Another one for the microbrew.
Nothing but the finest rebar from Spain.
Nothing but the finest rebar from Spain.
Maggie’s The Welding and Metalworking Thread
- Thread starter bogeybrown
- Start date
I weld for a living, but this is what i do for fun.... its not complete yet, but this is it coming together
Sweet! Tried a few and figured out I could make $$ selling tools I made; anvils, forges/foundries, various jigs, tongs...
Advice requested!
Lincoln Electric WELD-PAK 180i MP DV
Not a pro welder, amateur hobby welder, just a bit past booger welds. I have an AHP 220 to cover TIG/Stick but need to run MIG too. Material size 3/8" is the biggest I'll be tackling with MIG. Is this Lincoln an acceptable value when I factor in it will be a MIG welder 99% of the time? I really like the simple-stupid setup and most of what I read said the settings just work. Is there a more suitable MIG only inverter machine I should look at?
TIA all y'all...
Lincoln Electric WELD-PAK 180i MP DV
Not a pro welder, amateur hobby welder, just a bit past booger welds. I have an AHP 220 to cover TIG/Stick but need to run MIG too. Material size 3/8" is the biggest I'll be tackling with MIG. Is this Lincoln an acceptable value when I factor in it will be a MIG welder 99% of the time? I really like the simple-stupid setup and most of what I read said the settings just work. Is there a more suitable MIG only inverter machine I should look at?
TIA all y'all...
It's going to be a little light for welding 3/8". Duty cycle is only 30%.
The old "Millermatic's" have been around a long time and have a, somewhat, higher duty cycle.
Last edited:
Noted and thanks for the input...
Annnnnnnd down the rabbit hole I go........
Found the Primeweld 285. That could replace the AHP on the welding cart and be the one and only. I'm not sure how simple/stupid that one will be but learning new tricks doesn't hurt the brain that much...
Thoughts?
Last edited:
Almost no one actually needs to weld 3/8" as a hobbiest.
And if you do... take your time, learn to multipass, and use what you have.
Welding 3/8" material, does not equate to a 3/8" weld...which should be multipass with ANY machine.
I have passed bend tests with 17v and 140 amps...annually.... you dont need a shit load of power to make good welds
The little lincoln is a good machine.
I love tools and use a 480v, 3 phase machine all day at work, but i come home to a 120v machine with a 40% duty cycle and it does 99% of what i need it to.
So.... dont spend money that you dont need to spend...especially in this shitty economy.
Shred
Last edited:
If i had only one machine, it would be a 220v miller.... mig only.
I do stick weld from time to time at home, but its usually once a year on something really dirty...like a trailer or a tractor... that i dont feel like cleaning or pulling into the shop.
Tig welding sucks.... its like a high maintenance blonde... everything has to be just right, clean, perfect, and then you screw it all up and start over at your own cost. Its not worth my time.
I have the ahp 200 alpha-tig.... and can say nothing good about it but it does work....if it works.
Shred
When my kid lived at home he hit a tree with the brush hog and busted the top link mount. Not mine but where I put the circle
It just snapped in two.
I can't weld, but I can stick metal together and it will stay stuck together. It will never be pretty unless a grinder comes out.
I grinded both sides to an angle, then filled that angle with weld. Then I took another bit of flat stock and welded that over the joint going about 2" up and down.
That has to have been 10 years ago and it is still going fine. I only have a very small 120v welder. I bought it to do car body stuff, and you just don't need more. You can also run it off of a gas generator if need be.
Point is you can "make" it work. I don't know if what I did is "right" or not, all I know is it is still holding.
Built one for a friend and now getting requests from others for the same thing. Firewood rack built with 1.5" .095 DOM tubing. TIG welded and probably be a lot quicker to use MIG but its good practice for welding tubing.
Nice. Are the center feet touching or did the horizontal warp up ?
Good eye. The horizontal warped up about a 1/4" but thinking the weight of the wood will take the camber out.
Great job
I've been cogitating on a wedge style camper for my Ram for a while now.
Have thoughts of making it out of something like 1/4" AL sheet with c-channels for upright supports since I don't have a bender and don't know how to weld.
