cheap MIG OK?

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Thinking about buying a cheap(Chinese) MIG welder for  occasional thin stuff or exhaust work.  My Hobart AC/DC and me  just can't weld todays "aluminized" exhaust pipe.  I've tried everything, and I just can't do it.My question is, can I get away with a flux core machine for occasional use or do I need a gas shielded machine?
Reply:do you mean a Hobart stick welder? why not  buy a TIG torch for it for doing small stuff, it will be cheaper than getting a new MIG. or you can always oxy weld exhaust pipe.I'm only suggesting these because I think a cheap welder will let you down one day. only a rich man can afford cheap tools.....
Reply:Since you have a DC machine, why would you want to go with a cheap MIG and Presidential engineering?A much better process would be carbon arc and phosphor bronz with DCRP.1/8 carbon will cost you a lot less than a TIG torch.
Reply:Jesus.....UA Local 598
Reply:Don't get one of the 90 ampers,won't go down low enough in amps,plus flux core burns a little hotter than regular mig wire and gas.Maxus Pro-125 MigChicago Electric 90 amp DC flux-coreLincoln Electric AC 225 tombstoneO/A torchM/O mini-torch10 acres of flatland15 acres of holler
Reply:Originally Posted by WHughesJesus.....
Reply:I'm a pretty good stick weldor(hobbyist), but I have no idea what the carbon arc process is. Could somebody explain it to me?I betcha 5 or 6 times over the past couple years, I run across someones exhaust, or something really thin, and there sits my Hobart. I love the machine, but for my ability, it's just too hot for thin stuff.Wonder what Mr Hughes meant by "Jesus"? I belong to several internet forums and there's always a smarta&#.
Reply:CTMIKE,If you'd done ANY homework on your own, you'd find that fluxcore welding and thin metal don't go well together.I guess some of us just get tired of the BS we see on these boards.  "I'm just a hobbiest so can I buy a cheap Chinese POS welder?"  Sure. Just expect cheap hobbiest results.I'm a "hobbiest" woodworker but I don't buy "cheap" tools.  Quality tools, taken care of, last a long time (often a lifetime).  I derive no gratification from picking up a cheap chisel from the hardware store.  Quality tools produce quality work.You've already got a Chinese plasma cutter.  Why not add another piece of Chinese junk (cheap welder).  On second thought, why even ask the frigging question.BTW:  I'd love to see some photos of those projects involving the 3/8" and 5/8" plate you refer to in your other thread.  Must be working that little Hobart pretty hard, what with the "hundreds of feet of the material you've cut".  Wow.  Serious hobbiest.I know a lot of hobbiests who are really professional in what they accomplish.  I don't know many hobbiests who are cheap that produce quality work.Last edited by SundownIII; 02-20-2010 at 08:22 PM.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Thermal Arcs migs are Chinese. I guess they are junk too.  Lincolns little Migs are made in Mexico with chinese and foreign components.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:This may come as a shock to you young fellows, but way back in the last Century we actually welded things together.There was stick welding and O/A welding long before there was TIG welding, and before some bright fellow found a way to downsize SubArc into MIG.Back in the 50s a new filler rod called Everdure came out, today its called Phosphor Bronze, and the way to use it was carbon arc DCRP.  The material has since been modified to be usable as a O/A rod as well and a TIG rod.The process is fairly simple.Get a 1/8 carbon rod about 3" long (longer tends to shatter when hot) sharpen one end like a pencil, and chuck the other end in your stinger.  Connect the stinger DCRP (Reverse Polarity) and the amperage low.  Screw around scratch starting an arc till you get the amperage high enough to sustain the arc and prooduce enough heat to turn the weldment red hot in the weld area.  Keep the arc SHORT!  Use the carbon just like you'd run a TIG torch, and add filler as youwould with TIG.Unfortunately, a few years after this process was well developed somebody got TIG ironed out and went to selling those expensive machines.  Then young fellows who couldn't weld came along, called themselves Engineers, and read books that saaid TIG was the only way to go, so they specified TIG, and the carbon arc process was forgotten.  Nice thing about carbon arc, it's very portable, its cheap, and you don't have to drag a damn gas cylinder along.
Reply:man , SUNDOWN III , is just mad , confused , just needs to hurt somebody the way he's been or something...says some intelligent thangs and some ignorant thangs sometimes......does this in lots of posts...  i'm kinda use to him now. guess everyplace has someone like him around , for amusement maybe.        thermal arc 252i  -  millermatic 350P -   miller XMT, cp300ts, 30a 22a feeders, buttload of other millers, handfull of lincolns, couple of esabs  -   Hypertherm 1250 G3
Reply:I was over at Tubby's place, and a guy was talking about something like this, but I didn't understand it and couldn't follow it.  Dunno, the conversation had something to do with pressure vessels.Tubby's got the best junkyard in the Western Hemisphere"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by ctmikeI'm a pretty good stick weldor(hobbyist), but I have no idea what the carbon arc process is. Could somebody explain it to me?I betcha 5 or 6 times over the past couple years, I run across someones exhaust, or something really thin, and there sits my Hobart. I love the machine, but for my ability, it's just too hot for thin stuff.Wonder what Mr Hughes meant by "Jesus"? I belong to several internet forums and there's always a smarta&#.