Looking to get my first welder

[s14Geoff]

Hey guys, I'm currently going to my local community college for welding/metal fabrication
i dont start actual welding classes till next year and wanted to get a welder and teach myself a little before getting into the actual classes
I'm currently looking at a Eastwood 175 Mig 220v
http://www.eastwood.com/mig-welders-175 ... l-gun.html

My question is...
I dont have a 220v power source but i have found these voltage transformers
http://www.amazon.com/Bright-VC300W-Vol ... ransformer
would I be able to get away with using this with the welder? would it limit the power at all?
I want to get a 220v and not 110v, I've read people generally outgrow 110v and i want to be able to use this machine for awhile as ill be progressing once i start the classes
Thanks guys
(didnt know where else to post this hopefully someone will be able to chime in)

[gwoods]

I would not mess around with trying to get 220 from anything other than a electrician installed 220 outlet. 220 makes fire quickly when done wrong. Do you want to die in a fire to save some money?

Do you have a dryer in your house/apartment? If so you have a 220 volt outlet.

You might consider oxy/acetaline torch. You can stick weld with it and it also cuts pretty quickly. You can pick up a rig with bottles for under $300. Harbor Freight welders are not bad. I have two one is 110 volt wire feed and it will weld very thin steel. I have 220 volt wire feed with Argon gas that will weld anything I have any business welding.

I also have an ancient 220 volt arch welder that doesn't do much I can't do with the oxy/ace torch.

Why not wait for you class and see what you like using?

[gwoods]

EDIT* just looked at your converter on amazon no that will not power a welder. Your going to draw 20+ amps at 220 volts hopefully that $40 box has some fuses they are going to be constantly blowing. With electricity don't cut corners.

I have a 220 volt 50 amp dedicated in my garage for welding and big air compressor.

[s14Geoff]

I do have a washer and dryer so ill check that out and not get that other thing.
I've read around that mig is the easiest which is why I want to learn on that before classes. I figure its a cheap enough unit to keep if I end up liking a different kid I welding after classes. I guess I'll hope that I got a 220v otherwise ill get a 110. Thanks for the input!!

[AZhitman]

Hey Geoff!

I just went through this same exact scenario... solicited guidance from a lot of folks who spend a lot of time welding, and did a lot of research (balancing budget, power needs, and overall versatility).

I wound up with a Lincoln K2185-1 for $239, free shipping from WeldingSupplyUSA.com. After buying an argon bottle, helmet, and some other goodies I'll needs, I should have a pretty nice little home welder setup for well under $500.

[s14Geoff]

Nice! Ill check out that website too and see what they have to offer
I've read through about 3/4 of a fabrication thread on Zilvia that has been pretty informative for me
but I figured id ask around a little before making a purchase
thank you!

[numbnuts240]

i picked this guy up a year or so ago and it does pretty damned well considering it's a 100 unit. came with everything there, just had to pick up a cart and helmet, still haven't gotten a bottle for mig yet, but i haven't needed that type of weld just yet. iirc i paid 500 for it.

[Infinitiguy19]

Can you fine tune the voltage and wire speed with the welders listed in this topic? I mean are the knobs fixed like 1,2,3,4.... or can you move the knob a hair to get the weld just right?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I wound up with a Lincoln K2185-1 for $239,

Sounds like that welder is essentially the gas-equivalent of what I have. I've been pretty impressed with mine (just flux core).

Can you fine tune the voltage and wire speed with the welders listed in this topic? I mean are the knobs fixed like 1,2,3,4.... or can you move the knob a hair to get the weld just right?

Mine actually has "HIGH, LOW, 1 and 2" (so like low 1 is lowest voltage, high 2 is highest). At that point I basically fine tune the heat going into it with the wire speed, which is knob-adjustable. If I still can't get it low enough without burning through, I just stitch it.

[AZhitman]

Can you fine tune the voltage and wire speed with the welders listed in this topic? I mean are the knobs fixed like 1,2,3,4.... or can you move the knob a hair to get the weld just right?

Wire speed is variable, but mine just has 4 settings for voltage... However, seems to work just fine.

I actually got my first in-depth welding lesson today... Started fabbing up my own welder cart out of scrap. So far, so good.

[float_6969]

I did this same thing about a year ago. I don't currently have 220V in the garage (I have it in the house, but not in the garage). I ended up with the Miller 211 Autoset. It's a dual volt MIG welder, can set voltage and wire feed independently and is also capable of reverse voltage and can use a spool gun/pedal control. It was more money than I wanted to spend at the time but it will do just about anything I need it to do.

[AZhitman]

Looks like I'll be "digging in" sooner than I thought... I'm going to be relocating the LCA pivot mounts on Bex's 240Z for better LCA angle.

So far, having a blast with my first welding project. It's not pretty, but it's strong and the welds don't look terrible at all.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Get Jason to check your welds when you're done. Losing a lower control arm would be catastrophic.

[gwoods]

Get Jason to check your welds when you're done. Losing a lower control arm would be catastrophic.

Bad advise Greg just tack it up and hit the track all welds are created equal

[PapaSmurf2k3]

haha just saying... if it were my car and Greg had JUST learned how to weld, I'd double check them.

Hell, even if it was an experienced guy, I'd double check them. "Your life is not something you should gamble with" - Boondock Saints.

[AZhitman]

The welding part is actually minimal on this project... It's really relocation of the pivot holes and tacking on a couple washers.

