Stick welder. Entry level. What would you buy?

[WHX?? 46,774]

5 minutes ago, Achto said:

very messy weld with a lot of spatter

I would buy that, one would think with the flux inside the wire and with the heat and all it would tend to explode the wire on arc making that spatter. I would mostly weld inside. Maybe rig up a exhaust hood of some fashion.

[WHX?? 46,774]

14 hours ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

thoroughly impressed with this unit.

On my wish list Jeffrey... along with a air compressor, blast cabinet, paint gun...  

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

Just now, WHX24 said:

On my wish list Jeffrey... along with a air compressor, blast cabinet, paint gun...  

An unlimited income and the list goes on... 

[ebinmaine 63,137]

54 minutes ago, Achto said:

Flux core SUCKS!!!

 

For some reason that just strikes me funny. I wish you wouldn't hold your feelings back so much Dan.

 

is it wrong that I am picturing you driving around your front lawn on some kind of a Wheelhorse with your arms flailing about over your head?

 

[ebinmaine 63,137]

20 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

On my wish list Jeffrey... along with a air compressor, blast cabinet, paint gun...  

 

18 minutes ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

An unlimited income and the list goes on... 

 

 

 

I'm going to need a bigger garage......

[ebinmaine 63,137]

4 hours ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

sheet of plywood

hey Jeff I know you're trying to help with that and everything but there's no way I can leave a piece of plywood laying around.

 

that amazing girl friend of mine who just can't sit still would grab it and make something out of it.

[WHX?? 46,774]

4 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

driving around your front lawn on some kind of a Wheelhorse with your arms flailing about over your head?

I prolly got pics of that!

 

Hey ... ain't your welder a flux core Dan?!?!? 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

15 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

hey Jeff I know you're trying to help with that and everything but there's no way I can leave a piece of plywood laying around.

 

that amazing girl friend of mine who just can't sit still would grab it and make something out of it.

That was just a suggestion... Anything is better than nothing...

[ebinmaine 63,137]

2 minutes ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

That was just a suggestion... Anything is better than nothing...

Yeah that was a good one. I appreciate that.

 

So where do you folks get the gas?? I mean I don't have any of that stuff at all. Tanks. Lines. Nothing.

 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

5 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Yeah that was a good one. I appreciate that.

 

So where do you folks get the gas?? I mean I don't have any of that stuff at all. Tanks. Lines. Nothing.

 

There's a couple local welding supply shops here like. Air Gas or Oxygen Supply even TSC or such.

Edited September 18, 2019 by WVHillbilly520H

[Achto 26,556]

29 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

is it wrong that I am picturing you driving around your front lawn on some kind of a Wheelhorse with your arms flailing about over your head?

 

 

Not that far off some days.

[ebinmaine 63,137]

2 minutes ago, Achto said:

 

Not that far off some days.

Me and you buddy. Me and you.

 

[Achto 26,556]

24 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

Hey ... ain't your welder a flux core Dan?!?!?

 

I would sooner use my old P.O.S. Solar with gas than use a brand new Miller with flux core.

[ebinmaine 63,137]

2 minutes ago, Achto said:

 

I would sooner use my old P.O.S. Solar with gas than use a brand new Miller with flux core.

you know Dan... One would almost get the impression that you're not fond of flux core welding...

 

[Achto 26,556]

I tried welding with flux core on a project once and...well...

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Achto

[WHX?? 46,774]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

So where do you folks get the gas??

Eating beans??? ...

[ebinmaine 63,137]

5 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

Eating beans??? ...

well Jim that was not one of the resources I was considering but you know I'm new to this welding thing so..........................

 

[bc.gold 3,399]

24 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

you know Dan... One would almost get the impression that you're not fond of flux core welding...

 

 

The spatter is global, When I put up a chain link fence to keep our Jack Russell in our yard. Used 2" plastic coated gas pipe for posts then welded the top rail in place.

 

Used flux core for the first and last time in my Miller, to finish up the large roll on other jobs bought a bottle of Co2 there was some improvement in the welds.

 

An argon mix will cost a bit more money over Co2 but the differences are night and day.

 

Since I no longer do enough welding to justify keeping the Miller and paying rent of the gas bottle, I sold it then bought an older Lincoln stick welder.

 

I would have preferred an AC/DC  as any direct current machine will soon having you doing welds that look professional with less or preferably no porosity in the finished weld.

