Consumables for Newbie Setup

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I apologize in advance for asking this advice as I bet it is located somewhere on this forum. I did a search of numerous terms and did not find what I wanted to see, at least not in a good condensed thread.My new (to me) welder will be home Monday and I will be able to finally begin using it on a limited basis until my main service to the welder is finished.  It is an Airco Bumblebee 250a AC/DC stick machine.I already plan to have the basics; wire brushes in both brass and stainless. Separate grinders for steel and for stainless. Pliers, hammers, chisels, flap discs for angle grinder, files and other such things that are basic shop stuff.What I intend to use this welder for will mostly be for mild steel fab in thicknesses 1/4" and under, some stainless sheet metal and a very small amount of welding steel to cast iron.  I will also be using it for some Tig work and have already been given advice as to what torch set to get. I plan to practice on aluminum as well but will have very little use for it with what I plan to build.So, my question is; can someone give me a small list of things, such as what stick electrodes to have on hand, their sizes and number, which are good for AC and which are best on DC and anything else necessary that I should get as a newbie learning to both stick and Tig?- What Tig accessories should I have handy?  - What tungsten sizes and composition is best for newbs?   ( I had planned on 2% Lanthenated )- What about gas cups?  What assortment should I have?- What shielding gasses should I have here for Tig?  ( I had planned on Argon only and maybe small amount of helium if I can afford it)- What size bottle would you recommend I purchase as a home user?  ( I had planned on 80cf bottles)- Do I need flow meters for these bottles in addition to the regulators? - What acetylene cutting system should I look at?Last edited by MWalden; 06-23-2011 at 07:43 PM.
Reply:I have had my welder for a couple months now, and my only advice is not to worry about it.  I tried to make a list, and I bought those items... and more.  And then some more, and then some more.  I cannot stop buying consumables and related tools    Now, admittedly, part of that is because I like to experiment ( hell, I bought 3 different welders in as many months, too ) and learn as I go, but unless you have a short list of projects and necessary materials, I'm betting you are going to find that, as time goes buy, you need different consumables frequently.  Luckily, most of it is relatively cheap.   Around here anyway, bottles are expensive, but gas is very cheap.  There's almost no difference in what I'd pay for 20 cf of argon versus 336 cf ( $8! ).  Buy the biggest bottle you can find, afford, store and transport.   A flow-meter and a regulator do basically the same job.  You only need one ( maybe one per bottle ).__David Hillman
Reply:Originally Posted by MWaldenWhat I intend to use this welder for will mostly be for mild steel fab in thicknesses 1/4" and under, some stainless sheet metal and a very small amount of welding steel to cast iron.  I will also be using it for some Tig work and have already been given advice as to what torch set to get. I plan to practice on aluminum as well but will have very little use for it with what I plan to build. Unless you get a high frequency unit to add to your machine alum tig is out. Alum stick is usually limited to larger thicknesses and probably won't work for what you will want to do.So, my question is; can someone give me a small list of things, such as what stick electrodes to have on hand, their sizes and number, which are good for AC and which are best on DC and anything else necessary that I should get as a newbie learning to both stick and Tig?For someone learning stick, I'd suggest 7014 in 3/32" or 1/8" the smaller rods are good for say 1/8" to 1/4" the bigger 5/16" to say 3/8". 7014 doesn't have the storage issue 7018 does, and it's a "drag" rod thats easy to learn with. 6013 is another good choice thats similar, but not as strong. 6011 works on AC or DC  but 6010 which is similar only runs DC. They weld different than the other rods, and they are good for doing open roots or cutting thru dirty metal you can't clean well. 7018AC is a good one to get to learn. It requires a bit more skill than 7014/6013 but it's the go to rod in many cases. It needs to be kept dry and so has some storage issues. buy it in small quantities because if the rods absorb too much moisture from the air the rods run poorly.- What Tig accessories should I have handy?   You probably can get away at the start with just an extra tungsten. You probably won't need much else for awhile.- What tungsten sizes and composition is best for newbs?   ( I had planned on 2% Lanthenated )I'd get a 3/32" tungsten and the collet and collet body to match. If you want to do thin exhaust you can add a set in say 1/16". Lanthanated is a good choice, so is cerated (orange) or even thoriated (red) for learning on steel/stainless. You won't need pure (green) since you won't be able to do alum easily with that machine.- What about gas cups?  What assortment should I have?I'd get a gas lense to start out with and a #8 cup. It will let you stick the tungsten out a bit more to see what you are doing as you learn, but you can learn just fine with the standard #8 cup. One thing with a gas lens is that because you can extend the tungsten a bit more, you can work with a larger cup and still get into tighter corners on many things. All the joints the students do at the tech school they do with a standard #8 cup. I use the gas lens with students that have issues seeing the arc and either hold too long an arc or keep dipping the tungsten staying in close and can't see what they are doing. - What shielding gasses should I have here for Tig?  ( I had planned on Argon only and maybe small amount of helium if I can afford it)All you need is 100% argon.- What size bottle would you recommend I purchase as a home user?  ( I had planned on 80cf bottles)80cf is the smallest I'd recomend.  Anything from there to say a 150cf will do fine and save you on trips to the LWS and get you a decent price per cf on gas. Larger sizes usually require a lease and unless you do a ton of tig, the gas will just sit.- Do I need flow meters for these bottles in addition to the regulators?  You will need a flow meter with the scratch start rig, whether the ball style or the "reg" style is personal preference and cost.- What acetylene cutting system should I look at?Any good quality name brand one. Smith, Victor, Harris etc. I'd check and see what the LWS stocks as far as parts so you know you can get tips and so on easily and not have to wait. You want to probably get a 75 cf acet cylinder and roughly a 100 cf O2 cyl. any thing smaller and you can run into issues with the acet withdrawl rate on heating and cutting. If all you want to do is weld and very little cutting, the "B" size acet and 60cf O2 will do ok, but be aware that the "B" size acet valve is different than the ones on the larger cylinders. you'll need an adapter if you want to use the "B" size with some rigs, or you'll have to adapt up later if the reg comes rigged for the "B" valves. Skip the smallest "MC" acet cylinder kits like Home Depot sells. They are only good for soldering pipes.
Reply:good one  and he said all that in one breathidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441