What welder brand(s) are you using?

What brand welder do you have/use for DIY?

  • Hobart

  • Miller

  • Lincoln

  • ESAB

  • Vulcan

  • Titanium

  • Chicago Electric

  • [OTHER] Comment


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Hybridracers

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As someone who has welded professionally I'll put in my .02

The harbor freight welders are absolutely more than capable for 90% of the builders here. I have had people buy them and taught them to weld and never had anyone run harder than the machine as far as duty cycle or material capability. The majority of us aren't production welding in our garage and the majority of us aren't welding structural components.

In regards to type, none are technically any better than the other when it comes to weld strength. That's determined by the filler metal and the skill of the welder in penetration.

Flux is windy wire and what you save in prep time you get back in clean up time.

Mig can look like tig but requires cleaner metal and a still environment.

Tig is beautiful but requires near clean room at ups with clean metal and still environment. It also suffers with duty cycle for inches per minute just due to technique. Unless you're welding chromoly, most anything can done mig much faster and with skill can be every bit as pretty. The advantage is really in weld profile when called for in plans or food grade welds on stainless.

I struggle watching people who ask me to teach them falling in the trap I did.... wanting the blue box or the red box names and thinking its going to do anything to make them better.

I assure you, a welder who can actually read a puddle and has hand/eye coordination will out weld a massive amount of the hobbyists out there with a HF $180 flux welder.

Like anything is about the amount of time you do it and that means analyzing your welding and making sure you keep improving.

Long story short, I have a blue box suite of equipment and I'm just a content in given parameters with a HF welder.
 

Kartorbust

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The one thing that the Red, Blue, Grey/White (Hobart), Yellow offer is usually a better warranty and service, as well as replacement parts.
 

chimmike

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The only reason I had a TIG for years was the ability to switch back and forth between steel and aluminum with essentially a flick of the switch and maybe swap of the tungsten versus MIG, and lack of spatter. I'd love a MIG unit that does steel and aluminum though.
 

gegcorp2012

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I picked up a Lincoln 225S 220v AC stick welder. Previously, I had not used stick... only MIG process.

I tried to strike an arc using a rusty piece of pipe and a crusty, crumbly rod and it worked (amps turned up high as shown),
20210113_194841.jpg
...so I paid $100 for the Lincoln and a complete tap and die set in a tin case. Also picked up a creeper, an air impact wrench, a set of Jack stands and a propane camping heater for another $40.

I am looking for a welder/process to weld cast aluminum. From a quick search, TIG or DC stick seem to be the way to go.
 

Kartorbust

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I've never done cast aluminum, let alone cast anything. Just be sure to read procedures carefully and follow to the letter. Cast parts are quite brittle and can crack if not done properly.
 

Kartorbust

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Weld.com has some excellent videos on flux-core welding, highly recommend them. Playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL52lqKDQaoDhXx4oNM64YeWtD_dC4fIWl

I've started messing around with oxy/acetylene welding, looking at weld.com's youtube videos. Pretty cool stuff, and lots easier than I thought, and it's helped my flux-core skills get better as well.

Wish I had found them back in college for welding. Might've made it a bit easier. Back then I watched Miller Weld videos. Took me a couple videos on how to start GTAW welding. How to get the setup and how to get the hand motion going.
 

ThatTomGuy

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i have a high frequency miller Tig for stainless and aluminum
Lincoln stick machine i also use for gouging rod
picked up a small mastercraft (canadian tire) 160 mig for smaller projects just because it was 70% off .... good deal

My tickets are fabrication and engineering though i did a lot of tacking and welding during my steel fab apprenticeship and held many shop transferable welding tickets with 7018 rod and 045 wire as well as sub arc process.
Haven't done much welding since i retired but have all the gear.
It's why I joined this site because I wanna build some toys :D
 
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mamoudad

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Hi guys. Mamoudad here. From Mamou, Louisiana. I currently was given an old 225 amp Lincoln Arc Welder. I'm not sure what rods to burn on it. I'm a beginner at welding. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also thanks for letting me join the group. I am building a cart, so I'll be on here alot getting advice from the pros.... Thanks
P.S This is my vision....
 