 

Electrodes for AC welds have improved over the years.

 

The nice thing about using wire at the end of the day you don't end up sweeping pounds of nibs off the floor or going over the yard with a magnet to gather them up.

 

But should the wire freeze up at the contactor or some other issue that requires cutting the wore then feed new wire through the cable you can still end up wasting a lot of wire.

 

Also inside the whip there's a plastic liner that keeps the gas inside the whip going to the contactor, these liners do wear out when this happens your welds become erratic and for someone not accustomed to wire sourcing a worn out liner as the problem never comes to mind.

[Achto 26,556]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

So where do you folks get the gas?? I mean I don't have any of that stuff at all. Tanks. Lines

 

You would need to buy or rent a tank. If you purchase a welder that is capable of using shielding gas it should come with a line & solenoid to use gas. Looks like a for sure place to source it in your area would be at Air Gas in Portland. You could also try WF Mason, or Van Dyke welding to see if they refill tanks. Tractor Supply also carries the tanks, but you will still need a place to refill them.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Achto

[JoeM 7,630]

Hey EB I've read bits and pieces of this thread, it has gotten pretty messy! I did see were someone talked about classes and none available. Maybe you visited or already see this web site http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/, pretty good place to see how to do it basic to advanced . 

Good luck ! 

[ebinmaine 63,137]

25 minutes ago, OILUJ52 said:

Hey EB I've read bits and pieces of this thread, it has gotten pretty messy! I did see were someone talked about classes and none available. Maybe you visited or already see this web site http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/, pretty good place to see how to do it basic to advanced . 

Good luck ! 

I have seen that one and thank you very much for sharing it.

I've also looked a bit at one based in Maine here named Brandon Lund. And there's a college somewhere that puts out something called weld.com.

 

[ebinmaine 63,137]

I'm headed right now to go look at the first part of my adventure in welding. An old school Lincoln buzz box 225.

[ZXT 2,394]

23 hours ago, bcgold said:

 

Wished I had a picture of the shack, when my father purchased the acreage in 1928 it was a one room shack he added another. The boards were all hand split cedar lengthwise with a shake roof. The walls were stuffed with ferns for insulation.

 

The outside never painted I think you fellas call it natural patina.

 

We had an old refrigerator made of wood it had a belt driven compressor and used sulfur dioxide for refrigerant A wood stove that as eventually converted to oil using a keymack oil burner conversion kit.

 

Running cold water with hot water off the stove.

 

The shop was divided into several compartments, tool shed, woodshed, blacksmith shop with a chicken coup running backside the full length of the building.

 

A metal lathe, drill press, compressor welder along with an assortment of electrical hand tools, and a large scrap pile that never seemed to dwindle in size no matter how many projects were pulled from it.

 

 

Wow, 1928! That's getting on back there.

 

I've never heard of sulfur dioxide being used as a refrigerant. You learn something new every day!

[bc.gold 3,399]

36 minutes ago, ZXT said:

Wow, 1928! That's getting on back there.

 

I've never heard of sulfur dioxide being used as a refrigerant. You learn something new every day!

 

When that old fridge developed a leak the old man opened the door to the kitchen then gave it a shove.

 

The belt driven compressor and motor then became our air compressor. enough air to inflate a tire, blow out  a carburetor or an air filter from a power saw.

 

The fridge that replaced it was a disaster with the old wood fridge that was metal lined my father would use an electric kettle steaming away to melt the ice. He learned about plastic, everything inside the new fridge made of plastic sagged from the heat.

 

Looked nice from the outside but a mess inside as long as it did its job which was for years he kept that dam fridge.

 

Since he worked away from home and was gone all week staying at the logging camp it never bothered him.

 

Sulfur dioxide is not considered a safe refrigerant. Sulfur dioxide is not considered safe when used in large quantities. As a refrigerant, sulfur dioxide operates on a vacuum to give the temperatures required. Moisture in the air will be drawn into the system when a leak occurs

Edited September 19, 2019 by bcgold

[bc.gold 3,399]

The problem with self owned gas bottles is that they have to be retested every 10 years, to get a refill you generally just swap the bottle with a full one that the agent has on hand.

 

Should you receive a bottle nearing its due date the fee for testing becomes your burden.

 

Plenty of used bottles show up on the likes of CL, always check the expiry date before forking over your cash.

Edited September 20, 2019 by bcgold