Anyone here weld?

I'm taking welding at school and I absolutely love it. So much so that I'm considering getting a welder at home. I've already passed off SMAW and MIG welding. TIG starts monday.

As my final project for the class I've decided to make a 38mm and 54mm towers for a few MD birds (should I do a build thread? )

Who else here welds? If you have a welder at home, would you recommend it?

Alex

You will like tig the weld is so nice.

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Nice bead

I barely an amateur. Took some classes and would have bought my own welder if we hadn't sold our mini-farm, our barn, tractor, mower, etc...

Had to do a double-take and then clean my glasses. I thought the thread title was "Anyone here weird?"

sooner.boomer said:

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...this is odd. When I look at your post directly there a space at 14 from the right that isn't there as I type this out...I wonder what will be there when I post it...very strange.

edit: the space is there in my post. Wonder why that is.

re-edit: I know, it's a flaw in the weld. Any pressure on that seam and P O P !!!

dave carver said:

...this is odd. When I look at your post directly there a space at 14 from the right that isn't there as I type this out...I wonder what will be there when I post it...very strange.

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Just try and keep your speed more constant. Looks like you sped up a bit.



Alex

I weld but have no cert. I'm self taught MiG/ TiG, never tried stick though.

I also weld but have no formal training... mostly MiG and a little Tig.

I have a harbor freight 220v welder at home. Started with just flux core and added a bottle (and then two ) - its been going strong for 3-4 years now, and seems to work just as well as the small lincoln/miller machines I've used. It doesn't hold a candle to the big miller we use at work, but for doing automotive work and anything at home up to 1/4" or so its great!

ThirstyBarbarian said:

Had to do a double-take and then clean my glasses. I thought the thread title was "Anyone here weird?"

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Funny, glad I wasn't the only one! Weld a little, as a necessity, not as a hobby.

No welder at home, but a Millermatic 350 is really nice welder to have if you have the $$$. That and a wire feed aluminum gun, argon and you are set.

Panasonic made a nice mig/plasma cutter unit some time ago. Not sure if it's still available.

Also notable is ESAB welders. Quite high end, but very very good.

You have brought back memories of my childhood. I grew up on a ranch and we had a large workshop with Stick, Oxy/Acetylene, MIG/TIG, the works. Given that background, I doubt many residentials have the necessary electricals. Our shop, if I remember correctly, was a three-phase 600 amp service. The wiring was a much lower gauge (<6) than you see in a residential building. This was a full service shop with lots of industrial sized equipment for making trailers, fixing tractors, rebuilding engines, etc. So maybe you can find a single phase 220V welder out there. Welding can be a lot of fun. Just make sure that mask is on when you stick weld. I got cocky and would just hold the mask up in front of the work. The gases burned my eyes and I was down for a few days.

Aksrockets said:

I'm taking welding and school and I absolutely love it. So much so that I'm considering getting a welder at home. I've already passed off SMAW and MIG welding. TIG starts monday.

As my final project for the class I've decided to make a 38mm and 54mm towers for a few MD birds (should I do a build thread? )

Who else here welds? If you have a welder at home, would you recommend it?

Alex

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Thanks a LOT Alex! I've been kicking around the following purchase for over a year..even have a thread about it on here somewhere: https://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/product.php?model=M00337

Even bought wire, breaker, receptacle, etc to wire a drop in the garage. It finally falls off my horizon as I focus on other projects and YOU choose to get me goin' again!

Haha...I do want one, BAD! Keep us posted on what you decide :tongue:

Cheers,

I would love to learn TIG! I've done quite a bit wire feed and stick. I've got a little 120V model that is the wire feed (never got a cylinder for it so far) and an old Craftsman buzz box. Best of luck with the learning and building!!!
And, I won't be at the research launch I've been itching to burn my J350 load but I've got more important things to attend to Saturday! (Family
-Ken

dward said:

Just make sure that mask is on when you stick weld. I got cocky and would just hold the mask up in front of the work. The gases burned my eyes and I was down for a few days.

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It's not the gases. It's the UV from the arc. It only lasted a day when I did it and once was enough to keep me from doing it again.


Back to original question, I have an old 220V Lincoln stick welder and a 120V Lincoln flux core welder. I don't do a lot of welding but I really like the flux core.

sooner.boomer said:

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Lefty?

Welding? Dont get me started, its a passion of mine and a big part of what I do in the shop besides make your guys rocket parts!! haaa

Lots of very interesting jobs I do......most are TIG. I should update the website, hmmm......

Welded for 20 years as part of my job, then I retired and boy, do I miss it.

I could never get the handle on TIG. To me it's a Black Art.

MIG, Flux-core, Wire feed Aluminum no problem, but TIG and I are not allies.

I started welding (gas) when I was a teenager. My dad got me started, and I taught myself. I think starting in gas welding gives you the best fundamentals to build on; electric processes just use an electric "flame". I can now do MIG, TIG, and stick, gas welding, brazing, soldering, cutting, and hard surfacing. I was certified in gas welding, but let the certification lapse because I wasn't doing it for a living.

