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tuna posted:Welding is cool and good. I'm surprised there's no dedicated welding thread here or in DIY. Blacksmithing & metalwork
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May 29, 2020 02:32
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kastein posted:I'm running a Hobart 70 dollar mask from tractor supply Co. It's alright. Worth noting, the safety part of the mask is always on, it's the visible light shield that turns on and off. I was going to mention that the safety part is built in. And yes yes yes to the respirator. 3m half face with the 2097 pancakes are perfect for welding because they fit under a shield.
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May 29, 2020 02:34
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Yeah I know about that one but one thread for the entirety of all topics in metalworking seems a tad broad so I tend to ignore it a lot.  No big deal, just an observation.
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May 29, 2020 02:42
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Oh yeah, there are some really great fixturing tools for welding. I forgot about those. Last night I finally got a chance to use my newest ones actually... These things. I got them from a bargain bin at TSC years ago iirc and they really really helped putting my exhaust together. https://weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?PNUM::1:UNDEF:X:PG622V
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May 29, 2020 03:59
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I've got a set of magnets that look just like the gold part that are my absolute favorite. I have four and I could use another set.
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May 29, 2020 04:11
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Krakkles, get the 110v MIG and buy a $100 harbor freight inverter stick welder. The maximum settings on the 110v handler will get you full penetration with the thickest wire you can run, at a decent speed, a 125 amp stick welder will let you do passible multi-lap welds on 1/2" armor plate, the dudes welding exotic alloy schedule 80 pipes in Nuclear systems, and welding half inch thick square tube beams holding literally tons of equipment to a submarine hull use tiny little 220v Millers, for the hobbyist you only need 220V for TIG, even a 110v stick welder with a 1/8" electrode will push the necessary 125amps, if a 110v welder can melt 125 thousands of an inch of a stick electrode with decent penetration, you do not need 220v to push enough current to melt 35 thousandths of an inch of electrode, buying a 220v MIG welder is throwing money down the drain for a hobbyist, just last week I welded steel hinges onto 1/8" angle iron with a 110V Hobart Handler, and they hold up 250lb motorcycles being wheeled across them over and over, I would've welded them with my stick, but my car was charging, and I'm way to lazy to walk 300' to retrieve the long forgotten 110v cord for my Vulcan. I don't think you're gonna listen to me though. Buy 10# spools of MIG wire, they last forever, Blue Demon makes a reasonable price wire available on Amazon, do not cheap out on consumables, they spatter more and start worse and will only lead to misery and frustration while you're learning. Your Hobart will come with a 2# spool of flux core you can dick around with pretty extensively. If you're welding with flux-core go down to Tractor Supply and pick up a flux-core tip, it'll improve your visibility, and what's more, you won't be digging slag out of your regular nozzle every 5 minutes. Buy a pair of MIG pliers, you can get 'em anywhere welding supplies are sold (including Blue and Orange boxes) they will come in handy the first 500 times you bird-nest your wire inside your MIG. Pay attention to your DCEN and DCEP for flux core and non flux-core, my 110v Hobart came set up DCEN for flux core, dunno if the 220v model will. Seconding the Vulcan TIG gloves for MIG welding, they're pretty good quality, offer great dexterity (nice and supple) and are cheap as chips, buy two pairs, I literally burnt through my first pair, now I use them to pull blackberries out of my roses. Buy an assortment of big vice-grip clamps, regular welding clamps, and 90⁰ magnets, HF is fine for this stuff until you break it, if you break it get nicer stuff. Buy a good set of abrasives for that angle grinder we recommended you awhile ago, while you're at it buy a second angle grinder, I'm thinking about 3, 1 for cutting, 1 for grinding, and one for wire brushing. Buy this chipping hammer, don't waste you time with those spring-handled pieces of poo poo that are softer than the slag you're trying to chip. Have fun! Melting metal together has been my favorite new skill of the last year or so, it's awesome, and I've found tons of reasons to do it that are completely unnecessary.
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May 29, 2020 07:00
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Elviscat posted:Krakkles, get the 110v MIG Quoting this so I can find it later, but what would a good "not going to make a living doing this but I can stick bits of metal together to do car stuff or maybe make a gate or something" one of these to get that isn't going to lead to me wanting to replace it 1 year down the road?
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May 29, 2020 13:20
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Hobart Handler 140's in a pretty sweet spot for quality/capability/cost, imo, Lincoln ProMig 140 is good too.
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May 29, 2020 13:31
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StormDrain posted:
Finally, a cap to match my mudflaps.
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May 29, 2020 14:17
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C-Bangin' it 
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kastein posted:Yeah nothing is stopping you from doing that except the fact that if someone dies or is injured as a result, the person who signed the DoC and/or the VP and C-levels of your company can get dragged into court criminally for it IIRC. Got any proof that this poo poo ever sticks to said executives? Because I don't believe your optimism.
