rudypoochris Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 Lol grumpy is getting frustrated. How difficult is oxy acetalene for a begginer, my brother seems interested in that. I think I will probably just scrounge craigslist for a used 140 to 180 amp MIG right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitsuj Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 One thing I haven't seen mentioned: Be careful, the Lincoln 140 you get a Welding shop is much different than the Lincoln you get at Lowes or Home Depot. That said, if you want a 140 class machine and don't want to blow the whole wad, I like the Hobart. (About $400) Made by Miller, so the quality is there. Bare bones features wise, but a nice capable machine. I like my little Hobart. All due respect to Mr. Vette, it isn't a toy, no welder is. It's all a matter of knowing what it can do and not excedding it's limits. Would I turn on the 140 if I had to whip up a bumper for a Peterbuilt? No. But for automotive sheet metal? Absolutley. For anything 3/16 or less? Sure. Different tools do different things. No one weldor willdo EVERYTHING. Well, maybe one will but not one in your price range. Do yourself a favor, seek out a welding school. Lots of high schools with welding vocational programs offer classes to adults at night. Well worth it. Vette, I know that you know your stuff. You seem very knowledgable, but you're being awfully hard on 140 class machines. I wouldn't choose one to be my only welder, but 90% of what I do in my home shop is less than 1/4 inch thick, the 140 works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I think maybe your reading what IM saying the wrong way, a 220 volt welding feed to 140-160 amp welder is a damn nice thing to have in the shop, but after screwing arond with 110-125 volt welders for years , I just about gave up on them, example, my next door neighbors got one of those 3200 lincoln weld pac mig welders, it does a fairly decent job on sheet metal body repairs with practice, but its just not able to make solid welds on a good deal of the frame, and suspension and heavier stuff that keeps coming up in this hobby, will it work, sure it will, but when your only talking about a 20% differance in cost in some cases or swapping to a stick welder at even lower cost that will do a decent welds with practice , then you need to step back and look at your options and value per dollar spent. its not so much that the 110 volt 140 amp machines don,t work, (THEY DO!) its just that if your spending $500-$1000 on a decent welder for the shop or garage I think theres better choices and values for the currency your parting with.....I don,t know a single person that ever bought or used BOTH the smaller amp ratted 110 volt welders and the 220 volt welders that thinks the smaller welders were a wise investment after useing both, UNLESS they were restricted to having a 110 volt feed and no 220 volt outlets in thier shop/garage Im not knocking the small machines as much as pointing out value per dollar and options and limitations you face and looking a few years into the future your just not talking a huge differance in cost http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=K2472-1 http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=907312 http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=907335 http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=500527 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 Why is a homedepot 140amp welder made by lincoln different than from a welding shop out of curiosity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 The welders sold as retail packs generally do not have continuous voltage adjustment, but use tapped adjustment. Many also do not come with regulators or solenoids for gas, though this seems to be changing. I would not recommend buying a flux-core welder regardless of budget, spend the extra now for a better product, there is generally a difference in quality and features between similar flux-core and gas-shielded welders. I have found (by over-spending, lol) that many state and vocational schools have degree curriculum courses in welding that are technically not open to enthusiasts, unless you are taking the entire curriculum. You may be able to sweet-talk your way into these classes, especially if the course is under-booked, and at a discounted rate. I have a free pass into a local college's classes because I already took one of their production classes, got along well with the instructor, I take care of him from a retail perspective, and he appreciates an extra hand around occasionally. you can often pay a discounted or "pro-rated" fee for learning part of what they are covering that term. I suspect that most of the welders here could get by with a decent 140 spec machine... but once you have developed some skills and learned techniques and tricks with a hotter, fuller featured welder, it is hard to look at the smaller machine in a truly fair light. One of my co-workers was a weld shop super for a number of years. I have seen him take a miller 350P (pulse) and run a HOT, FAST fillette weld on sheet aluminum (appox. 1/16) with 3/64 wire without burn through, both on pulse and off pulse. The beads were beautiful, particularly when on pulse. I tried it as well, and the highlight of my efforts was finally getting the work-piece tacked into position.... it went RAPIDLY downhill from there, lol. I will say this... get what you can afford. Skills learned on the 140 will still help later, should you ever need to use a bigger machine... they will just generally be easier to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitsuj Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Why is a homedepot 140amp welder made by lincoln different than from a welding shop out of curiosity? What Tannji said. Plus the use of aluminum windings instead of copper. A good source of welding info can be found at Hobartwelders.com, great forum over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I found this on a welder discusion thread, I thought it might help Taken directly from a Joe Kalassa , a welding instructor from Lincoln Eletric "“Some teams fail to achieve proper fusion, which basically happens, for instance, when you take a little 110-volt welding machine and work on heavy things like shock mounts,” Kolasa says. “Some people feel they can do anything they want with one of the smaller machines that is intended for thin materials. If you were to use that machine when it comes to something like a shock mount, you might as well skip welding it and just stick some bubble gum there instead because it won’t work. It’s a misunderstanding of the welding process that comes from a lack of education.” BTW my neighbor owns a lincoln 2300 weldpack 110 volt mig/flux welder its decent for sheet metal repairs after you practice awhile....it will do up to about 1/4 mild steel if you can get to both sides of the seam, but its a joke on somethings like suspension brackets, it just can,t get the heat necessary to form a deep penetrating weld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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