question for welder expert. Please input

[rnln]

I am thinking of getting a small welder machine fom Home Depot. So far I have an eye on the Lincohn 100 or something like that. My purpose is for home use (and my old 911 the most) on any thing from steel, aluminum, brass, cooper, etc. Some people say
"YES", all I need is diff wire on diff stuff such aluminum wire on aluminum, steel wire on steel, etc. Some say no. Those normal welder is for steel only. It can not do aluminum. Diff. welder manchine is for diff material.
What is the true story?
Thanks in advance.

[afterburn 549]

hmm... models change from year to year . But to the pt- get one that will do both, aluminum and steel. If pwr outages area bigy in your area get a self propelled one and then you have a generator too

[emcon5]

Not an expert, but the base welder from Home Depot is probably wire feed. Wire feed works fine with flux-cored wire, but is kind of messy. It tends to spatter a bit. Most wire feeds can be converted to MIG by adding a conversion kit. If you want a MIG, you should buy a MIG from the start, as the wire feed welder, plus the MIG kit will end up costing more than if you started with a MIG welder.

You can weld Aluminum with a MIG, but you need different wire, and the shielding gas is different, pure argon rather than an argon CO2 mix. There is also an aluminum feed kit for mig welders, which is easier on the soft aluminum wire.

Lincoln has an article on MIG welding aluminum here:

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/content/compactmig.asp

Brass and copper? I don't think you can weld that with anything but a torch and brazing rod, but I could be wrong.

Tom

[shbop]

I bought a mig from Home Depot, and I'm pretty happy with it. Changes to go from steel to aluminum are a pita. You'll have to change the feed wheels, (aluminum is softer), and you'll have to sheath the inside of your feed line. Cross contamination makes it not so easy to do, but if you want to weld light guage steel the unit will work fine. If you haven't welded before, you might want to practice with flux-core wire. If money is not an object, then get the bottle of gas as it's far cleaner. Have fun!

[knunn911]

I would buy a tig welder

[rnln]

So much info. Thanks much guys. Can I have some more entry level questions?

What is the diff between the "regular wire feed" and MIG? I always see the MIG with the wire feed.

shbop,
"If money is not an object, then get the bottle of gas as it's far cleaner"
What do you mean by the above? DO you mean welding with the 2 bottles is more expensive? Those only run for around $40-$50 while a MIG machine is $400+. Am I missing something here?

TIG is too expensive for me.

The mroe I read, seem like the more I know that I don't know

[Matt Smith]

MiG is great, but you definately get what you pay for IMO.

I'm on my fourth MiG set; they got more expensive each time. With each increase in $$ came an improved useability, to the point where my current rig can weld beautifully in thin/thick steel with my eyes shut. Minimum burn though and the best welds with the least fuss.

If I had to start again I would save up and buy a decent machine up front. Same goes for any tool I guess. If you're not prepared to do that then it's cheaper and more satisfactory to get a pro to do the short run stuff- especially alloy.

Edit: don't scrimp. Get a wire feed MiG of maximum capacity and quality that you can afford. Copper core, decent handpiece and smooth wire feeder. Big bottle of argoshield from whatever gas rental facilities you guys have over there. You only really get one (max 2) chances to weld a bit of metal. It's a 911: do it properly!

To weld all the materials you state though, only an oxyacetylene set would work. Set yourself aside several months of solid tuition first!

[rfuerst911sc]

There is a lot of info to understand before diving in and buying one. I suggest you find a local college,trade school or adult learning center that teaches welding. You will learn the basics of welding and what is desired in a welder and how to set one up. Once you have that info you will be able to make a better decision. I agree a true Mig is the way to go for the average guy in his garage,don't be fooled many places try to sell "wire feed welders" off as Migs, a Mig IS a wire feed welder but will have the gauges for the shielding gas and maybe other items. While I am a fan of Home Depot and Lowes for a welder I would rather purchase from a local welding supply house, those are the guys that can help you when you can't get your machine operating correctly or give you tips on wire type,gauge etc. Good luck.

[Tim Hancock]

I have a lot of welding experience including large industrial mig and tig machines, AC stick welding along with gas welding.

I personally own a Miller Econotig, torches, and a cheap 110 gas mig, all of which are for home/hobby/aircraft/auto use. I have access to large mig welders at work if I need to do large scale heavy welding.

I have found the tig to be the best all around welder that is the most versatile. It allows me to do high quality welding of steel, stainless and aluminum. I have used a large industrial mig welder to weld aluminum, however in the smaller inexpensive mig units, they do a pretty crappy job on aluminum. They are capable of welding aluminum, but the weld quality is just not good enough for critical parts. If you really want to be able to weld aluminum, you should be looking at tig.

