| Author | Message | ||
     Torquehd |
Currently deployed and can't get the support i need, and I can't exactly have my girlfriend ship my nice Miller 211 over here. Looking to buy a budget (<$200) flux-core welder to have shipped over here. I've heard bad things about cheap welders with plastic gears. Can anyone recommend a certain model that's worked well for you? | ||
| Brumbear |
http://www.harborfreight.com/ I just bought one it works pretty good, look in the middle of the page. I had the licoln before this one and it wasn't as good. | ||
| Nillaice |
Are you deployed overseas? Or stateside? You might not have 120v ac plugs or need an adapter for it but, my freind bought a 90 Amp Flux Wire Welder from harbor freight Item#68887 He talked me into getting one too and I'm very impressed with it for a one hundred dollar welder. And the 120v ac makes it very convienent HFT has $7 flat rate shipping (conus) and they always have online coupons Another freind of mine had a brand new northern tool 90 amp flux core welder and I saw it eat the plastic gears the first time he used it. They have good customer care and sent him a new plastic gear set for free, but it was an inconvience. Usually northern tools stuff costs a littke more but is better quality than HFT | ||
| Sifo |
How thick of a piece of steel is reasonable to weld with that sort of welder? Would you dare build something structural with say, 1/8" wall tubing, or is this going to be limited to sheet metal? | ||
| Nillaice |
that HFT welder is rated for 3/16" i used a propane torch to preheat the 1/8 inch flat bar that i used to fab up a chin fairing bracket, and got good penetration. but i made very slow passes with the .030 wire and had some very fat weld beads. -superficial- .035 wire might have helped put more heat into the work, but i didn't want to change teh spool. i, personally, would not hesitate to build something strucutral with this machine out of 1/8" wall tubing. within reason, i'd think it's more about the skill of the person than the capabilities of the machine. with one days of instruction and practice i think anyone could be able to weld with this rig. wether you would 'dare build some thing structural' with it depends on your confidence in your welding abilities and who/what you are supporting | ||
| Etennuly |
but i made very slow passes with the .030 wire and had some very fat weld beads. -superficial- .035 wire might have helped put more heat into the work, but i didn't want to change teh spool Actually with a small limited power machine you would probably be able to weld deeper with a smaller wire. Try 0.23. you can make multiple passes if needed. Heavier wire will take more power to go deeper. It would likely give you a bigger weld, but not necessarily stronger. You cannot cheat a lack of power very much. | ||
| Sifo |
Thanks for the info. Sounds pretty impressive for the price. I wouldn't think about building my own frame or anything, but coincidentally, a bracket for the chin fairing is a project I have in mind. I agree with Etennuly that smaller wire would probably help with penetration. You will have to slow down giving more time to heat the weld. I took some welding classes and was able to produce some very good results. TIG welding gave me some fits though. MIG was very natural to me though. I had all the class projects done way early and they let me do a couple of projects of my own in class. There's always more to do when you can melt steel together! | ||
| Brumbear |
One note if ya go to slow the little thing does overheat and shut down. I usually use it to weld the pins back on to the LP brackets on forklifts and the load backrest spars get broken from pulling with them.Nothing heavy duty I made my money back the first time I used it!!!! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Maybe buy some Oxy Actylene torches (cheap), and rent bottles locally. Then when you are done, you can bring the torches back and leave the bottles. Its slower and a bit more expensive (per weld) than MIG, but it's super portable and a lot more flexible (you can cut, bend, braze, etc). | ||
| Sifo |
Not surprised about the overheating. At that price they are bound to have a pretty low duty cycle. Renting bottles locally is very expensive for a small job. They charge for the entire fill regardless of how much is used though. I did a fair amount of brazing when I was young. Probably part of why welding came so natural to me in classes. Torches are awesome! | ||
| Panhead_dan |
I think mine is an 80, not a 95 but it works well. Cost about 400 new at our local Oxarc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail page&v=YBKgOpIrpCY | ||
| Brumbear |
Wow Panhead nice little unit!!!!! | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Another trick if you are at the limits of your Mig welder is to use a hotter gas. Mig tanks are usually 75% argon 25% CO2. Straight CO2 gets a bit better penetration. A tri mix of Argon, CO2 and Helium is hotter that the other mixes above and provides better penetration. The argon/CO2 mix above is better for thin metals. Interesting side benefit of the argon, there is less spatter. Biggest problem is even little tanks are expensive! There is some neat science behind this stuff. The counter guys at a good welding supply house are good resources for the correct gas mix. |
