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I'm thinking of buying this welder. I'm brand new to welding. I want to start making furniture so i need to weld up to a half inch. Anyone know if this is a good buy? The price is right. I wanted to get some opinions before i take the plunge.
Reply:Hey vdub,Your query leaves a lot to be desired regarding answers. First, you're not gonna get any good welds/fusion with a 180A welder on 1/2" material.....Even a seasoned welding vet would be quite hesitant to do it, especially if there was any structural application. You need a minimum of 250A. I used an older Lincoln Wirematic 255 for many year & the few 1/2" applications we did, the Lincoln did quite well.You ask: "Anyone know if this is a good buy?" What price is it? We're not mind-readers to be able to tell you what is or isn't a good buy. "The price is right." To whom?Ok...you got an opinion..... Take your plunge or "DO MORE HOMEWORK!"You're "brand new to welding"....... Yup! Quite evident. If you have a miniscule of grey matter, be smart.....enroll in a welding class....a vo-tech or college course. LEARN FIRST!!!! Then you can really have an understanding what is involved with welding & what may or may not meet your needs & be the best process for what you want to engage in.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:I've had that unit for the last 4 years and it works well. Get a tank of C25 or CO2 and some 030 wire and you'll be ready for most welds up to 1/4 inch. Over that and it will require multiple passes. I've never had a problem using 030 even on thin sheet as long as you do some practice passes to get the settings right.
Reply:If you build furniture out of 1/2" plate people will hate you. There's a lot of weight there. Thinner sections in tube would probably be a better choice many times. Same look, less weight.While mig is easy to learn, and gas mig will give you decent welds, many sculptors and so on who want to have beautiful finishes often choose tig over mig. This is especially true with stainless and alum. You will probably have less grinding, sanding and finishing to do with tig. A lot will depend on your market. Picnic tables and outdoor furniture can be a bit "rougher" than top end interior pieces where you want the joints to be invisible. I use mig to do wrought iron type furniture on occasion.I'm not saying tig is a better choice. I'm questioning what sort of work you want to do to try and find out whether mig would be the best option..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Hey guys I posted this post right befor e I was taking off from work so I was a little hasty when I posted. The welder is around 650. I mocked this unit becaus I have heard its easy to learn mig welding. I probably should take a welding class before I buy a welder. What's the difference between the finish of. Rig and mig weld ?
Reply:My lincoln 180 ProMig(same machine you are looking to buy,just a different name)All on some scrap 3/8" plate1st pic is .035 fluxcore multiple passes2nd pic is single pass MIG .035 75/25 gas3rd pic is 3 passes MIG .035 75/25 gas4th is just a pic of the machineWill they confidently weld 1/2" plate?...in a heartbeat but has to be multable passes and beveled.Even though Lincoln advertises a single pass fluxcore for 1/2", i still wouldn't do for the fact you'll be doin a good bit of weaving,..over the course of my career i've learned to stay away from the weaving as much as possible,especialy any fluxed filler material.650.00 is the average price for those machines,i paid 500.00 shipped to my door about 4 years ago for mine,i use it regularly for Jeep,4x4,trailers and some farming equipment repairs quite often,anything real heavy or out in the field i'll just tug along my Lincoln Ranger 8 and stick weld it.I'm impressed with mine for the price and portability,and thats alot coming from someone who travels and works alot of power plants,paper plants,government jobs..etc where 1/2" is considered kids playI also would like to know what the heck kind of furniture you are building with 1/2" steel material..lol Attached ImagesLincoln Ranger 8 225Lincoln 180 ProMigMiller Maxstar 200DXInternational Ironworkers Local 70930+ years and counting
Reply:Hey thanks for that reply FabCrazyGuy. That post is super helpful. So here's the deal, I obviously don't know to much a bout welding. This machine looked like a great deal and capable of getting some tough welds done for the price compared to some other machines on the market and people seem to like the brand a lot. I picked 1/2 inch because the box said it could do 1/2 so i wanted to see what people had to say about it. I just bought a new house a month ago and I want to build my own furniture if I can because we don't have a lot of extra cash laying around and furniture is expensive. I found this guy on CL building furniture and getting big bucks for it. I thought, "I can do that" Below are some links to his stuff. What do you think the thickness of the steel is he is using for this stuff?http://denver.craigslist.org/fuo/2748749071.htmlhttp://denver.craigslist.org/fuo/2748742732.htmlhttp://denver.craigslist.org/fuo/2748740715.html