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Kartorbust

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A lot of practice for starters. I'd practice with E6013 on clean sheet metal. Sheet metal according to the American Welding society is 3/16" and thinner. E6013 was the electrodes that was used on sheet metal for years before mig welding really came to be. I'd also recommend watching videos from weld.com channel on YouTube.
 

mamoudad

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A lot of practice for starters. I'd practice with E6013 on clean sheet metal. Sheet metal according to the American Welding society is 3/16" and thinner. E6013 was the electrodes that was used on sheet metal for years before mig welding really came to be. I'd also recommend watching videos from weld.com channel on YouTube.
Thanks alot man!! Will take all that into consideration... Would you like to hear what I have in mind and what I have to work with? Maybe you could give me some tips. Wise man loves correction!
 

mamoudad

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So I picked up a Trailmaster mid xrx without do swingarm or engine just the front frame and front wheels then someone gave me the generator with the 16 horsepower Honda clone on it which I have I have separated from the generator and then I just picked up the Lincoln welder. So once I've got some practice in welding I need to know what's the best size tubing to build a swing on for. At what size sprockets I should use I want to use a torque converter on this setup also.
 

Budget GoKart

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i use a harbor freight welder no complaints does the job i have a class at school called ag power structure an ffa class so we use big ol miller stick and wire welders. so far we have only done stick and with all that power and how easy it is it has really helped learn welding on the little horror frought welder but ran outta wire again lol.
 

Kartorbust

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Had to do a bit of welding at work today. A guy bought a Ram 1500 from us 4 days ago. Supposedly he hydroplane and possibly hit a curb. Needless to say, the exhaust pipe had jostled back off of the flange after the Cats and out of the exhaust clamp. When I went to loosen up the exhaust clamp, one of the nuts was loose...somehow. The exhaust had also pulled most of the or all the way out of the isolator rubber hangers. Once I got the hangers back in place and the exhaust back into the flange, tightened the clamp down all the way and welded the stupid exhaust pipe.

Wasn't my best work, but my excuses are as follows:
-Rusty metal
-Joint was a bit obstructed by crossmember
-Weld was a bit out of position

All things considered though, if should hold for a good while. Wish I could've welded the whole thing instead.
 

Kartorbust

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You can never go wrong with a transformer based welder like the Hobart 140. 5 year warranty on the transformers is nice.
 

Kartorbust

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Here's one thing I'm struggling with as far as choosing a new welder to grow with. Getting either a fixed voltage or getting a dual voltage. Dual voltage machines are great, especially when you can use the 240v side, however, some homes do not have 240v wired and not all 240v outlets are the same. Another thing is, do you just want a single process or multi-process. Multi-process machines are great so you can do a bit of everything. But they do come with a few downsides.

1. It's a jack of all trades, master of none, you are sacrificing something somewhere. For example, majority of the multi-process that have tig, are DC only, meaning not suitable for aluminum work. Some do not come with the foot pedal provisions, so usually scratch start only.
2. Added costs. Multi-process machines start around $700 (Titanium 200) and go upwards of $3400 (ESAB Rebel EMP 215). The ESAB Rebel EMP 215 does have A/C Tig capabilities, but it comes at a high cost. Higher than what most home hobbyists and DIYers would find acceptable. You'll also need different glasses for your tig and mig processes, 100% argon for majority of tig. C25 for your standard short circuit mig.
3. Inverter technology is still relatively new compared to transformer welders. They also do not do well in dusty environments, so keep that in mind. Do what you can to keep the dust to a minimum.

They are great for what they are, just know they have their limitations. They do keep everything neatly packaged in a single machine and not several. So if storage is at a premium, you could be better off with just one machine.
 
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