Anyone know where to look to see how much sheet AL will support in compression? IOW: can I get away with lighter gauge sheet than 1/4"?
I sorta have it worked out in my head using CAD (cardboard aided design) but don't particularly want to be the beta tester without at least some knowledge of what the thing will support
Thanks
M
Have thoughts of making it out of something like 1/4" AL sheet with c-channels for upright supports since I don't have a bender and don't know how to weld.
Anyone know where to look to see how much sheet AL will support in compression? IOW: can I get away with lighter gauge sheet than 1/4"?
I sorta have it worked out in my head using CAD (cardboard aided design) but don't particularly want to be the beta tester without at least some knowledge of what the thing will support
Thanks
M
Take your torch and heat up a "diamond" area on the opposite side you welded the leg on. lay a wet rag on the area and pour a bit of water on it.
Takes a bit of practice to get it the first try.
This is how it's done in the large bore piping world.
Just thought of a good fools errand for machinists. Dial in the OD of the mag chuck.
Last one for 11 Worth.
Well because you can never have too much ammunition and you should keep it locked up from unauthorized personnel.
Well because you can never have too much ammunition and you should keep it locked up from unauthorized personnel.
I'll take it!
(y'all know I would, but, the Border Gestapo wouldn't let it cross....)
(y'all know I would, but, the Border Gestapo wouldn't let it cross....)
Could not agree more.
This is my old Miller 252 with the optional digital readout (not all of them have that).
Never had a problem other than consumables like tips, gas cones, and feed rollers.....which should be expected.
Sucker welds like a dream and it's about 20 years old now, still rockin like it did day 1.
Feature set and price on the Primeweld 285 swayed my decision, along with the fact I don't need another high maintenance blonde...
I have the same one! I do miss my 180 that had the pulser. Next year I'm upgrading to the multiprocess box so I can get the pulser back.
Have a Millermatic 255 for MIG and love the machine especially the pulse function.
This worked like a charm. Heated up the rails with a rosebud in a diamond pattern then used the wet rag and poured water over it. Straightened right out. Great tip and thanks for sharing.
Sliders powder coated and installed.
I got super tired of replacing the plastic coolant line connectors on the mills, so we made some. I swear if one of the meat heads breaks one of these…
Showed that to my coworkers. They said they would wear out eventually here on our grinders.
Luckily, no grinder here, but since it is for the mills we should be good to go. Ripping the lines off the ball is what is the main reason for death of them. But MY personal mill in the shop doesn't seem to suffer from this issue...it's a mystery, and no one here can seem to explain it.... So now we go up in strength to match the goobers I live with during the week.
You know what will happen next, the next weakest thing will be what goes, and that will be one of three things, more expensive, more messy, or more deadly.
You can only idiot proof something so far, trust me I know. I work with some of the most ham fisted gorillas on the planet.
Hunting and fishing buddy bought a new tandem axle trailer and wanted a tailgate for it. Quick weekend project.
Tig welding question. First off I want to thank all the folks that have helped me with my previous "welding" questions. I am not a real welder. I just TIG some parts together. The same parts time after time so I dont have to change any settings or anything.
However, the neighbor asked me to but weld a 1/4" thick plate that are about 24" long and 6" wide and he wanted that welded to 4" angle that is the same thickness. The thing I am running into is that the plate steel keeps warping when I weld it. I have tried playing with the settings but it never seems to stay flat.
I have looked on You Tube and wonder if I should be using a thicker rod or doing short sections?
Also, I only have the TIG machine so any other type of welding wont be coming from me.
Thanks in advance for the help!
However, the neighbor asked me to but weld a 1/4" thick plate that are about 24" long and 6" wide and he wanted that welded to 4" angle that is the same thickness. The thing I am running into is that the plate steel keeps warping when I weld it. I have tried playing with the settings but it never seems to stay flat.
I have looked on You Tube and wonder if I should be using a thicker rod or doing short sections?
Also, I only have the TIG machine so any other type of welding wont be coming from me.
Thanks in advance for the help!
Butt, lap or fillet weld?
Butt.
I tried stacking a bunch of steel on the two parts but.....
For the small parts I weld none of the welds are more than 1" long for any one weld so my experience with anything else is zero.
