Found the perfect welder! #2

[oscaryu1]

Thanks! Any advice on what not to wear or so? Thanks man!

 

[Kenny_McCormic]

Think twice before grabbing anything. I have a bad tendency to pick stuff up 30 seconds after it was glowing yellow.

 

[ed1380]

dont wear sandals. it sucks when one of the little sparks falls in there

 

[jr dragster T]

Get a magnetic ground. The clamp wont grip around thick go kart chasis. But the magnet just sticks to the metel.

 

[oscaryu1]

Where can I get a magnetic ground? And how long should I leave it before picking up the welded piece?

PS - Goin to HF to see what I can get today!

 

[kibble]

HF has magnetic grounding devices. I had bought one when I got my welder... I just don't know where it is now. Hmmm... I gotta look for it.

 

[oscaryu1]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44567

Just came back from a day of shopping. ^ Welder bought. Then bought the auto-dimming mask... ehh...a 6" bench grinder... 4" Ring compressor...a couple of other things.

Is that an OK welder? 15A and 110V. Perfect.

 

[Kenny_McCormic]

Its got a pretty bad duty cycle on the high range but welding go cart frames from tubing you wont use the high range very often anyways. Should be fine for your purposes.

 

[oscaryu1]

So to break it down for me, what's the duty cycle I'll be doing? (Every 10 minutes)

And how long should I take on let's say a 1" weld?

 

[Kenny_McCormic]

High 1 minute out of 10
low 1.75 minutes out of every 10

 

[ineed2fly]

If you are brushing inbetween welds, and kinda just like working at a normal pace, you shouldnt need to take a break. Sounds like you had an expensive day!

 

[oscaryu1]

Yup! Tell me about it! WalMart, Sears, Harbor Freight, BestBuy...

Today me and my brother go paintballin!

Anywho, what do you mean "normal pace"? And again, how long should I spend on a weld? I don't wanna keep it there so long it melts everything to bits

 

[Kenny_McCormic]

As long as it takes, bead should be 1/4"-3/8" wide.

 

[oscaryu1]

Thanks for the info! So... no jeans, Pan, duty cycle...

There's like an adjustment knob after the low/high switch... what's that for? Thanks Kenny!

 

[AutoMX]

the welder should have the wire feed speed (knob with speed #s), the high/low settings, and the on off switch.

welding with a wire feed or stick welder isnt like holding up a torch to metal and guessing when it's melted. you point, pull the trigger, and if you've welded it right the weld will be solid, if not, it will break when you pull. if you hover too long it will be painfully obvious, you'll have a giant ball of metal over the weld.

also, 'no jeans'? what then, naked? jeans are fine, unless you happen to have heavy duty raw leather pants (!?!) which would be ideal. welding in shorts is less desirable thought, burn potential (i'm almost used to it, red burn spots where metal beads burned through the pants/shirt) and UV blasting your legs which is no good.

 

[jonesie8807]

oscary - let me know how easy this welder is to use. i would like to learn how to weld. about how much did u spend for the whole set up?

 

[oscaryu1]

Around $160... $50 for the auto-dimming mask, and $120 for the welder. Oh, and a $20 warranty because my parents insisted on it

How long does it take for the metal to "solidify"?

 

[crazycart]

A matter of seconds, i like to cool it down with some water also, just so it doesnt get too hot and burn a hole.

 

[oscaryu1]

Wait... it will burn a hole even when not welding?

 

[jr dragster T]

Kinda. After you weld it is super bright red hot so he pours water on it so it doesnt like drip through.