My cheap 110 mig unit does an acceptable job of welding light steel parts and is the easiest to learn how to use. I have played with a friends flux core wire welder and it does not work nearly as well as my gas shielded mig. I use argon in both my tig and mig it works for aluminum, steel and stainless. It costs more for a refill than the steel only "ultramix", but it is worth it to me so that I only have one type of gas to keep on hand.

I would be happy to answer any other questions concerning home welding as I have quite a bit of real world welding experience with both industrial welding and hobby type welding.

[Rot 911]

My two cents: get a MIG welder with the gas regulators. Pay enough to get one that has infinite speed and amp settings. Forget about welding aluminum. It is doable, but not easy. Copper and brass can only be brazed or soldered. Can't mig weld them.

[NoLift911]

Get a nice MIG - It is worth it $$ in the long run. There are tons of great deals on the Millermatic MIG's out there with free shipping etc...most of the stuff at HD and Lowes is basic...

My 02.

-Jeff

[Porsche_monkey]

If you buy a cheap mig unit you will eventually want to upgrade to a better machine. Asa welding engineer I would not recommend you use the 110v flux core machines. Get a machine with more current output that will take .035" wire and has a gas valve.

[Cory M]

If you want to weld aluminum, stainless, brass, etc then you should go with a TIG from the start. But what I would do if I were you (since you said you still have a lot to learn) is to take a welding course at a local junior college. The class will be cheap and you learn a lot more than just by playing around in the garage. You will be able to experience arc, MIG, TIG, gas, fluxcore, etc first hand. As a bonus most of these classes have "open hours" where you can bring in your personal stuff to weld on their equipment. If you don't have time for a class Linclon makes a pretty good welding manual, I don't remember the title but it has a red cover, it was the textbook in one of my welding courses - it was only $15 (by far the cheapest book I bought while in college).

[atlporsche]

I have a Lincoln 100HD from the Depot. I love it. it does everything I need, but dump the flux core junk and immediately get the gas kit, and the .025 wire. I do steels with it, and use the Lincoln TIG 185 up at my buddy's shop (actually where the MIG lives) for aluminum.

I'm a big fan of Lincoln products.

it helps to take a class, or just get some guidance from someone who knows what they're doing.

sjd

[carmad]

Sign up for a welding class, I did this and it gives you an idea of what you look for in a machine. Plus you get to use a variety of equipment.
Get some experience first, I still have not bought a welder yet, as the more I learn the harder the choices. Just signed up for my second 18 week course, am trying to perfect my TIG welding.

[Tim Hancock]

Classes are ok I guess, but the type of mig welders being discussed are really pretty simple to learn to use. The key is to learn how to attain and recognize proper penetration. Any welding handbook will show you what to look for and after a few evenings of praticing welding scraps, you will start to get the hang of it.

[Zeke]

I would buy the Lincoln 175 next after using the 135. (220v vs. 100v) The bigger the MIG welder, the higher the low settings are, which is what you need for sheet metal. so, it's all in what you plan to do.

A decently equipped shop will have an oxy/act set for heating, cutting, brazing, etc. Then, the infinite control 220v MIG and 3rd, a TIG for real nice work and more exotic metals.

But, as it's been stated before, it's a PITA to work in all positions with a TIG, whereas after some practice, you can go vertical and upside down with the MIG. That's necessary for me as I do some rust repair here and there.

The welding forum I visit gives good reviews to both the Lincoln and the Miller products. There's even a bit of a rivalry. BTW, you can learn a lot at the wedling forum jsut as you do here. There are a couple of pretty active ones. Do a Google.

[NoLift911]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
Classes are ok I guess, but the type of mig welders being discussed are really pretty simple to learn to use. The key is to learn how to attain and recognize proper penetration. Any welding handbook will show you what to look for and after a few evenings of praticing welding scraps, you will start to get the hang of it.

What Tim said - practice on scrap is the best way to learn - the concepts of welding with a MIG take about 30 minutes to grasp then it is all practice and more hands on practice - it aint rocket science. What you glean from a class can be had from a good book or what is out there for free on the web...

-Jeff

[rw7810]

I've read allot of these threads on welders over the past few years, and I decided the best way to go is the Millermatic 175. More costly than the 110v models, but infinite controls and 220 v.

[john walker's workshop]

most of your welding will be mig, no doubt. the miller 175 is what you need. don't bother with lesser 110V machines.