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I hope to get a welder for Christmas this year.  I have no experiance or idea how to weld.  I'm pretty handy and learn fast.  I need help selecting a welder?Should  I get a Stick Or Mig thanksJust learning
Reply:Originally Posted by halftrack1340I hope to get a welder for Christmas this year.  I have no experiance or idea how to weld.  I'm pretty handy and learn fast.  I need help selecting a welder?Should  I get a Stick Or Mig thanks
Reply:Originally Posted by slooneyWhat are your goals in learning to weld? If all you hope to do is stick pieces of metal together for garden art and simple repairs to lighhtweight metal objects, or weld car body panels, then one of the smaller class MIG machines are fast and easy to learn, as well as relatively cheap.If you hope to learn to do structural welding, develop skills which transfer to other types of welding, want to fabricate car or motorcycle frames and parts, and don't care too much about the look of the weld, then 'Stick' may be a good place to start, though the learing curve is steeper, longer.FWIW.Steve
Reply:Originally Posted by halftrack1340Thanks for the reply I plan to weld go kart, goped frames and othere things like that.
Reply:I recently acquired a Thermal Arc Dragster inverter stick welder.  It weighs 7 pounds and operates of 110 volts/20 amp circuit and produces 80 amps DC. Newer ones are 85 amp machines.  The price is about $350.  The machine is also capable of doing tig.  I use it to do installation of ironwork.  For 5 year, I carried around a 110 volt mig/wire feeder that weighs 70 pounds.  I liked the mig until I got the 7 pound inverter.  Most 110 migs run considerably better off 25-30 amp breaker whereas the inverter only requires 20 amps.   I am saying all this to say, an inverter style welder will do what you want, with convenience and light tig operation.  The small mig/wire feeder do work well when setup properly. They work best as flux core(no gas).      Hence, as slooney stated,"...the learning curve is steeper, longer". Though with stick welding you must practice, practice, practice and be patient.  Mig/wire feed is easier to get going because it doesn't require the physical coordination that stick welding requires.  However, there are several adjustment and condition that must be accounted for in order to get good consistent welding with the mig/wire feeder.
Reply:I personally prefer stick over wire.  Hence tehy call me the "country welder"  I dont mind it im a bit of a redneck myself, but the stick will always be more bang for your buck in the beginging.  After that it all depends.  For me though, cause my work is soo heavily laden with mobile welding, unless im working for a company and I use their wire, I need the stick and it tends to pay for itsself well.  I can weld thin stuff, or thick stuff with my stick.  But yes tehre is more learning curve.  I can teach a monkey to weld with mig, but stick, boy now youre either making metal stick or you actually welding.  Not much between the two though.  With wire,  you can make it look pretty and the weld just fall right off.  Funny how that worksCHRIS
Reply:Sit down with a seasoned welder for the process you want to learn
Reply:I have a friend who works in a power plant here in GA.  He said that those little TA dragsters are the mobile welder of choice for their power plant weldors.  They really like um.  I have never used one, but I havent heard or read any complaints that lead me to believe they are anything but high quality units.  The cost per amp is a bit high, but it's DC and so portable you wouldnt believe it.  I saw one and I still cant believe it's even a welder.  I have a laptop computer that is heavier.  The potential for tig is a big plus also, if you intend to do go carts.  Mig...you can do the frames with mig also, but it will cost a bit more to get a good machine with equal amperage, and quality does seem to be a bit more variable on the welds for novis weldors using mig.I am also partial to stick, but that's based primarily on my comfort with stick.Seems like someone would put a product out like a 135 amp inverter-based mig machine that could run in cc or cv mode to get both mig and stick in the same package.  Now that would be a great portable, hi-end, intro-level machine.  I wonder if the price for something like that would be outragous.Last edited by smithboy; 12-06-2005 at 05:29 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Build a coupla of 'em smithboy!  Who knows, you might be onto something big. I'm thinkin' hand held welders in space or something like that.
Reply:Man,Dont get me started.  I am an inventor at heart, but I keep inventing things that are either useless, incredibly dangerous, or that someone else thought of 30 years ago and ditched for some obvious reason that I havent thought of yet.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:As I said in a post on another thread I am sending this copied message to all to read.  One new thread a day till the metal vulture deciedes to give me an answer of his creditials.   "from FIRST FEW ATTEMPTS AT ALUMINUM(PICS) thread"Hey smith, once again you dazzle me with genious beyond comprehension. If it were me telling this guy where to stick and and how far in, well I think you kinda get the drift. They dont call it talkin like a sailor for nuthin! Still, them public speaking courses did you good. Genghis Khan, I mean Metalsculptur, I have addressed you several times with the question of what are your qualifications, and why do you think they are enough to be what I beleive is rather negative. No, it may not be negative in the straight sense, but you see when you go and give us confucius says... no one will listen. Like Razor they will get all pissed off with you and ignore you without giving you a second of thought. Is this your point? If it is I will ask you to politely escort yourself away from this forum. We dont need no more trolls. Especially ones who just make the same dang lil one liners over and over again. For all those who arent aware Smith never gets angery, frustrated, irritated or shows any other emotion except a willingness to teach and share his friendship. Smith will even on occasion extend a frosty brew to a friend in need. So when he becomes the one to tell you, or anyone on this forum they are out of line and their actions are unwanted, boy you done screwed up! Unlike some of you, I dont feel bad if im offensive, derogatory, demeaning, innapropriate or anything else. heck id be dissapointed inmyself if I werent. BUt thats beside the point. The real point here is that when I make suggestiions, dont matter how mean or cruel or how nice, people listen. Why, cause when a man asks me a question I give them an answer. I dont claim to be teh grand dragon of welding. But if someone asks this ole country bumkin a question hes gonna answer it to the best of his ability. And I wont go tell you something unless Its worked in my experience. If I havent tried it but think it will work I tell ya that Ive never done it but Ive heard... Further more, I have heard you Metal vulture telling people that they need to sit down with a seasoned welder and learn y'alls secrets. Well were all sitting here right here right now I havent heard of, or seen one secret. Is airgas a secret? cause last I knew they were pretty well advertised. Since Ive asked for your quals many times without a resonse, and I know you get emailed like I do when someone responds to your posts, IM gonna PM you with this message. And everyday you fail to respond Ill send this on another thread you have bposted to. Hopefully Ill get a response of your qualifications, your experience, your secrets, and what makes you qualified to tell us all to sit down with a seasoned welder.__________________IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:AMEN!!!
Reply:TxRedNeck Says "I can teach a monkey to weld with mig, but stick, boy now youre either making metal stick or you actually welding. Not much between the two though. With wire, you can make it look pretty and the weld just fall right off. Funny how that works"Monkey ?  Training ?, Doctor Smith ?, Educated ?, Countryboy Welder ? What ???????????
Reply:y'all need to see my response to this troll on the "rate my tig welds" threadDONT FEED THE TROLLSIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:i all ready did your right and i would still like to see metal's welds or are thay so good that just looking at a pic of them would make us all give up weldingand take up nitting chuck