Beginner Questions Again

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:01:43 GMT

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I am a total rookie when it comes to welding. So if you guys could answer a few questions for me I might be able to get on the right track. I want to eventually weld up some projects out of 1/8" square tubing for my truck and ATV. And maybe even do a trailer build. 1. Should I start with Mig or Arc?2. Between the two above, should I go with gasless/gas Mig or Arc with Ac    or AC/DC?3. Where would be a good place to start? Project wise?4. Should I stick with Lincoln and Miller or maybe even a Hobart?Thanks in advance for any help you guys could give me!
Reply:Just to make sure, some folks say "mig" when they mean wire-feed welding of all types.  Mig or GMAW uses an inert gas for shielding, whereas, FCAW uses wire that has a flux core that is self-shielding (no gas necessary)...but, both wire types can in general be used in the same machine with some adapting or extra parts.  With that said....If your doing it indoors (garage, shop), I would think starting with either stick (arc), or mig (gas), or fluxcore would be fine.  Seems like a lot more folks are starting on mig or fluxcore wire than they used to.  20 years ago almost everyone started out stick welding.  I think most folks here (correct me, guys if you disagree) would recommend DC welding for safety (especially for a rookie), so an AC/DC stick would fit the bill, kept in DC mode, and so would a wire feed welder (all are dc).  If you are doing this mostly outdoors, mig is not practical because the shielding gas blows away, but if you bought a wire welder, you can also use fluxcore wire and get nice results in even windy conditions.Most recommendations are based on what folks are used to or cut their teeth on.  If money is an issue (it always is at some point), stick welders tend to be cheaper for higher amperage outputs, quality, and, in general, are simpler to use.  You just put an stick in the stinger, adjust the amperage and burn a hole...I mean weld.  Wire feeders require a little more adjustment and setup, but not a whole lot.Think of it this way.  What ever you decide to buy (wirefeeder or stick welder), if you end up enjoying welding, you will probably end up buying the other type machine later, if for no other reason that just to see why Mr. X likes the other process better.Last edited by smithboy; 08-04-2005 at 06:02 PM.Reason: commasSmithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I should have stated that all of my welding will be done outside. I guess with this in mind I should probably start with a stick or mig. If all of my project will be 1/4" and under do you think a gasless would be as good as the AC/DC stick?Thanks for the help, Sonny
Reply:Originally Posted by SouthernWVI should have stated that all of my welding will be done outside. I guess with this in mind I should probably start with a stick or mig. If all of my project will be 1/4" and under do you think a gasless would be as good as the AC/DC stick?Thanks for the help, Sonny
Reply:South,  I am a welder for a living.  When I got my start around weldind, well even before I was welding, we had a farm and although there was a small cracker box on the farm most of our welding was done by a local welder.   All I ever knew was stick.  Welding was either stick or oxy fuel, and oxy mostly for cutting.  Not until I got tocollege in a welding degree program had I eveer even seen a wire machine, such as MIG.   Sandy speaks from some very practical experience.  Although for him more a hobby, and for me its my money, the man knows what hes talking about when it comes to this stuff.   The stick is best for all around welding 1/8" and up.  Extra consideration indoors should be made as this process is smokey because of the burning flux.  However, with a lil ventalation your good.  Wind doesnt affect stick.  Stick is good for most ppl 1/8" and up.  Ive personally had success doing exhaust pipe with stick, but even I have to be totally on my toes.  1/4" is awesome with a stick welder.  The decision ac or AC/DC is simple to me,   AC/DC.   For your price range, assuming its less than 2 grand wont yeild a straight dc machine.  And really thats fine.  On most of the small ac/dc welders they rectified and have much less power on dc and to get full capacity you need ac.  ON my old lincoln tombstone for instance you got 125 dc and 225 ac.  So full dc current you could run 1/8" 7018.  Ordinarly I ran 3/32 7018 with this machine. 1/8 6011  ran great.   if i needed more current i could then go to ac for bigger rods, but i never did with this machine.  ac has hazards in confined space, damp conditions and seems maybe somethung else dont remember.   ac also more spatter less penetration than dc.  also more rod selection with dc.  I think Sandy covered most everything else.  Ive noted on here several times a small mig and a tombstone are best match up for the home  shop.  stick to lincoln, miller and hobartgoood luckchris
Replyh and stick will do good on your 1/8 in stock too!chris
Reply:Thanks for the replies! I am leaning toward a Linclon AC/DC machine. Can I ask you guys a couple more questions?1. For the 1/8" stock square tubing, what is a good rod to start with?2. This may be a really dumb question........How long of an extension cord will I be able to run using the above machine? Or is an extension cord out of the question?Again thanks......Sonny
Reply:well heres the problem with ext cord, the lincoln ac/dc 225/125 is a good machine but its 230V.  I had a 30 ft cord, I believe it was rated at 35 amps.  My granddad wired it up for me and it was pretty big and kinda heavy.  However, this is a problem you will find with all 230V machines, and if you dont go with 230V the 115V machines are a tad bit too small for much over 1/8"  Yeah you can get an extension but you'll want to price that out and remember it gets very expensive the longer so yuou prolly want no more feet than you need.  But i wont say extension is outta the picture.  I would personally get the welder and the extension.  I would say for a newer welder you might try the 6013 and you might want to try 3/32"    I generally use 3/32" 6011 for the thin stuff, but its a more penetrating rod then the 6013.  Hope this helpsCHRIS
Reply:Welding is a great enabler.  It enables you to take your ideas and make them tangible without having them contaminated by other opinions.That's the upside of welding for me.The downside is it takes skill.Skill is what's left after you make enough mistakes.So if you're serious about welding go ahead and get your tombstone A/C-D/C.  But take the time and effort to take a gas/oxygen welding class at your local high school or junior college.I personally don't believe most people really get what's going on with welding without having a basic O/A background.  Using just heat and basic material to weld teaches one what welding is all about.Then when you go to another process you understand what's supposed to be happening and what you're learning is that process, not welding.  Understanding welding means your problems isn't about welding but figuring out that process.Probably the best example of this phenomenon is a weldor's attitude about holes when doing a weld.  Rookies and a lot of pure mig weldor's panic when the parent material starts disappearing.  But a weldor understands that the welding process happens when the parent metals are melting and filler metal is added to the molten pool.We're not dealing with an adhesive here.  Welding isn't about gluing two pieces together.  It's about taking two pieces and making them one down to the molecular level.Welcome to my world.life is good