First time welder advise

okay... got my welder lined up finally and my next question is... GAS? what and how far will a tank do me for?

custom cabby said:

GAS? what and how far will a tank do me for?

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Thats my question too... I have a lincoln welder w/ a gas hookup...

I'm not exactly confident in my welder... How good of a weld can a lincoln make on say, frame material? Thats part of the reason I haven't done any major modifications to my truck is b/c of the welder... Its fine for body work but as far as thick metal and such goes like frame notches, I'm not exactly fond of welding in a notch and riding down the road and the frame come apart on me...

maybe I should clarify.... it's a lincoln 175

I have the Lincoln 175 also. I use Argon/CO2 mixture. You can figure out your welding time and consumption, just do the math. If you set your gas flow at 10 cubic feet per hour you will use up a 20 cubic foot bottle in 2 hours of welding time.

A 220 mig will work fine for any frame work, it all depends on the person doing the welding.

What he said.

Excuse me, I thought it was a Lincoln but its not... I thought it was b/c I remember seeing Lincoln on the last empty roll of wire... Its a 110watt Century 100 model # 117-050 wire feed welder... Its got a heat and speed adjustment for the wire... I'm using flux-core wire...

I've been told by a couple body guys that I shouldn't be able to even use that welder... But I've shown pics to a couple of em of stuff I've done w/ it and they say my tachs look good... They said somethin bout the halos lookin good (I dunno what that means) and the penetration... I could post up some pics if ya'll would like so you could critique me...

Anywho, do you think I could weld HEAVY stuff w/o gas?

custom cabby said:

maybe I should clarify.... it's a lincoln 175

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I had a 80# bottle.I also had a 11# roll of .035 wire and the bottle lasted the whole roll of wire set @ 20 on the reg.That was about a year.It will all depend on how much you will use it.I would just pic up a bottle of gas and start practicing with it.Make sure that you check you polarity's on your welder.If it came with a roll of flux core on the spindle.It may need to be changed to gas weld.

Now start welding away.

Cyanide Jello said:

Excuse me, I thought it was a Lincoln but its not... I thought it was b/c I remember seeing Lincoln on the last empty roll of wire... Its a 110watt Century 100 model # 117-050 wire feed welder... Its got a heat and speed adjustment for the wire... I'm using flux-core wire...

I've been told by a couple body guys that I shouldn't be able to even use that welder... But I've shown pics to a couple of em of stuff I've done w/ it and they say my tachs look good... They said somethin bout the halos lookin good (I dunno what that means) and the penetration... I could post up some pics if ya'll would like so you could critique me...

Anywho, do you think I could weld HEAVY stuff w/o gas?

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With that one I would just stick to the sheetmetal work.

If you do frame or suspension welding you will want a 220 volt welder for better penetration whether you use mig or a stick welder.

That Century looks like it does an OK job with sheet metal. You might want to get a used Lincoln buzz box. Can usually be found on Craigs for ~$100.

dmw56 said:

If you do frame or suspension welding you will want a 220 volt welder for better penetration whether you use mig or a stick welder.

That Century looks like it does an OK job with sheet metal. You might want to get a used Lincoln buzz box. Can usually be found on Craigs for ~$100.

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Or it may be user error... My buddy got this welder for $75 bux from a family friend or some such deal... I was the first person to use it and use it most of the time... I buy the majority of the wire etc etc... I have no training or teaching on how to weld... Dude brought the welder over and said there it is, go to it... I practiced on some scraps for one evening and that night I ordered filler plates and such for my truck... I've basically learned on my truck and other people's stuff by myself...

To clear the air about your Century welder compaired to other units. Century has been building welders for over 80 years. They are the main source/ supplier for specialty brands such as, "Craftsman" and "Snap-On", recently Century has been forced to actually move on to a more diversed setup. They have designed a welder for the simple home shop user. I have an older Snap-On unit from 1986, its a 205 unit and it was great up till an inexperienced user got a hold of it. Since then, it has been replaced with another 220V setup. H.F. sales the Century home shop unit as a discount welder. It is the very same welder you would buy with out the "Craftsmen" or "Snap-On" name.

I have bought most of my name brand shop stuff from pawn shops here in my area. And the pricing is better then one would expect. The pawn shops won't take a broken unit they could not resale to the public. So you are just the same if you were buying from someone in the general classifieds. And you really want to get a 220V gas welder over the flux core. And if you go down to your local PraxAir suplier, it only cost around $145.00 for the 10 year lease on the large bottle. After 10 years of service the bottle is yours to keep. And it does not cost that much to refill your large bottle. Last time I paid $22.00 for my refill. 110V Flux core welders are good for lite welding, meaning stuff less then 3/16" for good certifiable welds.

