Any Welding Tips??

[watsmyname]

I am looking to hopefully make some mods to my go kart or buggy havn't decided yet...i will need to do some cutting and welding so maybe i can get a all in one machine.....if you got any suggestions please let me know...

[easydoz1]

I don't know all in ones. But I have a miller 180 mig and a dewalt grinder. It gets r done.

[Manaen]

practice lots of practice. Don't go too cheap with a welder. Always look at the duty cycle on the unit if it is less then 80% walk the other way. The better welders are either 100% or 90%. Basically the cheaper welders will have a lower duty cycle which means that it will trip it's internal load protection very frequently on heavier welding tasks. This will frustrate the crap out of you when you have to stop and wait for the welder to cool down.

Flux core is great for outdoor windy conditions and cheaper upfront cost. But the wire will be more expensive and the welds will be very splattery and dirty (somewhere between mig and stick). This is easy to learn much like MIG in fact most of these welders can be converted to MIG

MIG is very clean the upfront costs are higher however the cost of wire is much cheaper but you do need to buy the CO2 as well. This is easy to learn however you need to learn how to properly setup the welder (Wire speed, amps, gas pressure etc...)

Stick - very flexible welder, cheaper upfront costs. Sticks are cheap and can be purchased to weld almost any type of metal in almost any situation (if it is an AC/DC unit). Stick is harder to learn upfront, it takes time to master the technique of starting your arc.

TIG - very expensive upfront cost, extremely splatter free neat welds.


there are some great online resources

[vitosdraggin]

a stick welding machine will cut and weld with the right electrodes. i use a lincoln sp 135 mig welder 115 volt, it plugs into household outlet and welds 1/8 inch steel plate perfectly and thinner stuff like bodywork, perfect all around for auto repairs frame and body

[denseleit]

Originally Posted by Manaen

practice lots of practice. Don't go too cheap with a welder. Always look at the duty cycle on the unit if it is less then 80% walk the other way. The better welders are either 100% or 90%. Basically the cheaper welders will have a lower duty cycle which means that it will trip it's internal load protection very frequently on heavier welding tasks. This will frustrate the crap out of you when you have to stop and wait for the welder to cool down.

Flux core is great for outdoor windy conditions and cheaper upfront cost. But the wire will be more expensive and the welds will be very splattery and dirty (somewhere between mig and stick). This is easy to learn much like MIG in fact most of these welders can be converted to MIG

MIG is very clean the upfront costs are higher however the cost of wire is much cheaper but you do need to buy the CO2 as well. This is easy to learn however you need to learn how to properly setup the welder (Wire speed, amps, gas pressure etc...)

Stick - very flexible welder, cheaper upfront costs. Sticks are cheap and can be purchased to weld almost any type of metal in almost any situation (if it is an AC/DC unit). Stick is harder to learn upfront, it takes time to master the technique of starting your arc.

TIG - very expensive upfront cost, extremely splatter free neat welds.


there are some great online resources

I would agree with most of what you say, except that most if not all guys working on their own quads or even running small shops can't afford a mig with a duty cycle that high. I have a lincoln 175A mig and a precision tig 185 and a plasma cutter. I build and fabricate alot of stuff, quad and race car stuff. My duty cycle is 30%, I've never shut down on thermal..ever, even welding on high setting for more than 5 of 10 minute intervals. For most guys, stick with a bigger name like Lincoln or miller with atleast a 30% duty cycle, and definately run gas with a 75/25mix and practice alot!!!!

[Manaen]

Originally Posted by denseleit

I would agree with most of what you say, except that most if not all guys working on their own quads or even running small shops can't afford a mig with a duty cycle that high.

I was mistaken, I went out an looked at my mig and it is 40%, I must have been thinking of my arc (stick) welder which is a Lincoln 225 at 80%.

For those who have smaller class welders an additional cooling fan will keep you welding longer. The key is to keep your coils cool inside the welder.

[watsmyname]

i got my machine and its a killer.......it makes perfect cuts and welds but i just have to work on my skill a lil more but the machine is great check it out

[Manaen]

I don't think I've ever heard of that brand of welder, but it does looks like a very nice setup after looking at thier website. Hopefully it holds up for you. The features look really nice and TIG kicks butt!!