Official NICO Welder Thread

[Hijacker]

Float and I were talking about welders yesterday and I'm surprised with all the gearheads we have on the site that no central thread exists to talk about our welder setups or to give advice on welding in general.

So, I'll start:

I'm very new to doing my own welding. In the past, I've helped plenty of people do MIG, but any welding I had done was generally under some heavy observation. So now I'm branching out and doing some light duty welding to get more comfortable and learn to be self-sufficient. The wife knew I had wanted a welder for a while and she found someone local selling off a Miller XMT-304 CC/CV box for a fair price. He had cut the power plug off the back, so all i had to do was wire in a new 240v plug, pick up some cables, and I was good to go.

For those not familiar with the XMT-304, it's a constant current/constant voltage power source that can handle all sorts of welding processes from stick, to MIG (gas and flux core) and TIG. So far, I've only done some practicing on stick while I save up to pick up a MIG wire feeder and a TIG torch for it. Even just doing stick work with it, I'm impressed. I was afraid it might be too much welder for working on car steel, so I've been practicing on thin gauge steel (usually around 16-18g) and it's pretty good about not burning through.

I need to build a cart for it, and have been looking at pre-made carts for inspiration. I want to leave some room for add-on units and make provisions for holding small gas bottles. I've been curious why some carts have the welder at an angle, and some leave it flat. Are there any positives to having the box at an angle? I figure I'll set the power source on the lower shelf, and then build a shelf above it to put the wire feeder when I get it and just hang my cables up in a cabinet so I can swap them out as needed.

Unless I find a comparable, and maybe even cheaper, wire feeder that is compatible with Miller's 14 pin control system, I'll be looking for a used Miller 22a wire feeder.

As for a TIG torch, I have my eyes on a Weldcraft unit. Either the WP17 or WP26. The 17's rated for 150A and the 26 is rated for 200A

Here's the only picture I have of it so far:

[WDRacing]

I love welding. When I got my MIG I went a little overboard. If it was old and metal, I welded it together. Screw drivers, old bike, hinges...didn't matter, they all ended up stuck together.

If you guys haven't heard of muggy weld, you need to check it out. Awesome stuff. Great for making your own fittings and even joining dissimilar metals like brass to aluminum.

http://muggyweld.com/

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZRZWBOx8zQ[/youtube]

[Dattebayo]

I love misnomers in advertising.

Anyway, I had a cheap Lincoln with three selectable voltage levels by a button, it worked great. I also had to weld galvanized pipe several times, and it worked okay on the lowest setting without fault. It' made me a much better welder starting with such cheap equipment, I believe it is something most people should start with to learn all the little ways to cheat the metal out so the weld will hold.

Although I haven't had a welder for over three years now, I can still pick it up and do what I need to without much trouble.

[WDRacing]

If you're a hobbyist, knowing how to use a Mig makes life a ton easier. There isn't much I can't do if I have a decent oxy/ace setup and a Mig.

[elwesso]

While I don't own a welder, the place I work at has probably some of the best welders in the state.. We use all mig welders, although we do have a tig welder for the weird one-off jobs.

I've asked our welding guy and he says most people are best off with flux-core MIG type, especially if you're welding steel. You can still do aluminum and stainless with MIG but you need to use the right type of gas and wire, and in the case of aluminum you have to have a special type of wire feeder.

We also use propane/oxy torches at work. I think primarily because propane is cheaper and it's a lot safer than acetylene. Acetylene is some nasty stuff and can be really dangerous, so I might prefer propane if I had a choice.

[WDRacing]

Agreed with the propane vs acetylene statement. I suppose I should change over one of these days. The money alone is worth it.

[elwesso]

I think we should throw out any recommendations on some welders that guys at home could get... In my case, I'm considering getting a welder, I want something that runs on 110v, I have no intention on welding anything thicker than 1/4" steel.. Mostly stuff on cars (exhaust, body panels, etc)..

I would want either a MIG or flux core, I don't really want to get into stick welding because it's not nearly as versatile, even though it's a lot cheaper.

[WDRacing]

I have a Daytona Mig, 110v flux/gas welder. I use gas and flux core depending on what I'm doing. I always keep flux core wire on hand because running out of gas sucks massive penor. Never had any issues.

I looked online and can't seem to find them anymore. They might have went belly up. They are very similar to Lincoln from what I can tell from the specs.


As far as what a hobbyist needs, a 110v mig setup will do anything you'll ever need on a vehicle. Unless you're building a zombie/end of the world machine with 1/2 plate armor.

110v allows me to use my welder anywhere. Huge bonus as I've done lots of work on friends cars in their garage.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I have a flux-core Linclon weld-pak similiar to this one:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Elec ... XcayKJOS8A
in fact... that might be the same thing.
Anyway, flux core rocks. It doesn't make the prettiest of welds unless you do a lot of prep/take your time, but they aren't bad. They sure are strong too. Also flux core is the balls if you ever plan on welding outside. The breeze will blow away your shielding gas with a gas welder.
It says it can only do up to 1/8", but I've welded much thicker stuff than that... just heat it up with a MAP gas torch, or weld vertically (the heat just builds and builds into your workpiece).

Brian- that video you posted is pretty interesting! That's a damn good looking weld just using a propane torch.
TIGs are nice, but they are pricey and a bit more complex than my MIG.

[Hijacker]

TIG to me isn't that expensive, but I'm starting with a box that can do TIG. The torch I want is around 100-150 with a 12' cable. I'd have to get a dinse connector with an external gas valve as my XMT doesn't have an internal gas system. I'm pretty pumped to be able to have a box that can do MIG and TIG at the flip of a switch.

My dad was a certified welder out of high school and welded pipes at a nuclear a plant back in the 70s. I had him come out and take a look at my new welder, and it was like he hadn't missed a day in welding even though he hasn't used a welder in near 30 years. Once I get the TIG setup going, I'll have to show it off to him and see how he likes it.

[WDRacing]

Brian- that video you posted is pretty interesting! That's a damn good looking weld just using a propane torch.

They have multiple products for various types of metal, to include cast. I've never been able to weld cast very well, but their rods make it look easy. My friend uses it ALL the time on his old Bronco and his boat. He's made all kinds of custom fittings for his AC and power steering etc when doing motor swaps and what not. I have yet to try it.

When I get up to PA I'm going to take a couple welding classes and maybe get certified. Pretty sure the GI bill will cover them.

[Hijacker]

If I had time in my class schedule this upcoming year, I'd toss in a welding class. Maybe summer semester next year

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've only welded cast iron a few times (mostly exhaust manifolds)... but I never had a problem with it. I just heat the blazes out the thing with a torch first.

Here's a welding related video (for some reason it wont embed):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... l3r8FFWr-Y