I see you are on hold, you should check out eastwood.com for a cheap durable welder. I have a miller 212 which is awesome but kinda expensive. I also have a eastwood 180 that came with a spool gun. It welds very well for the money. For what its worth i would recommend it to anyone who is a hobbyist and not running a production shop. $ for $ it welds as good as my 212..
Yep they were on my radar, delivered to my house, better price than most I was seeing on CL. Seems they are highly regarded in the home garage type guys.
I appreciate it though!
Brian - Colonial Embers Competition BBQ Team - Memento mori, Memento vivere
I kind of fell into at least one welder and maybe two.
I found an awesome deal on a Hobart Handler 140 (the new one with 5 tap settings) brand new never used for $300 at a pawn shop in VB. My buddy is picking that one up today for me.
I also am currently the winning bidder on a brand new in box Lincoln Pro MIG 140. That ebay auction ends this evening. It is currently sitting at my max bid and if someone bids $5 more in the next 10.5h then I won’t have to worry about it.
If I do win it then I will have to make a choice as to which one I want to keep haha. They both seem to be really nice welders made by awesome companies. The only difference I can find is that the Hobart has 5 tap settings with voltage curves maxing at 110-150 depending on the setting. The Lincoln has a downward angle drive roller.
Either way, if I end up with both, I can most likely sell either for a bit of profit which will go back into the project.
I also am getting a gas bottle for argon blend, which should be here next week!
All in all I’m stoked to be able to soon make some practice sparks!
Brian - Colonial Embers Competition BBQ Team - Memento mori, Memento vivere
I can't wait guys! Will be posting my progression of my skills or lack there of here as well! I have already read a TON of information and watched countless youtube vids. I still prob won't be able to weld for anything for quite some time. I plan on running a TON of practice beads and just burnning wire for quite sometime to come.
I also have a 80cf Argon tank on it's way to me! It should be in next week. I know it's right on the boarder for being too small for home use, but I know a guy that gets screaming deals on the tanks. $105 shipped to my door for a steel 80cf. The local welding supply wanted over $250 for the same tank.
Brian - Colonial Embers Competition BBQ Team - Memento mori, Memento vivere
One thing you can do to increase your chances for success is make sure the material you're welding is free of paint,rust, oil,heavy mill scale,etc. the mig welding process can be finicky when trying to weld over these things. You may want to have some extra contact tips as well. Biggest thing is be patient make subtle changes and see how those changes affect the outcome and have fun, you'll be killing it in no time.
Grandma always said "if ya can't be handsome ya better at least be handy"
The best motivation foe me was having to cut/grind out my bad welds to redo them. Made me slow down and be patient.
I use an 80 cu tank at home and love it. It tucks in under my welding table and I'm able to move it easily if my welder needs to move to the project. Unless I'm on a big project, I just tinker so a tank lasts me a while. I just gave $28 for an exchange/fill if you are interested.
Not sure where your welding is going to take place but speaking from personal experience, I've gotten so focused on the task at hand and have welded and used grinders all day only to have my wife notice a gas can sitting nearby I now make it a point to slow down to 70-80 mph and do a site survey before starting. Looks like you're on your way, have fun!
Grandma always said "if ya can't be handsome ya better at least be handy"
The two on the far left are fluxcore and the rest are MIG. The two on the bottom right are the last two I did, the longer ones are the first ones. Really easy to let the gun get too far away from the work. All were done with a pulling technique.
The backside
A bit too much penetration.
Played around with tacking two pieces together.
I had the settings set up for this thickness of metal but got no penetration and had an odd pointy ridge line of a bead. I do know that I should have prepped the metal, but was in a bit of a quick rush.
I have a long way to go but man was that a fun 15mins!
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Brian - Colonial Embers Competition BBQ Team - Memento mori, Memento vivere
I've always had really good luck welding with an "e" pattern. It pulls the weld pool across both sides of the joint and then crosses back thru the center. Looks neat and clean and lays the weld out a little flatter/stronger.
But with anything, practice is key. And remember to slow down. (I still forget that one),