SwingWing said:

Lefty?

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Nope. A good welder should be able to weld in any direction, at any position (and not start a fire!). Overhead is a real bit...well, let's just say it's difficult.

Yeah I went to school for welding and we spent the first part of it with gas. As sooner says, its great to learn the fundamentals that way (its ALL about puddle control!).

I would love to learn to weld for no other reason that it just seems like something a man should know how to do. It's one of those "when we get a house" projects. Good luck with the tower project, you should do a thread on it if you have time.

dward said:

You have brought back memories of my childhood. I grew up on a ranch and we had a large workshop with Stick, Oxy/Acetylene, MIG/TIG, the works. Given that background, I doubt many residentials have the necessary electricals. Our shop, if I remember correctly, was a three-phase 600 amp service. The wiring was a much lower gauge (<6) than you see in a residential building. This was a full service shop with lots of industrial sized equipment for making trailers, fixing tractors, rebuilding engines, etc. So maybe you can find a single phase 220V welder out there. Welding can be a lot of fun. Just make sure that mask is on when you stick weld. I got cocky and would just hold the mask up in front of the work. The gases burned my eyes and I was down for a few days.

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For an industrial size shop, this is correct... for a small "home" or farm shop type outfit, this is huge overkill... Basically if you can wire (or hire an electrician to wire) an electric dryer outlet, you can run a basic stick machine (220V). We have a dual AC/DC+/DC- stick machine (buzzbox) in our farm shop and basically the wiring requirements to it aren't much more than you'd have for a second electric clothes dryer... Heck we run the 220V shop compressor off the same circuit (just wired a second outlet-- we don't run them together anyway).

110V small MIG machines are even less power hungry... we have a small 110V Lincoln we bought a few years back from TSC for small jobs/thin metal... works okay but they have MUCH better machines now... Stick is usually the preferred method for farm stuff (thick metal, rusty or dirty, usually welded outdoors and in the wind, and need deep penetration to really burn down into thick metal and burn the gunk out...) I'm pretty good with a stick machine-- been welding farm stuff for 30 years. The wire welder is usually just for automotive stuff or really thin work where rods just blow through it. Wire welders work MUCH better with gas than the flux core wire we're running though... my BIL has a nice MIG welder running with gas-- plenty of power for thick/rusty metal and does a beautiful job...

IMHO welders go hand-in-hand with an oxyacetylene torch... not only are they great for cutting steel, but brazing and heating/bending metal also comes in handy... and anybody who's been down on the farm will tell you that the "blue wrench" is the handiest tool you have at times!

Later! OL JR

Pipewelder/Steamfitter all me-life.
Worked the "Big Jobs" (Power Plants,Hospitals,Factories,Papermills,ect)back in the days when I was full of pi$$ and vinegar. Had a good time at it. Did some traveling ,met a lot of people ,and all that.
Worked with all kinds of different materials,welding,cutting,fitting,ect.
All sizes too. From 36" pipe carring water to a cooling pond on a power plant job,down to 1/8 stainless process pipe at Grace Chemicals.
Dad and I did alot of repair work for the farmers around here also back in the day.

I gave up the Pipewelder part just 9 years ago Nov 4th.
Had enough,burned out,whatever.
Now Im settled down and have been at Dartmouth College as a steamfiiter/maintenance "miracle" :wink: worker.
The only advice I have..get the best that you can afford..you will never get a machine to do what it wasnt meant to do. Thats a big part of the welding trade,having the right machine for the job. Buy a brand name welder,see if you have a welding shop around your area and go shoot the breeze with them.
And buy from them,maybe pay a bit more..but..you know how it works buying local...SERVICE!!!!!!
I dont own a machine at this time,if I get another,it will be a Miller portable Trailblazer or Bobcat or somehting of the sort.(?) I like having the generator.
I dont even know whats out there for machines these days.
Anywhoo,have fun, being able to weld opens up a whole new world of projects ...:lol:

Strictly amateur here. Have a 220v welder, just use flux core, and my welds are hideous. But I did fix a bit of patio furniture several weeks ago and seems to be holding fine.

I just have a Century 110 volt gas/gasless rig I use fluxcore in. I burned out the thermosistor and took it to Norco. The B******s charged me $169 to cut two wires and bypass the resistor. I could have bought a new Harbor Freight new under warrenty welder and just left my old one sitting on the counter...

woulda...shoulda...coulda... sheesh:eyeroll:

I am certified with MIG, stick (for tacking and horizontal welds) and innershield. I have been welding for over half my life and really cant imagine not knowing how. I have a Miller TIG setup and Lincoln wire feeder in my garage that I use occasionally because when I work on a project I usually just go to our shop. But those late nights before a launch when I realize I forgot to TIG an eyebolt shut, the garage setup sure is nice!

Here is my first try at TIG welding.

Standard lap joint with 1/8 steel. No rod.