Never touched a welder before but looking to do simple stuff like intercooler piping and downpipes...

From what ive read so far my best bet would be to get a non-gas 120V Mig welder. Craftsman sells one for $200... I just want to learn on something cheap them maybe graduate to a gas welder when I start to get more into it... any info or advice is appreciated thanks!



thats the one im thinking about getting... nothing beats the quality of a craftsman

 

If you are going to get a mig, get one that uses gas for a sheild. That welder that you are looking at uses flux core wire. THings are much nicer when you use a sheilding gas. If you get that one you will want to upgrade as soon as you get the basics down, so might as well just get one that uses gas now.


Rob

 

how much more do gas welders cost?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dunkd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">looking to do simple stuff like intercooler piping and downpipes...
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If you mean aluminum pipe you have to get a machine that can do AC. All can do DC for steel but aluminum needs AC.

 

I was in the same position you were in a while ago, I looked around and was gonna buy either the craftsman one that has gas capabilities or hobart handler 125, they are both around 300. Well my friend contacted me and told me he was selling his lincoln electric weld pack 100 for a great deal. One thing that really stood out about this machine was it was about the same cost as the hobart and craftsman welders but this one could weld up to 1/4 inch of steel where the hobart and craftsman could not.

Look into the lincoln electric weld pack 100.

Here are the links

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr...74000
The one I own, lincoln electric weld pack 100

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr...65000
Hobart

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr...86000
Craftsman

 

174.99 gas & flux.


I don't know exactly what you can do with it though.

Or even this one.

 

http://store.weldingdepot.com/...kzM2w

 

i also want to get into welding.. right now i dont know **** about it. i would like a small welder to do small things... not ic pipes or anything, but like just throw together a metal intake box or something.. any recommendations for me? i dont know the basics or anything. so im like a super beginner. i found this: http://www.harborfreight.com/c...43027

any good for me?

any more tips?

 

You don't want an arc welder. Check out the links above, you really want to have a gas option later on in the future. Also a intake box is gonna use some pretty thin metal and a arc welder will probably burn right threw it. Also a flux core welder probably will to, you would have to mig it.

 

I'm in a similar boat. I've never welded anything before but I want to get into it big time. My budget is a little different though - about $2000. I'm leaning towards a TIG inverter type machine, but may go with MIG. Any words of wisdom?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fperra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm in a similar boat. I've never welded anything before but I want to get into it big time. My budget is a little different though - about $2000. I'm leaning towards a TIG inverter type machine, but may go with MIG. Any words of wisdom?</TD></TR></TABLE>
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p002730.htm
Great welder.

 

so what type of welder should i get to do exhaust pipes/charge pipes, mild or stainless steel? I've been looking into the one that doens't require gas.. but i don't care about appearance, i just want the welds to hold.. so using gas makes it stronger, or just nicer welds?

 

generally speaking you can weld what you want with a flux core, but the ic pipes mild steel and especially stainless will be difficult to weld without burning through using a flux core wirefeeder. also you'll be chipping and wire brushing slag off the welds you finish. mig with gas would be a better choice for what you want to do, also it is cleaner
with a flux core machine it is difficult to upgrade it to a gas, the opposite is true with a mig, you can shut off the gas bottle and reverse the terminals on the machine if needed, load the flux wire and weld away.

 

I have been welding for 30 years ,,for what you are doing
only get the lincoln 125 or 175
or miller 130 or larger
both have gas tank hook ups
if you buy anything else you wil find out it won't do what you want it to do
you'll hate it
you'll want to sell it no one will buy it you'll through it out
and then buy a good one

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by devnull &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">174.99 gas & flux.


I don't know exactly what you can do with it though.

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My buddy just bought this setup... It came with Fluxcore wire... We were playing around with it tonight... NOT BAD AT ALL... WELL worth the money... Its not the best thing out out there, but definately worth the money.

 

thanks, so i guess i'll look into mig welder with gas.. another question is if theres a chance of blowing out electricity as this will be used at home. what kind of welders are too much for home use? what should i look for as far as specs so i don't have to worry about blowing fuses and such.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtec.dc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks, so i guess i'll look into mig welder with gas.. another question is if theres a chance of blowing out electricity as this will be used at home. what kind of welders are too much for home use? what should i look for as far as specs so i don't have to worry about blowing fuses and such.</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha, yeah in my garage I need to update my circuit breakers, my uncle is an electrician so that will be done soon , anyways if you get the welder stuck on the metal and hold the trigger that's when the circuit breaker will pop. Once you get the hang of it though and you don't get stuck to the metal you will be good to go. At least this is how it is in my house. If you start getting up to the more expensive machines, those require 220 volts.

 

so what about the ones that don't require 220 volts? theres still a chance right? i woudlnt have worries if its only for my house.. but i would feel bad if i knock out the transformer for entire neighborhood - or theres no chance of that happening if i use something that just plugs into regular outlet?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtec.dc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so what about the ones that don't require 220 volts? theres still a chance right? i woudlnt have worries if its only for my house.. but i would feel bad if i knock out the transformer for entire neighborhood - or theres no chance of that happening if i use something that just plugs into regular outlet?</TD></TR></TABLE>

You will only knock your electricty out, I have the one that plugs into a normal outlet and I blow the circuit breaker every now and then.

 

A mig welder works on a lot of car applications, and its pretty easy and fast so that gets

Tig welder can make nicer looking welds, but it takes more skill, and time to do it.

 

like 90blackcrx said, your only going to take out the circuit breaker that the welder is hooked up to.
don't worry about it too much, a welding machine converts high voltage to useable welding voltage and amperage and doesn't use a small city's worth of power depending on the machine. just get one with the duty cycle your going to need for your application

 

so.. if i get a gas mig then i also need gas tank refills or whatever, right? where can i get those?

and about that grounding clamp, i just connect that to the metal im welding? so i cant touch the piece of metal while im welding or i die or something? lol sorry for the dumb Q's, im just a noob trying to get into this stuff.

thanks guys

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by devnull &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">174.99 gas & flux.


I don't know exactly what you can do with it though.

Or even this one.

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also does this come with a gas bottle? if not where can i get one and where can i get refills?

 

Im new to this too ... what welder do you guys recommond me getting to weld intercooler pipping, flange, down pipe, and exhaust pipe. So is the Lincoln the best for a beginner like me? IM NEW !! NEVER WELD AND DONT KNOW JACK **** ABOUT IT !!