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May 29, 2020 14:34
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I can't find any having googled for a while. It may be just that I'm not using the right keywords, it may be that it's never happened. Probably both to be honest. Enforcement and penalities are up to the individual member states so the infraction to search for is also different. The UK max penalties are 5k gbp/6mo in jail for medical devices infractions and 10k gbp/12mo in jail for all others which seems backwards. I'm betting there are a lot more fines handed out than jail sentences, I did find reference to several companies that have been fined. You can also be forced to recall everything.
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May 29, 2020 16:21
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tuna posted:good info kastein posted:respirator, ears To all the clamps and magnets and such - lots of options, and I appreciate the pointers - I probably won't buy any until I start figuring out what I need, but I definitely need them. Elviscat posted:Krakkles, get the 110v MIG and buy a $100 harbor freight inverter stick welder. ... I don't think you're gonna listen to me though. Hobart 140:
I'm not 100% sure that I'm going to need to weld aluminum, but I don't want to close myself to the possibility of being able to - another, less active poster is currently running into this, because he needs to weld a steering rack and has the 140. I do like the idea of, essentially, not having to deal with duty cycles. I'm also not clear on the mention of a HF stick welder - I went and looked, and it's more than $100 (presumably solvable with a halfway decent coupon, of course), and doesn't cover anything I can spot that isn't handled by the MIG? (Other than, of course, "stick welding", but I don't know if I care about that, yet?) kastein posted:I can't find any having googled for a while. It may be just that I'm not using the right keywords, it may be that it's never happened. Probably both to be honest. Enforcement and penalities are up to the individual member states so the infraction to search for is also different. The UK max penalties are 5k gbp/6mo in jail for medical devices infractions and 10k gbp/12mo in jail for all others which seems backwards. I'm betting there are a lot more fines handed out than jail sentences, I did find reference to several companies that have been fined. You can also be forced to recall everything.
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May 29, 2020 17:29
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My Miller 211mvp is being a bit...inconsistent on 120v. I've only ever used it 240v up until recently and it's always been great. I'm in a new place now and haven't gotten around to adding a 240v outlet but I had a couple small projects so I just used it with 120v. Just 1/8" to 1/8" material which should be trivial but like 3/8" into a pass it sometimes starts getting screwy. The only thing that's changed is the voltage and the welder bouncing around in a trailer for 2,000 miles. Maybe I'll do some electrical work this weekend and see if that fixes it.
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May 29, 2020 18:25
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Krakkles posted:Words On duty cycle, it's a question of how large of projects you want to tackle. If you see yourself welding all day at times waiting on the welder to cool off gets old fast. Sorry if i missed it earlier but what are you going to use it for? Say it's bodywork, the lesser welder will be great. Want to build a roll cage? Go bigger. Basically you want the majority of your welding to be well under the welders max output so the tool isn't making you spend 8 out of 10 minutes waiting.
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May 30, 2020 01:40
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honda whisperer posted:On duty cycle, it's a question of how large of projects you want to tackle. If you see yourself welding all day at times waiting on the welder to cool off gets old fast. I'm not buying this because "I need to fix or build [thing]" (although there are things I need to fix and want to build), but because:
I want to make sure I'm listening if someone tells me to stop digging down, though. 
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May 30, 2020 02:36
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Stop digging. You can't solve all problem right now and don't even know what you need to solve them if it's even possible with one device. Get something, at the right price so you can maybe sell it off later, that solves one problem and allows you to learn. Move on from that. If you can't get all of the money back, consider it education. But you don't need to pay big dollars for this initial education.
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May 30, 2020 02:46
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I personally started on a 120v Lincoln 135plus. It has served me very well through the years, and thicker stuff can be done with multiple passes. I've also got a dual voltage Miller rig, a 240v Lincoln tombstone stick, a 120v spot welder, a couple oxy setups, a Lincoln plasma, and only just recently did I buy a 240v Lincoln mig. It's literally taken me a decade to get around to a more powerful mig. The flexibility of a 120v unit is nice, but if you don't think you will be welding anywhere but your welding table, it wouldn't hurt to start with the bigger model, unless you plan on doing a lot of bodywork. If you are going to do a lot of thinner stuff, the models which have infinitely adjustable voltage are nice.
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May 30, 2020 03:18
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Yes as someone who's been welding a lot of sheet metal of varying thicknesses, I wish I had more granularity in the voltage settings right now. I get by with a stack of flap disks though. And I've learned how to fill a little hole pretty well.