You're warping 1/4" plate steel when you weld it ?
Jeff (whatever) the comedian - "You might just be getting things too hot"
I don't think I could warp 1/4" plate if I tried to.....and I've welded a buttload of it.
What's a rough idea of how long it takes you to run a bead on that ?
Piher Clamping Tools
Piher® clamping tools have been designed and manufactured with European craftsmanship since 1957. Exclusive piston screw design, quality construction and a limited lifetime warranty make the Piher® clamp the last clamp you'll ever need.
store.cyberweld.com Clamps are your friend
Also, tack all the corners down first, then midpoints, then start welding. Don’t weld in a clock pattern, jump around like Star pattern like how you would tighten lug nuts
1/4” plate is extremely easy to warp. Weld a 1/4” baseplate onto some thick sq tube with 7018 and it’s gonna look like a Pringle.
I can go out, give it another try and see how long it takes to run that bead. As a guess maybe 10 minutes? Or maybe a smidge longer for the 24"
Though I have tried it in sections I have not hopped around so I will try that.
Its not critical that I get it figured out but now its the sort of thing I really want to resolve so I know what I am doing wrong.
Moving too slow puts in way more heat.
Turn the amps up and move faster.
Turn the amps up and move faster.
Ok and thanks. I tried that just a little while ago and its better. I am sure there is a lot more for me to learn and this sure knocks down some of the barriers.
He's using TIG, not stick.
If still having a warping issue run a bead no longer than 2", move to another area and run another 2" bead.....keep moving around till it's done.
That way you won't concentrate heat too much in a single area.
You can also try turning up the shielding gas or using a larger nozzle.....can't hurt anyway.
IF you dont market and sell those, you are a moron. Anodize them, and do it. Im not kidding. i broke one the other day on my cnc lathe by accident, barely even touched it.
I was thinking about that, thinking I should. Had a couple dudes ask me for some. Thanks for the advice.
I don't weld myself, I have always said that I stick metal together and they will stay. I grind more then I weld. I even bought a gizmo that works at taking all my high spots off a little faster.
So I can't weld and have little idea what I am doing. But when I read 1/4 thick, my first thought was...how did he do that. I don't have a TIG, for what I do I just don't think I need it. So an old MIG with the argon mix is what I use.
With my machine I have only welded a few things that are that thick. One I talked about a while ago and that was part of the 3pt hitch on a brush cutter. If that was not a 1/4 it was darn close. I also welded up some mounts for a lawn mower tire machine to one of my benches. The bench does have a 1/4 top, and I welded up some mounts that are just L channel steel. I flipped the L upside down, drilled holes and tapped them in the "leg" of the L, then flipped it upside down and welded that to the edge of the table. I bet I went over that area 3 times, it was a huge glob of weld, grinded it down, so now it is nice and smooth, and that sucker will not come off. But in any of this I never got close to warp the table or the L channel.
Is TIG that much hotter? I would not think it would be, and if you can weld a pop can together like I have seen on videos you have to be able to really dial that down.
I really like that above disc, I bet it has roughly 15-20min of disc to metal contact time and it is still going strong, you can't get it into tight places but if it is nice and flat it really works a wonder. I thought twice about buying it, it was a little spendy at roughly $40, but so far it has worked well, and held up well. Also remember grinding puts a bit of heat into things as well.
I know I can't weld like you guys, but I bet I can grind better
Well... tig welding sucks but it can be a necessary evil.
Most people move too slow, taking their time adding filler. It puts a butt load of heat into the piece and causes warps.
110 amps moving too slow can distort metal more than 220 amps moving at the correct speed because youre essentially holding a torch in one spot trying to get a puddle to form....
Higher amps=faster puddle and less heat input.
Stainless will teach you this really fast.
Tig welding is no hotter than mig or stick.
Shred
Most people move too slow, taking their time adding filler. It puts a butt load of heat into the piece and causes warps.
110 amps moving too slow can distort metal more than 220 amps moving at the correct speed because youre essentially holding a torch in one spot trying to get a puddle to form....
Higher amps=faster puddle and less heat input.
Stainless will teach you this really fast.
Tig welding is no hotter than mig or stick.
Shred
