New to welding. Help?

[Sdannenberg3]

Hey, so I am going to need to do some modifications to my go kart frame. Th metal is no more than 1/8" thick but i also am going to be needing to weld tubular frame together. So would a flux welder work in my application or should I stick with an arc welder because dont they leave bigger, stronger beads? But a flux welder seems like it would be nicer to use. What about this welder?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=55525

It says it does both gas and gasless operations? does that mean that you start the welding the same way? by touching the metal and making an arc? Im really confused with this stuff people. Could anyone enlighten me on what I need to get in my situation?

 

[kibble]

That's the same welder I have. You can use either flux wire or regular wire with gas attached to the welder. It's a MIG welder, it feeds the wire into the work when you pull the trigger. It's pretty easy to use. If you can afford to get a cylinder with CO2 and regulator, you're better off using it with gas, than just the flux core. Using gas leaves much cleaner welds. I started off with the flux core, but after I got a cylinder, I won't do flux anymore, unless it's for something that doesn't matter much.

 

[Sdannenberg3]

Ok, but your saying I can use it without co2 correct? just like an arc welder? Pure electricity. This would be just to start off with though. Once i practice and get good (and get money lol) I would switch over to gas.

So basically all i want to know is... Can I use this like an arc welder with just pure electricity, and will it weld 1/8" thick steel to my frame??? Even though the flux seems to be thinner than the sticks with an arc welder.

Thx

 

[kibble]

Yes, you can use it without gas. I've welded 1/4" with mine so 1/8" isn't a problem. Yes, the wire is thinner but remember, the welder is feeding it into the weld so you don't run out. The feeding rate is controlled by that knob in the middle of the welder.

 

[Sdannenberg3]

Ohh ok, I get it. So although it is thinner, it feeds way more into the weld. Thanks man. I must now go down to harbor freight and pick up my new welder thanks kibble

 

[jr dragster T]

well its hard to get good at fluxcore I hate fluxcore personally it smokes like crazy, stink. etc

 

[kibble]

Yeah, flux core sucks, but at least you can use it to get some experience, it seems like it's harder to weld with flux core, but if you get the hang of it, welding with gas isn't as bad!

 

[Sdannenberg3]

but is flux core harder than arc welding? Cause it seems like that would be challenging because you have to do the same thing as flux core, plus you have to bring the stick closer and closer as the stick melts away into the weld. If arc welding would be way easier and simpler then ill do that. So should I get an arc welder for the little bit of frame welding that ill be doing? Or get the dual purpose welder and maybe if someday I start to weld more I can switch to gas?

 

[kibble]

No, it's really easy! Plus it's harder to make the wire stick to the weld than it is with arc welding. All you do is hold the gun about 1/4" away from the surface, pull the trigger, let the wire hit the surface and move it in a rainbow-like movement across the parts you're trying to weld, making sure to overlap a little bit, like this:

 

[zenki86]

I made a big mistake and bought the other mig welder from HF http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94056 last year when it was on sale for like $90 something bucks plus the 10% discount because of the "we're moving sale" (moved across town, 5 min away! use to be 1 min away from my house ) but if I knew back then what I know now! I would of spent a little more for the other HF mig welder that has the option to use gas http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=55525

getting tired of cleaning up the welds with my angle grinder due to the splash from the flux. might sell the one I have and upgrade to gas version soon... :toetap05:

 

[GoAlterBridge]

I've welded with TIG, MIG, and flux. Obviously using gas would be the overall best choice, but for people like me (That get about $0.02 a week.), flux works ok. I have the reconditioned flux-core welder from Harbor Freight, and it works alright.