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May 30, 2020 03:22
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Krakkles posted:I ended up ordering that eastwood mask since it seemed VERY close spec wise, and was on sale for less than the HF version, but appreciate all the info - lots of good info here! I'm keeping that wire link, even though I'm leaning toward the earlier recommendation of Lincoln, at least to start - as said, I'd rather start on good wire, avoid the issues, and be able to recognize those issues if I do downgrade later. But this looks like a good middle ground between $52 Lincoln and HF. Thank you! I've never hit the duty cycle on the 140, even welding 12"+ long beads on sheet metal, it's worth noting that the 140 CAN weld Al, it's uh, just not very good, because feeding Al wire through 6' of cable to the gun is difficult (why a spool gun is good) if you want to weld a bunch of Al an (expensive) AC TIG is the way to go. I mention stick, because if you need to weld heavy steel plate that's going to give your 110v MIG fits, it's just the better option, no gas, better penetration. If you really want to cover as much welder as you'll ever need, look at the Vulcan Omnipro, it'll do MIG/TIG/stick, it's 120/240v, will do Al MIG with a $200 attachment, about $100 more than the 240v Hobart, and TIG welding is AWESOME, especially if you're doing bodywork or just home hobbyist welding, you want to weld a stainless muffler? No need to switch gasses, just buy a tube of SS rods from your local welding supplier and go to town. HF is easy to laugh at, but the Vulcan line is no poo poo pretty decent, they did their homework, read some reviews from pros who are diehard Lincoln/Miller guys, they're generally grudgingly pretty impressed with the Vulcans for the price point, the general consensus is that the Vulcans are likely not going to handle every day welding as well as the more industrial machines, but if you're welding occasionally will that matter to you? My anecdotal evidence is my Vulcan TIG/stick has held up flawlessly, it's been stored in some lovely (wet) conditions and fed its ration of grinder dust too, keeps on truckin', I pull out my Hobart 140 only when I'm too lazy to set up gas and a pedal, and my material's too thin to weld with stick. If you're set on "Made in the USA (of global components)" then obviously Lincoln, Miller and Hobart are going to be your only options. If you can go up to the $1150 price point, Everlast makes a multiprocess (and an affordable $850 TIG that will do AC aluminum) and they're good enough units to be used by no-poo poo professional welders. I guess this has strayed from "the 140 is a great unit that will meet all your needs" to "here's my dissertation on what's best for a hobbyist welder" but I've learned a lot over the last year, and want you to get the best bang for your buck, 'cause a grand is a lot to spend on an occasional hobby thing.
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May 30, 2020 05:39
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Elviscat posted:
Why is this? Not questioning your statement, I've heard it before just wondering why flux is better than gas for penetration. I've heard that fluxcore penetrates really well also. Does the flux and the resulting slag shield the weld puddle better? Assuming proper settings/procedure etc...
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May 30, 2020 15:17
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wesleywillis posted:Why is this? I've never heard that before, I thought they meant it as in it was simpler. Stick is a larger electrode and more... Voltage? Amperage? One of those, which would be more power to melt steel and get better penetration.
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May 30, 2020 15:22
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I grabbed a heavy duty engine hoist off the side of the road (and mostly fit it into the back of my 1995 Corolla, which made for the scariest drive home of my life). Looks like it's in good shape, minus the jack thing, which is missing. I see that there are replacement jacks for hoists online, but my possibly stupid question is this: The hoist is rated for 2000LB. So do I just get a 2000LB jack to fit onto it? Or is it like...since the boom extends out, do I actually need a jack rated higher than that to compensate for the fully extended boom? Am I being dumb?
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May 30, 2020 17:16
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Achtane posted:I grabbed a heavy duty engine hoist off the side of the road (and mostly fit it into the back of my 1995 Corolla, which made for the scariest drive home of my life). Looks like it's in good shape, minus the jack thing, which is missing. You're not being dumb. You probably are going to have to do some measuring and math to figure it out.
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May 30, 2020 17:20
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wesleywillis posted:Why is this? MIG overall can be a strong process, but it is also massively susceptible to cold lap and other defects while still looking good (or bad!). Since it's constant voltage and wire feed happens no matter what, there are tons of things that can go wrong since that weld is building no matter what settings or procedure is being used. 110v MIG in particular has extremely little capacity to penetrate anything over ~1/8" thick without a lot of care. The main attraction to MIG is that it's fast and has a very easy initial learning curve. Stick is constant current and in general, is inherently good as long as the weld meets some visual inspection, which it will not unless you've got acceptable current, rod selection and procedure. If you've got a 20a 110v outlet and a little suitcase stick welder, you can pretty much weld anything together with the right stick procedure and it will be veritably good. I'd still recommend a dual voltage 110/220v MIG welder as a first hobbyist machine. The $200-$400 price jump is worth it over 110v if you're every going to get more serious about the hobby. Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 17:43 on May 30, 2020 |
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May 30, 2020 17:38
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Achtane posted:I grabbed a heavy duty engine hoist off the side of the road (and mostly fit it into the back of my 1995 Corolla, which made for the scariest drive home of my life). Looks like it's in good shape, minus the jack thing, which is missing. As the boom extends, the rated capacity goes down. A 2000lb boom extended is usually rated for 500-800 lbs.
