welder advice

[beauster]

I need to do some welding on sheetmetal panels as well as welding in new floor pan and suspension pan on my 69 911e. I am looking at a gasless 70amp fluxcore welder. It has adjustments down to 30amp for sheet metal welding. Does any body have any advice on flux core vs. gas mig welding. Will fluxcore be strong enough? These tend to be a lot less pricey of a setup. Thanks

[tony9704]

If you intend to use it for body work- replacing exterior panels- then go on the bottle. You will get plenty of heat for your sheet metal floorpans with fluxcore. Mig leaves a much cleaner bead though. I would say either will work. Get one with at least the 135-140 number designation on it. Northern sells a little 135 Mig machine that works pretty good. Cheap too. Nice part is that with a tri gas mix, it will do stainless also.

[McLovin]

Gasless is ok for throwing on some ugly welds on a fence repair out on the "back 40," but I'd not put that anywhere near a Porsche.

[BK911]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Gasless is ok for throwing on some ugly welds on a fence repair out on the "back 40," but I'd not put that anywhere near a Porsche.

Well said!

[sailchef]

I was in the same position as you a few months ago. I would budget for the best welder you can afford, and then some. My budget was @ $500-$600 and when it was all said and done I spent $900. Look at the Hobart 140 ( Northern Tool) or the Miller 140 with 75/25 Argon gas.

[BernieP]

Do not go with a gas-less setup, you will regret it. It's more money up front but it will pay dividends to go with the bottle.

[mcaterino]

I am not in a position to argue with the above opinions, not having tried MIG welding with gas. But I purchased the Hobart 140 from Northern Tool a few months ago, and since it came with some flux-core, that's what I got to using. It has done me just fine for lots and lots of sheet metal repair. I've had trouble with burn-through even at very low settings where the original metal is thin, but I would be willing to bet that that problem's not unique to flux-core welding. Maybe I'd experience a whole new world if I moved up to gas, but I am not feeling the need.

Mike

[burgermeister]

+1 on the bottle. I don't have any trouble with burn through. And, no slag to clean up after welding...

My skill level is low, so I need all the help I can get.

[hessel1974]

Definately bottle! You want a clean as possible beat or regret spending a lot of time on grinding off the excess material. And yes, buy a good quality welder, enough amp stages and variable wire speed. I own a Cebora MIG welder, but don't think they sell there products in the US

[sc_rufctr]

You can get into trouble with either... I knew an old time welder that could patch rust with his stick welder! But he had more than 40 years in the job.

The most important thing is to practice practice practice... Before you go anywhere near your Porsche. Build a welding stand for your new welder. Followed by various small projects for your workshop. Steel is cheap and you'll have fun doing it but you'll also get a feel for your new welder.

One thing you should budget for is an Auto Dimming helmet.
This effectively frees up your left hand and will add to your confidence when attempting your first welds.
I was floored the first time I used one. I couldn't believe the immediate improvement in my welds.

I'm saving for a TIG welder that can also weld aluminium. It's from CIG which is an Australian company.
About $2,000 but TIG gives you the cleanest welds.

I don't think you Yanks know how lucky you are to have companies like Miller producing equipment for you.
A Miller welder here is very expensive and is on my dream list.

[Roc Doc]

I have the Miller 211, and absolutely love it. It's dual voltage so it can handle up to 3/8" on 220v, and it will accept a spoolgun for aluminum.

Cry once, smile long time.

[doublestuff]

I tig weld for a living, but am not terribly skilled with mig, so take anything i say with a grain or two of salt. Having said that, if it all possible I would go with gas. For one thing, a machine that can use gas can ALSO use flux-core, if that works for whatever you are welding, but a flux-core only machine cannot use gas (some can be modified to).

And if you aren't already, read everything you can get your hands on about welding. Haynes has a pretty good book, and HP Books' Welder's Handbook by Richard Finch is quite good. You should be able to find those pretty easily. I learned more from those two books than in a semester of welding school (although there is absolutely no substitute for practice!).

And someone who has done sheetmetal more than me can chime in, but as I understand it, stitch-welding (short sections of weld in intervals around the part being welded) is the way to go with thin sheetmetal. That might help with the burn through, as the longer you are running a bead, the more heat is building up in the part.

Good luck!