Reply:While the stuff he shows looks nice, I think he's on crack to want that much personally. the "Eco friendly" thing mostly looks like a good sales pitch to yuppies who don't know squat. I do know some people will pay stupid prices for stuff. In this economy however, don't bank on it. The last shelf probably looked the best, but I'd be surprised if I had more than $250 in new materials. If I was using "recycled" stuff IE trash, scrap or junk, say the old boards out of my buddies collapsing barn, I bet I could get the numbers down to almost nothing, especially if I could find a scrap yard that routinely got a lot of angle iron shorts for another company. A grand plus for what would maybe take me 2 or 3 hours tops is nice jingle.As far as a class, that's probably the best idea. It will let you try the different process in most cases. Most instructors love it when students have projects of their own they want to work on, as long as you have gotten the basics down. When you sit down and add up what you get in most classes as far as materials, electric, wire, gas and so on plus instruction, a class is usually stupid cheap.A few things to think about with furniture that many don't think of when they start out with it. Metal is hard on floors and rugs. You will want to be sure to get some good feet on the furniture to spread the load and make sure there are no burrs or sharp edges. Large heavy washers are great for this. You may have to look a bit for nongalvy ones however. If your thought is to use "loops" or tube on the bottom to combat these issues, remember most home floors are anything but "flat". A large surface area like that can often make for furniture that rocks. You will want to have "feet" on most to limit floor contact and give it a good stable base. Adjustable feet are very nice, since they will also help you deal with issues when your project wracks a bit and is not perfect even on a flat surface. Also keep some sort of continuity or "style" to your work, at least in the same room. Lots of pieces look nice on their own, but grouped together they start to look like some college frat house where it's furnished with trash pickings and cinder blocks and planks. I saw a great library all done with cinder block book shelves once, but it worked simply because the room as a whole fit with the design..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by vdubplate What's the difference between the finish of. Rig and mig weld ?
Reply:God god o mighty,he'll never get those prices for a bunch of most likely old bed frames and some scrap wood thrown together and everything id just"plain"..nothin fancy to it at all..not even drawers in the corner desk...lolDSW..i think even you'd be surpised at how nice a bead these little machines will run on 1/8'th and less material..especialy if switching to .023 or .024 wire...I more or less ran those beads on that 3/8" scrap i had laying around a while back to prove to a few people that said these machines can't run a nice consistant bead and they also say that no matter what you do or who you are with fluxcore it welds like crap and leaves spatter everywhere...Myth busted...Any of these little portable wirefeeds now a days are easy to learn for the beginner and get going and get them into learning other processes if needed..i've seen many serious extreme 4x4 shops use them on serious rigs welding up modified heavy dana 60's..suspensions..frame work..etc and it does a real nice job.....i use ot myself for Jeeps and serious offroad abuse among other things that it does a more than sufficeint job at.For what the OP is looking to do..any of the big 3 would more than fit the bill..Hobart Handler..Lincoln 180's..Miller 180 and 211...etc..the Handler now has 3 in that arena..the 187..190 and the 210I am also used to running major equipment on jobs..and to my surprise i've found these lil machines actualy weld alot better than i expected for being so portable and more of a "hobby" machineLincoln Ranger 8 225Lincoln 180 ProMigMiller Maxstar 200DXInternational Ironworkers Local 70930+ years and counting
Reply:Originally Posted by FabCrazyGuyDSW..i think even you'd be surpised at how nice a bead these little machines will run on 1/8'th and less material..especialy if switching to .023 or .024 wire...