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May 30, 2020 17:46
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In my MIG welding research adventures I've come across many pro's advising against gasless welding unless in a very well ventilated space due to really toxic poo poo coming from the flux core wire. Something to bear in mind.
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May 30, 2020 18:27
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I think anything involving welding needs to be in a well ventilated space.
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May 30, 2020 18:36
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StormDrain posted:I've never heard that before, I thought they meant it as in it was simpler. Stick is a larger electrode and more... Voltage? Amperage? One of those, which would be more power to melt steel and get better penetration. Yeah, this is what I meant, stick puts way more heat into the metal based on the larger electrode, so it melts the metal together more better, for larger stuff, also why it tends to just make holes in thinner things, no gas was just an additional benefit, since switching and filling bottles is a pain, and expensive. I've welded 1/8" plate-to tubing using a good amount of chamfering and multiple passes with flux core, and apparently you're not supposed to do that because flux-core MIG wire is a really mild steel and relies on transfer of alloying agents from the base metal through the weld pool, and you don't get enough after pass 1, whoopsie.
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May 30, 2020 18:53
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BigPaddy posted:I think anything involving welding needs to be in a well ventilated space. Yeah, but this even more so. I remember watching a YouTube video on how to weld where the instructor pointed out how many people are welding in a risky way by being so drat close to the weld and thereby breathing in all the toxic poo poo.
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May 30, 2020 19:00
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Does anyone know what the black washers in this pic are called and where to get them? They are used to guide the two pieces together
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May 30, 2020 21:11
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IDK what material it is but this is my best guess.
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May 30, 2020 21:18
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Ah, I should have mentioned that they are conical in shape, like a very obtuse U in profile
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May 30, 2020 21:45
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If that's metal coated the same black as the bent sheetmetal it might be a custom part.
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May 30, 2020 21:50
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wallaka posted:As the boom extends, the rated capacity goes down. A 2000lb boom extended is usually rated for 500-800 lbs. This is true, but consider that where the piston connects to the boom, it's even further inboard of the furthest-in position. So you'll need *more* rating for the piston, not less. For instance, a 1-ton (2000lb) HF hoist has a 3-ton piston on it. It will depend on your hoist's geometry. Put the boom all the way in, to the 1-ton position. Measure from the pivot point to the hook attachment point. Multiply by the load (2000lb) and then divide by the distance from the pivot point to where the piston attaches. Round up.
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May 30, 2020 22:00
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Raluek posted:Round up. Then double it! (kinda sorta how I approach engineering)
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May 30, 2020 22:05
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BlackMK4 posted:Does anyone know what the black washers in this pic are called and where to get them? They are used to guide the two pieces together kinda hard to interpret why these even have a conical washer in the first place, what is this assembly for?
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May 30, 2020 22:34
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BraveUlysses posted:kinda hard to interpret why these even have a conical washer in the first place, what is this assembly for? This is what mine looks like right now, the idea is to make it a little bit easier to locate the splitter when reinstalling it without pulling the bumper 
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May 30, 2020 23:31
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Is the idea that they slot into those rounded out spaces in those brackets? I'm inclined to agree that those look like custom-machined pieces. If they were thin I'd think maybe belleville washers but those are usually for adjusting tension, not locating.
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May 31, 2020 00:09
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So is that actually a conical washer, or does it have a pronounced lip on it that happens to fit exactly with whatever mount it receives? Because if it's that, those are likely not commonly made parts and could be all the way to custom for that assembly. You probably could figure out a way to jig something up to kinda sorta draw out fender washers to fit depending on what you have laying around the shop (that must include a press).
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May 31, 2020 00:17
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 20:39 |
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If cage work is in the future if get the bigger one. DOM tubing is usually .095 or .120 wall and roughly 1/8" base plates. Once you crawl into the cage trailing helmet and pads and the gun, find a comfortable...ish position, that lets you see what you're doing, and you start, you're going to want to finish that weld. Roughly 1 amp per .001" means around 120 amps for cage work. Max on the bigger one is 30% at 150 iirc. So 3 minutes of welding, 7 minutes to cool at 150. At 120 you'll get more time. But! That was probably tested at 70deg F. If your garage is 100 deg it'll be worse. If it's 50 then better. Also as you finish one weld and position for the next the welder is cooling and resetting the timer. It doesn't seem like a lot of time but for cage stuff you won't be waiting on the welder. Unrelated to welder chat, when you get to the cage don't go cheap on the tubing notcher. Use a corded drill with an extension cord. Shorten the cord from the drill enough that it's end is above the ground. Step on the extension cord such that if the drill twists it will unplug itself. It will save your wrists.
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May 31, 2020 00:27
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