Jason

[euro911sc]

+10 on the gas. Flux-core welds a lot hotter (useful for thicker stuff!) then gas and when doing sheet, especially thin sheet, you really want to keep the temperature down and use just what you need. Also, a clean weld is a lot stronger and gas will be a lot cleaner than the flux-core.

I do use flux a lot, though, for things like exhaust support brackets. I have these powder coated and that hides a multitude of my welding sins

As for the welder to get, well you should be able to find a good used one locally with a gas bottle already full. I have seen several whole setups on Craigslist for not a lot of money compared to new (some used less than 10 hours!). If I was in the market I would choose one of the following or similar:

Miller 210
Lincoln Power MIG 180
Hobart Handler 187 or the older 175

These are the current models, but do not be scared of a 10 year old welder in decent condition. They really hold up well over the years. I currently run a Hobart 100!! It is tiny and 20 years old, but works fine for most of the junk welding I do. If I were embarking on a project such as yours, I would upgrade to the 210.

Stay with the 210-230 volt machines and you will have something you can build anything with. The 110V machines are a little small, but you can do your sheet metal with them as well. However, the 110v machines tend to be not made as heavy. The 210v machines just seem to be ready for shop duty and you will find then in shops doing just that.

You don't need TIG. Yes, the welds are better looking, but you will be grinding off the welds anyway so who cares what it looks like. Both MIG and TIG weld strength are the same if done with quality. It it also a lot more difficult to learn and use. Especially under a car! the machines are twice as expensive too...

The resource I like to use the most is WeldingWeb.com. Nice guys and always ready to give advice for better or for worse (geeze... sounds like Pelican!)

+10 on the stitch welding... 1" here 1" there 1" somewhere else... eventually, you are done and not warped!

Best regards,

Michael

[aigel]

I got the Lincoln weld pak 100 and started out with flux core. It was tough to use on thin sheet metal and burnt through easily. There was also quite a lot of splatter. I upgraded it with a bottle kit and it was like day and night. Suddenly I could weld. This is an entry level 110 machine but it welded everything I have ever needed from sheet metal, oil cooler brackets to roll bar feet.

George

[efhughes3]

I just GAVE AWAY to a local charity, my flux core welder. It was a pain. My new Hobart 140 is so much better. I tossed the flux core wire that came with it.

[docrodg]

I use a Miller MIG with different bottles for what I am welding. If you can get a large model to handle anything, especially aluminum, it takes a lot of juice to weld. If you get a 110 volt machine you will just be cussing at the aluminum as they can't put out enough.

Stitch welding is definitely the way to go on sheetmetal unless you can afford a pulse-mig.

No matter what do not gage your welding on sparks flying, looks great on tv but a good weld shouldn't throw out a ton of sparks. Your settings are right when you get good penetration and hear a "Bacon frying" sound.

If you keep more than one bottle of gas around chain them up so they do not fall and become rockets.

[HarryD]

While they are based over in england, they seem to offer lots of good advice:

MIG Welding Forum

I have a gasless MIG for sticking metal together. I agree with the others that a gas unit is mucho better. Be sure you are able to turn it down to about 30 amps.

[viking911]

I've been using a mini oxy/acet torch for body work and have had good success with it. I bought a MIG welder and tried the flux core wire with it and am not very impressed with the performance. I've used MIG welders in the past and you just can't compare a true MIG and flux-core, IMO. I was gearing up to put a bottle on my welder when a friend gave me a mini O/A torch and I've been using it ever since. Its not quite as good as a TIG but its pretty close. The flame is so small and you concentrate the heat in such a small area that I haven't experienced any warping issues.

I'm still planning on getting a bottle for my MIG at some point but if you already have a set of oxy/acet tanks this is a cheap way to weld sheet metal. TIG is still my preferred welding choice but until I get my own TIG outfit I'm happy to keep using my mini torch for sheet metal and my stick welder for anything bigger.

In the end its whatever you're most comfortable with, they all will work with enough practice.

[B D]

Originally Posted by viking911

I've been using a mini oxy/acet torch for body work and have had good success with it.

Now your talking, OAC is great for all size projects and can even cut.

This is a great small welder (9.5 lbs.) form Thermal Arc it does TIG and Stick, the kit with everything including case is around $500. A rep told me first qtr next year the 160 version will be released for around $750.

Thermal Arc 95S

[viking911]

I'm holding out for a TIG outfit that will include a high frequency continuous setting so that I'll be able to weld aluminum.