Trust me, this boy is in no danger of being pressed into service welding ANYTHING load-bearing anytime soon.

[nissangirl74]

Bad advise Greg just tack it up and hit the track all welds are created equal

I'm gonna die

[Greenblurr93]

Bad advise Greg just tack it up and hit the track all welds are created equal

I'm gonna die

Couldn't be any more dangerous than the plethora of hand tight bolts I found on Bella...

[gwoods]

Couldn't be any more dangerous than the plethora of hand tight bolts I found on Bella...

Thats because Greg believes each of his hands is a torque wrench lefty is inch pounds righty is foot pounds.

I'm gonna die

The prognosis is the same for all of us Happy New Year!

[metalmagician]

The welding part is actually minimal on this project... It's really relocation of the pivot holes and tacking on a couple washers.

Trust me, this boy is in no danger of being pressed into service welding ANYTHING load-bearing anytime soon.

You will learn real quick that as a welder most of your time spent is preparing and fitting the piece to be welded. The actual welding part is I would say about 20-30% of your time I'd say. Practice makes perfect. It's nice to see new students in a dying art. What process are you looking to get into as a career? I'm curious because I'm a pipe welder myself

[s14Geoff]

what does a pipe welder make around if you don't mind me asking? I'm going to school for welding and am just curious of the career and money possibilities

[gwoods]

I always thought it would be fun to combine my love of burning metal with diving via joining the Navy! But now I'm too old, I just crossed the CIA threshold for new field agents

[AZhitman]

The welding part is actually minimal on this project... It's really relocation of the pivot holes and tacking on a couple washers.

Trust me, this boy is in no danger of being pressed into service welding ANYTHING load-bearing anytime soon.

You will learn real quick that as a welder most of your time spent is preparing and fitting the piece to be welded. The actual welding part is I would say about 20-30% of your time I'd say. Practice makes perfect. It's nice to see new students in a dying art. What process are you looking to get into as a career? I'm curious because I'm a pipe welder myself

Haha, no new career for this old dawg. I run this place, and have a 9-to-5, and run 2 other businesses, and restore old Datsuns. I have no want (or need) of a new career.

I'm learning... made a lot of bird poo, but I'm getting better. My work looks WAY better when I use Jason's big-ol' 220 machine.

[elwesso]

I've asked this question to a lot of guys at work.. I work for a company where the equipment we make is primarily all weldments... A lot of guys have recommended to me to just get a stick welder. They're a little trickier to weld with than a MIG, but a lot simpler to work with and a lot more versatile than a MIG. It's a lot easier to deal with different rods than it is to deal with different gasses and changing wires out if you want to weld different materials.

I was thinking about getting a little flux core welder that I would use primarily for tacking things up and for thin metals like exhaust pipes.

[float_6969]

I have NEVER seen anything that came out of a flux cored MIG that looked like anything that you would want another human being to look at.

Stick welding does have a lot of ease in variability, but you have to buy and PROPERLY store the different rods you use. Also, cheap stick welders are HEAVY. But they're also REALLY cheap. I was SERIOUSLY considering a high end stick welder (AC/DC + polarity switching) due to price. The main drawback for car guys is that the smallest rods you can get for a stick welder are too big to do any sheet metal work with. So you'd have to have a MIG if you want to do ANY kind of body work. For that reason, I ended up dropping the extra coin for the MIG.

[elwesso]

I have NEVER seen anything that came out of a flux cored MIG that looked like anything that you would want another human being to look at.

I might question the quality of the wire, because here at work we use some flux core wire for some of our equipment, and our guys definitely make some good welds..

[AZhitman]

I'm not an expert, but I don't see how you could get anything simpler than a MIG. One gas, one wire, and as long as the metal is ferrous and clean, it'll work.

Once I got the heat and wire speed dialed in, it's not hard at all... I can say this, though: I'm really impressed by people who can lay down perfect welds consistently. For me, the difficulty is pretty simple - it's hard to see the work surface.

BTW, mine was $239 shipped. I just bought a 120# bottle (75/25) for $200, and some HF leather gloves. Up and running for under $500.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've laid some pretty snazzy looking flux-core welds.

If you know what you're doing, they aren't bad. Its also what you want to use if you are ever going to weld outside (wind will blow away your shielding gas).

[float_6969]

I might question the quality of the wire, because here at work we use some flux core wire for some of our equipment, and our guys definitely make some good welds..

That's possibly the issue. I've never used flux cored MIG myself, just seen it used.

I've laid some pretty snazzy looking flux-core welds.

If you know what you're doing, they aren't bad. Its also what you want to use if you are ever going to weld outside (wind will blow away your shielding gas).

It's hard to tell from the pic, but how much spatter did you have to clean up? I will admit though, that's a damn good looking flux cored weld! I wasn't watching an expert do it, and it might have been cheap wire, so that could have been the issue in the times I've seen it used (about dozen or so). I was going to say the same thing about outside too. That was also the reason I was seeing the flux cored used (welding up a pipe fence).

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Practically no spatter on that weld. If you look closely, you can see the pipe actually has a wrinkle coat on it. That would have gotten blasted off if I had to clean up spatter.

Don't get me wrong, I TOTALLY agree that you typically get a worse looking weld with more spatter when comparing flux core to gas shielding, I'm just saying it isn't always as bad as people make it out to be.
Here's a pic of the same weld in different lighting.