buying this tomorrow

[Facime]

MIG welder


unless anyone can give me a REALLY good reason not to. Its within my original budget, I got some extra money for some supplies, a bottle of gas and an autodarkening helmet.

I only need to be able to weld mild steel up to 3/16'' and I need it to be portable. Next year Im going to buy a nice plasma cutter and a TIG...this has to do for now.

Cant really go wrong with Lincoln right?

 

[MK3Brent]

I think welds are only as good as the person welding them. It can't be a coincidence that the same quality welds can happen with two different "grade" welding machines.
It's all in the user, IMO.

I bought myself a $500 Craftsman welder, and it hasn't 'done me wrong.'
Good luck with your purchase, and remember practice makes perfect.

*Also to note*

If you haven't already... Invest in a angle grinder and plenty of flap-disks, your first welds will not be pretty.


PS.
MIG's spark alot!

 

[Facime]

yeah already got 2 angle grinders actually, and am familiar with the flap disks. I will also be taking a welding course but unfortunately they dont teach MIG until the second semester. I plan to just buy a bunch of scrap stock and lots of extra wire and practice practice practice. Gonna get a couple of welding manuals and read whatever I can. I tend to think things through pretty well, but am more of a do'er. I learn alot from watching, so Im hoping to get either a training video or pay someone to come spend a day or two with me getting me started.

That welder is small enough to be portable, which is good cause my space is real limited.

thanks for the vote of confidence (I think thats what that was) Im sure it will do fine for what I need it for.

Now if I could just afford a decent tube bender...lol!

 

[crrider80]

a welding course? wow! can you spell dedication? because i dont think i spelled it right.
-Steve

 

[da89soup]

I cant wait to see the weezl wings your going to build................lol

 

[Facime]

a welding course? wow! can you spell dedication? because i dont think i spelled it right.
-Steve

Well, I gotta take ARC to be able to take MIG, I gotta take MIG to be able to take TIG...and ultimately thats what I want to be able to do. By next summer I expect to already knnow how to TIG and at the same time have enough experience under my belt to know what the "right" TIG for me is gonna be. I expect to have to pay 2-3k for a TIG, so before I spend that kind of money I want to know what Im doing.

Besides taking a welding course gives me access to school equipment/tools that I cant afford to buy right now.

 

[Facime]

I cant wait to see the weezl wings your going to build................lol

HEHE! yep you figured that one out right. Im tired of waiting on unreliable people to get my stuff done for me....so Im taking the initiative to do it myself. I can no longer justify the labor costs and to be honest, Im too much of a perfectionist to work with someone else.

By the end of the year I will be making a MK4 version, by next spring I hope to have one for Corvettes and Porsches. And by next summer I hope to be making them out of aluminum. Im still trying to find a source for getting covers made out of Lexan and/or canvas soft tops to go with them.

In addition to 'Wings Im planning on some other body mods (lips, grills, rear window wings) to be coming out in the next year. Im taking a small investment fund and turning it around into a 5 year plan.

LOL...anyone have any contacts in China for metal fab? :naughty:

 

[artmo]

hey make sure you weld galvanized metal together!

 

[IJ.]

Practice practice practice!

Compare Ron's welds in Aluminium with mine!

While mine are structually sound and hold the 2 parts together Ron's are pure art!

 

[chriso]

hey make sure you weld galvanized metal together!

The fumes from welding galvanized metal could kill you:aigo:

 

[IJ.]

The fumes from welding galvanized metal could kill you:aigo:

Or make you really really ill!
(Look at my pics thread the new hatch floor is Gal coated and took many hours of exposure to finish)

 

[MK3Brent]

The colors the metals make are worth it though.

 

[jdub]

Great guys...lets tell Weezl to do something that could make him sick :3d_frown:

 

[Facime]

Great guys...lets tell Weezl to do something that could make him sick :3d_frown:

no worries, for the next 3 or 4 months Im only going to be welding one thing, WeezLWings™ - 3/16" plate steel to 1" tube, and none of it is galvanized.

wont be until '07 that I will need to worry about welding any other materials.

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

I think welds are only as good as the person welding them. It can't be a coincidence that the same quality welds can happen with two different "grade" welding machines.
It's all in the user, IMO.

I bought myself a $500 Craftsman welder, and it hasn't 'done me wrong.'
Good luck with your purchase, and remember practice makes perfect.

*Also to note*

If you haven't already... Invest in a angle grinder and plenty of flap-disks, your first welds will not be pretty.


PS.
MIG's spark alot!

i'd have to say that there are some horrible welding machines out there.... just go to home depot and buya welder for $100, you'll understand then... i don't think ANYONE could make a clean weld w/ one of those :-/

 

[born2drv]

no worries, for the next 3 or 4 months Im only going to be welding one thing, WeezLWings™

awesome! then you can sell your practice scrap off in the groupbuy :biglaugh:

j/k!!

 

[Facime]

awesome! then you can sell your practice scrap off in the groupbuy :biglaugh:

j/k!!

Heh, I should be offended...but it might be true sooooooo....


Naa, Im having the next batch done by an experienced welder. Im not even gonna attempt it until I can lay down a good enough bead that it doesnt "need" to be ground down to look good. I plan on buying a bunch of scrap to practice on.

 

[IJ.]

Pete: Another "tip" would be to buy a can of "antispatter" and use it with the new Mig as it'll save you heapsOtime on the final cleanup work on the Wings! (a can of nozzle dip will help as well)

 

[stratoayu]

i used to thikn i could weld.. until i took a welding course! haha. defiantely one of the best things ive done. welds became instantly better and i actually understood what i was doing! and yea. nozzle dip is ur friend

 

[Facime]

Pete: Another "tip" would be to buy a can of "antispatter" and use it with the new Mig as it'll save you heapsOtime on the final cleanup work on the Wings! (a can of nozzle dip will help as well)

yep already bought a couple cans. Got a nice mask, some quality gloves, and a few clamps and other things. With the 80cu.ft. bottle of 75/25 and little cart, I came in just under the 1k I had to spend. (got enough left over to buy some test stock and some wire) So this weekend Im gonna set me up a place to work and get busy. I was joking with my sister and telling her since I got the first batch o'Wings out the door I was gonna take the weekend off....and by taking it off I mean, Im gonna spend 15-20 hours welding LOL!

Anyway, thanks for all the advice on this thread, now I get to learn a new skill...YAYYY!