Reply:I took the plunge and bought it. Any advice on gasses to pick up as far as mixture is concerned? Is there anywhere I can go to read up on gass?
Reply:Originally Posted by vdubplateI took the plunge and bought it. Any advice on gasses to pick up as far as mixture is concerned? Is there anywhere I can go to read up on gass?
Reply:You will probably find with that machine 75/25 or 80/20 will work best for the power range on that machine. 100% Argon if you choose to do alum at some point in the future..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Sweet, thanks for the info guys.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWYou will probably find with that machine 75/25 or 80/20 will work best for the power range on that machine. 100% Argon if you choose to do alum at some point in the future.
Reply:I have an 80 CF bottle i use for my Lincoln 180 at home...costs me a whopping 19.00 and change to refill 75/25Lincoln Ranger 8 225Lincoln 180 ProMigMiller Maxstar 200DXInternational Ironworkers Local 70930+ years and counting
Reply:Jeeze Fabguy, my 80cf was $43!! Guess thats why I went to FCAW...To the original poster, I can't say that I have any experience with the 180 but I did consider one last fall when I went mig welder shopping. I instead bought a Hobart 187, and I completely love the machine. I dont have any regrets about buying it. It might be something to consider. It has 5 more amps than the Lincoln, plus two more voltage taps for added adjustability. Now Hobart puts out the 190, a 187 with added spool gun technology. It might be worth checking out. Welcome to Welding [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:I have heard nothing but good things about that unit, have fun!!!
Reply:1/2 inch will make the furniture stand up to hurricane winds I am sure but will not be easy to move around.
Reply:I just got the welder in the mail. Can't wait to get home and use it.
Reply:So I just had an Electrician come over and install a 230 volt plug and install a 10 foot extension cord in my welder. When he turned it on the only noise I heard is the fan come on and he alerted me to the circuit breaker on the back being really loose. He said in his opinion that the machine should be a lot noisier on start up and the curcuit breaker should click on and off. Instead its loose in and out when you press it. Can anyone shead any light on this issue? This will be the first welder that i have owned. I haven't previously ever used a welder so i have no idea and dont know even enough to try it out to see if there is even an issue. Thanks in advance for any feedback you might have.
Reply:Thats all you should hear is the fan when it's turned on..I'm not clear on what circuit breaker you are talking about?...If your talking about the fuse link in the machine itself,i'll take a look at mine here in a lil while because i'll be out there doin a few things...I've just never had to actualy pay attention to mine much since i've never had a problem....as long as the machine is running and not shutting off is should be fine...put a spool of wire in it and give it a try.Lincoln Ranger 8 225Lincoln 180 ProMigMiller Maxstar 200DXInternational Ironworkers Local 70930+ years and counting
Reply:If you are talking about this little white button,mine also kind of feels a little loose but i beleive they are supposed to be like that unless it is tripped,but if the nut on it is loose.just snug it up.There shouldn't be any other noise but the fan when turned on and sitting idle,once you hit the trigger and start running wire you'll hear the spool feed motor. Attached ImagesLincoln Ranger 8 225Lincoln 180 ProMigMiller Maxstar 200DXInternational Ironworkers Local 70930+ years and counting
Reply:I have one, it works very good for what I have used for over the past couple years. I use it for everything from 20g sheet metal to about 1/2'' (beveled and multi pass). But I gotta say after using the Lincoln 350 mp in welding class my 180 feels like a toy.....Lincoln pro mig 180Lincoln Square Wave Tig 300/wp 20/home built water cooler Victor, Purox, Harris, O/A welding/cutting setupsVintage Craftsman drill pressVintage Craftsman/Atlas 12"x 36'' lathe7''x 12'' w/c band saw Everlast 140 stThanks for the responses guys. My circuit breaker I was referring to that white button on the back. The electrician I hired thought it should click in and click out.
Reply:No they just click in when they pop out. Otherwise they just say in full time unless you trip it. I know the type he's thinking of but these are a less expensive version since you don't need to reset them often. ( hopefully).No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan |
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发表于 2021-8-31 23:19:37