Welder advice

[byroncobra]

I've owned a small arc welder for years and bought a cheap gasless mig a while back.

The mig is a piece of crap (being gasless doesn't help) and the arc blows holes in anything thinnish.

Now it's probable that i've no idea what I'm doing but perhaps buying a good quality mig or one of the new multifunction mig, tig, mma will help my fabricating skills

Any advice on inverter V's the older coil type machines or 3 in 1's.

I'd prob stick with the well known stuff like BOC etc not the eBay cheapies.

A local dealer here has a new, old stock, BOC 190C Mig for $800 V's the newer inverter 3 in 1 for the same money. Just seems to be doubling up on the arc that i already have plus I'm prob not going to use the TIG feature.

A new inverter 200 amp Mig is around $1100....is it worth spending and extra $300? Does an inverter give you a better job, easier to use?

Cheers

[Jaydee]

Go for the tig. tig is great for doing thin stuff, especially exhausts etc. much neater. And an inverter is better. Gasless welding is great for calvanised steel.
JD

[byroncobra]

thanks JD

the bloke at BOC recons tig is for experienced welders, kinda put me off.

If i buy a 3 in 1 i need 2 gasses for tig and mig is that correct?

[Jaydee]

You can only become experienced by trying. On you tube there are lessons on how to use a tig. I only got mine last year, and you get the hang of it quiet quickly. I use argon for tig, and I used shielded for mig. If you can change the power settings, then shielded wire is fine, but a bit messy, as it leaves a thin coating of slag, which is easy to wire brush of. Otherwise you can use co2 for mig as well as argon. I got sick of paying for bottle rent, as I don't weld a lot, so I bought disposable bottles.
I find tig is a lot like oxy welding, but with a controlled flame. Great for stainless.
JD

[Paul F]

Indeed, there is nothing more irritating than someone saying TIG is hard to learn or is for experts. Use the tool you need for the job.
TIG is a fantastic tool that provides absolute control over the weld. With MIG, you must keep applying heat and material. You only have the choice of on/off. With TIG you have total control over heat and how much/when material is applied. For the types of fabrication I do, I almost always use the TIG over the MIG. Also, TIG is excellent for aluminum.... and there is no changing spools when switching metals.

Torch or TIG are the answer for thin materials.

[400TT]

Greg, you are more than welcome to drop in and chat with my lead fabricator. He is an expert, but still a very grass roots type of guy and I know he would be able to provide you with some useful advice.

[byroncobra]

So for stuff like tacking brackets, repairing cracked mower decks, nothing over 3 mm or so?

I don't want to rent 2 bottles but i was told that the disposables last about 5 minutes

Thanks Craig but I'm trying to pick one up this week as I've a small trailer job to do in prep for next weekends fun at QR. See you there anyway.

[400TT]

Greg, if you like just give us a call on Monday and you can have a chat over to the phone to him instead.

[Tonus72]

You should run classes there Craig - your guys do some beautiful work!

BC - I took classes for arc, mig ang tig to learn from scratch. Neither one was much harder than the other, except that we did some tig on aluminium which took more care.

Tig was the most rewarding I found - when you got it right it was a good feeling. Very precise and less chance of burning through or heat distortion.

A key factor is whether or not you are going to weld ally I suppose.

I bought a WIA mig, 180 amps from memory. No inverter, no bells and whistles. Love it, glad a went that way.

Built myself a box trailer as a test of my new skills. All good. I built a 10mx6m steel pergola with gasless wire too - no problems at all...

A basic tig will be next tho.

All this is prefaced with - I am a complete hack! Others may have different advice!

Originally Posted by 400TT

Greg, you are more than welcome to drop in and chat with my lead fabricator. He is an expert, but still a very grass roots type of guy and I know he would be able to provide you with some useful advice.

[Jaydee]

I've just bought a disposable bottle and it has 60 cubic litres of gas. And i turned my gas flow metre down to 1 to 2 litres a minute and it welded fine. So it should last at least 30 minutes.
I bought my welder from Tokentools. fully adjustable, pulse, power slopes, etc. great welder for only $600 including flow meter and freight.
WWW.tokentools.com.au.
160 amps model TT tig160P.
JD

[byroncobra]

Thanks for all the input guys..........might give you a call Monday Craig

[Zedn]

I have a mig and also an inverter TIG/MMA.

I bought the tig off ebay for about $250 and it is the best tool i have ever bought. I only use mig for alloy because its a DC tig. Otherwise i would only use the tig. I plan on upgrading to ACDC tig soon.

Mig welding is quicker but it is so messy and the welds dont look as good. To be honest i find tig much easier than mig but that might be cause i have done tig so much more. It is not much different to soldering. Some of the draw backs with tig are it requires the metal to be spotless and its not as easy to tack without perfect fit up. Also welding in a tight location such as under the car is tricky cause you need two hands (one to feed the rod). But welding vertical, overhead etc is very easy.

My cheap chinese tig has not skipped a beat in the 3 years i have owned it and it gets a big work out.

Inverter is a must if you dont have 3 phase. They are light to move around a really powerful. I had a standard MMA welder and at full power it wasnt even half of what the inverter does.

BTW i had no learning curve with tig. Took 5 mins to get used to the fact that the electrode doesnt wear out because i was used to stick, but after that it was perfect.

[Jaydee]

I does become a bit of a pain, when you touch the metal, it sticks, then you have to remove the electrode and resharpen it. I keep several near me, and then resharpen a few at a time, later. Also use thin leather rigger gloves to get a better feel.
JD

[400TT]

Thanks Tonus72 for the compliment on our weld quality.

Guys you would love the TIG machines we have at the shop.

Our main machine for chassis work is a Miller Dynasty 350 Water Cooled with Thumb Control, Flexible Torch Head etc.

[Bernica]

Here is "old school" which still works fine. My first welder, Circa 1978 or so and I restored it and made the cart. It still gets things done with 6010 or 7013 rod. I also have a Miller 180 Mig with a big tank, which I use most often. I am a total hack, but enjoy it all.

[priobe]

Has anyone used the hybrid welder from Northern Tool.

Northern Industrial Welders Hybrid MIG/Stick 200 230V Multiprocess MIG/Flux Core/DC Stick Welder with Included 10-Ft. Spoolgun — 140 DC Stick/200 Amp MIG Output


I am looking to purchase this, it got good reviews

[Hemo84]

Gday mate. id be looking for a DC inverter Stick/Tig machine, stick to the name brands as they are very cheap for what they are, CIG, Miller, Esab, Kempi all make a great little machine at a great price and it will last for ever, even the top of the line Fornius machine can be brought for under $1000. if you want to get a mig id be looking for a second hand machine and the best ones to look for are the old Australian made CIG machines, keep an eye out on eBay & grays online as they do come up quite often. I would not hesitate to buy one that is 30 year old as they last for ever and parts a readily available.
From what I have seen and experienced the BOC machines are a pile of crap.

Cheers Dan.