Welding Question

[mms140]

Hello everybody, I am building my first go kart and am using .083 wall thickness square tubing (1 in by 1 inch) and am wondering if the welder below will do the job. If so, what amp should I set it at when welding? Lastly, what type of flux wire do I use?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200441249_200441249

 

[OzFab]

Yeah, it'll do the job but, it has very little variability (2 settings; high & low). The problem with that is if high is too hot & low is not hot enough, do you know what to do? The fact that you're asking for opinions on a welder tells me you're not very experienced; correct?

If you can get it, use FC11 0.8mm wire

 

[Acavet]

.083 is very thin material especially for something as small as 1" square tubing and a ladder style frame. Round tubing of the same size is stronger and weights less but you might want to consider .095 or even .120. Round tubing is harder to work with.

The welder you are considering is really bottom of the barrel. It does not offer variable settings. Your going to want something with some adjustability. Someone who knows what they are doing can weld with just about anything. Its going to be a lot harder for a novice. There should be a chart inside the lid of the welder which will give you suggested wire speed and amp settings, on a adjustable welder, these are only guidelines and will depend a lot on the speed you move the tip of the torch and quality of the steel you are working with and your incoming amps and volts.

Smaller welders are really susceptible to fluctuations in the voltage and amperage coming from your home outlet. Yes your voltage does fluctuate, a setting that works good for you in the evening might not work for you during the day when the electrical demand is higher. When your welding sounds like frying bacon your in the ball park, you'll know what I'm taking about when you hit the right amp setting and speed.

Preparation of your material is everything, make sure you clean all surface coating from your material and bevel edges that you intend on welding. Its going to take practice, practice, practice to get good penetrations without burn through. Thicker material will give you some leeway and is easier for beginners. A good weld is stronger than the surrounding material. If you want to see how your doing weld two pieces together then cut through the weld and see if you are fully penetrating the material.

Good luck.

 

[mms140]

Thank you guys for helping out, would you guys recommend another welder other than this one for beginners and is not too expensive?

 

[buddyochoa]

Thats not much different then the welder I ordered from Harbor Freight. Though for me my amperage isn't dependent on my wire feed speed and movement speed, but the opposite.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

.083 is very thin material especially for something as small as 1" square tubing and a ladder style frame.

While I agree that larger tubing would be appropriate for a ladder frame, .083" ain't that thin, relatively speaking. Actually, if it were for a space frame, I would call that too thick!

Round tubing of the same size is stronger and weights less but you might want to consider .095 or even .120. Round tubing is harder to work with.

It's better to use larger diameter tube with a thinner wall, than smaller tube with a thicker wall. Pound for pound, the results are stronger. While round may be marginally lighter and arguably stronger, it's a royal PITA to work with if you do not have the appropriate tools, such as a bender and a notcher. Square tube is much easier to deal with for the average DIYguy, as cuts can be mitred easily, even by hand.

If this is your first project, and you do NOT have tools or experience specific to round tube, I would suggest square tube in the 1.25" to 1.5" range, with a wall thickness in the 0.065" to 0.080" range.

IMHO, 0.120" wall is just too heavy for an "average" kart.

 

[Acavet]

If this is your first project, and you do NOT have tools or experience specific to round tube, I would suggest square tube in the 1.25" to 1.5" range, with a wall thickness in the 0.065" to 0.080" range.

IMHO, 0.120" wall is just too heavy for an "average" kart.

If you are new to welding you are going to run into one of two problems, either burn through or insufficient penetration of the weld. Burn through of the material is very difficult for a novice to fix. Go with thicker material your first frame, it will give you less headaches, you wont have to worry about burning through the material and even if your weld only penetrates 50% into the steel your still going to have a weld strong enough for your purpose.

Sorry, I don't have a recommendation on a low price welder for you. I paid around $600.00 for my first Lincoln. It gave me the adjustability to do both thin/thick material. When it comes to welders its better to buy bigger, in the hands of a novice you will never get the advertised performance out of the machine. What is advertised is always under ideal conditions, seldom what someone new to welding will be dealing with.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

If you are new to welding you are going to run into one of two problems, either burn through or insufficient penetration of the weld. Burn through of the material is very difficult for a novice to fix. Go with thicker material your first frame, it will give you less headaches, you wont have to worry about burning through the material and even if your weld only penetrates 50% into the steel your still going to have a weld strong enough for your purpose.

True. The only pitfall is that the weight can add up fast. I made this mistake and it resulted in a kart that was much heavier than it should have been. Then again, I already had some welding experience.

Sorry, I don't have a recommendation on a low price welder for you. I paid around $600.00 for my first Lincoln. It gave me the adjustability to do both thin/thick material. When it comes to welders its better to buy bigger, in the hands of a novice you will never get the advertised performance out of the machine. What is advertised is always under ideal conditions, seldom what someone new to welding will be dealing with.

Also true. And in addition to that, you will get a lifetime of good service out of a quality machine and they keep their value too. If you want to upgrade to a bigger machine later, you can flip it for a good buck.

 

[Acavet]

True. The only pitfall is that the weight can add up fast. I made this mistake and it resulted in a kart that was much heavier than it should have been. Then again, I already had some welding experience.

According to the charts the difference in weight between 1.5 square tubing of .083 and .095 is only 14%. If your frame weight in at 50 lbs, with .083 then another 7 lbs for thicker .095 isn't going to make or break your project.

If you haven't welded before go with thicker material. It will save you a lot of time and headache.

 

[mms140]

What about a welder from harbor freight, would that be better? Thank you for all the help.

 

[OzFab]

The HF welder is almost the same as the northern tool one, identical as far as functionality goes. These machines ar ok for beginners but an advanced welder would never buy one. Good welding machines (& I used that term lightly) start at around $400 - $600 but, if you're happy to start with that & that's all your budget allows for, go ahead.