (one regular and one flux core).

So, it is off to Lowes at lunch to buy the stuff I needed to finish my 220 V outlets (doing two, one for compressor and one for welder) as well as some welding gloves, wire brush, etc.

I will probably play around with the flux core on scrap stuff for a week or so and then pickup a bottle and non-flux core wire as soon as my budget allows. There is going to be a LOT of practice before I try to either build anything or work on the new car.

_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

Congrats, Richard!

One suggestion - I looked at those before and I think they include a mask that I think that you hold with one hand whilst welding with the other. If that is the case, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, recommend you ditch it and use it as a "guest/onlooker" mask and get one that you wear. They make them in a fixed shade and then there are the fancy ones that auto-darken - in any case, you'll be doing the position work, position gun, hold still, nod head to flip helmet down and push trigger routine...

You will want to use both hands on the gun to keep it steady (OTOH, being able to have one steady hand to push the weld pool does comes in handy for TIG) and having both of them free should help you to move the weld pool easier.

On the helmet: get a GOOD autodarkening one! Once you use an AD you'll wonder why anyone uses the fixed type. You need one with a quick reaction time especially if doing TIG. If it's less than 150.00 tho it's not quick enough for anything but stick.
For anyone else looking at machines: Hobart and Miller are the same machines just different distribution channels. I have a Hobart 140 (115V) I got from Northern Tools, have used it a lot and am very pleased with it. It welds up to 3/16" no problem, and allows you to weld anywhere there's a nearby outlet.

_________________
SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

I have both a cheap auto darkening and a large opening fixed. I find that when I'm doing very small stuff, like welding eyeglass frames or washers or something, I prefer the fixed. For super low amperage, the view is clearer for me.


Chuck makes a good point here: in "medium" thicknesses of materials, many welders will be fine. It's when you get to thick OR very thin stuff that you need more pricey equipment.

Cheers,
Anders

_________________
Lina Racing: As Seen On Radio

I bought a Hobart variable shade autodarkening helmet just the other day. Harbor Freight had theirs on sale for $49 or something just last week. I had a hard time passing that up, but was just a bit afraid of the HF version. Especially as this is a safety item. The Hobart one was 3x the price. But I just went ahead and paid the extra $$$. For all I know they came from the same factory in China or wherever.

This is getting expensive and I haven't even bought a tank yet. I still need to finish up my 220 V wiring. I contemplated not going to the Autocross last weekend and finishing up my wiring.

_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

<Tim Allen grunt noises>
When you strike your first arc and make your first widget, you will forget about all the money that you have spent.

Best,
--Ashraf