Maximo

hobart handler 135 from a welding supply. 110v and can handle frames no problem.

I too use a Hobart Handler 135, 110 volt. It does a good job but be sure to bevel your connecting edges to a good 45 degrees and more than half way the thickness of the metal to get good penatration. I set my amperage on 4 , the highest setting, and set the wire feed on 40-50. I use 75/25 gas and run around 10-15 psi on the gage. 023 wire.

So far I have not had any trouble welding 3/16 tubing with this unit. Its also good for sheet metal, patch panels, at the proper settings.

Followering the chart inside the welder cover will get you close to what you actually need. Fine tune from there.

Good luck and happy building

Ratcrazy said:

I too use a Hobart Handler 135, 110 volt. It does a good job but be sure to bevel your connecting edges to a good 45 degrees and more than half way the thickness of the metal to get good penatration. I set my amperage on 4 , the highest setting, and set the wire feed on 40-50. I use 75/25 gas and run around 10-15 psi on the gage. 023 wire.

So far I have not had any trouble welding 3/16 tubing with this unit. Its also good for sheet metal, patch panels, at the proper settings.

Followering the chart inside the welder cover will get you close to what you actually need. Fine tune from there.

Good luck and happy building

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You really should not weld 3/16 with .023 wire. Its just not enough filler.It should be .035 or .030 at the Min.

food for thought?

I have welded for years. But at one time was in the same boat. I researched my local vocational training schools, not sure if there are any located near you.... but it worked for me. I was wanting to restore a project and found a local school which offered night classes in welding and metal working. I was able to take my OWN vehiecle to class and learn to weld, fabricate panels, etc... It was a win situation for me. I believe the class lasted six weeks. I gained experience with all kinds of welders, found out that I could do it and it was something I enjoyed. I also got my own projects done at the same time.
After completing the coarse, I new exactly what I needed to start my own shop at home. Purchased the equipment, and been roddin' ever since.

My wife bought me a used Lincoln weld pak 100 for Christmas from a friends mechanic. I LOVE it!!!!!! I had never done but one mig welding job ever before in my life. But, that didn't stop me from jumping in and starting to weld. My Dad was a welder by trade, so I knew it was in my blood. I've done things from building a cart to fixing a new patch panel and other rust replacement. I did alot of reading on here and the other sites before I started looking for a beginners welder. Once my flux core runs out I plan to buy the conversion kit and change it to gas. Practice is the key to learning what settings and speed for different materials. Here are a few things I've done.

I have a Miller Sidekick XL and love it. Have done sheetmetal and frame welding with it. My frist wire feed always used stick before.

i want to bring up an old thread. i have read all 6 pages after i posted a similer quesiton on a newer thread. back to somethign bonehead suggested picking up an old arc welder and using stick for frames. Not pretty but hey, its "old skool" right. so it got me thinking, what about picking up a 110 unit mig on the cheap for body work, chops, channels, floor pans and so on. Then get an old cheap arc stick welder for the frame stuff? i am in the same place as the OP having never welded a day in my life. couldn't i then pick up both of those cheaper then a do it all hight dollar mig? besides, can you just take a grinder to those ugly welds to clean them up? or will that damage the integrity of the weld? Any thanks for any input.

And if any one near me is up for doing some teaching i am up for learning.

When you get good at it, you won't have to grind an arc weld. It will look as good as a mig weld. Grinding is a whole topic in itself. Beveling the two edges before you weld, not grinding too deep, grinding with the frame, not across it. Grinding (then sanding) with smaller and smaller grit, to get those grooves into surface scratches.
There is alot to it.

Saw a cracker box arc welder in the paper the other day for $100 bucks.

One of the best all around mig machines that I have worked with was a old Miller #35 - it didn't have the heat adjustment dial that the newer machines have, you had to adjust your heat by moving the lead plugs. The 110 machines can be used for thick material, but in order to get what some people think is a good looking weld - which in turn may not be a "SAFE" weld - your bead ends up being wider and your heat ends up being to hot, the same goes for using .023 for thick material, in order to get the penetration needed for certain thickness's of material you over extend the parameters of the thickness of the wire - inshort you burnt the wire. You have to remember that heat does change the temper of steel either by shoftening it or making it brittle and this could be the difference between life and death - especially with material that is already worked hardened. Your best bet is to save up for a brand name 210 gas unit, either new or used, you'll thank yourself in the end.