My dad owns a shop so we have a welding machine that we dont use becuase we dont know how to use it. i dont know the first thing about welding. the welder we have is a snap-on welder (info is below).

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog...talog

my questions are first how do i set-up the welding machine to start prac. on welding?
what can i weld with this machine?
is it any good or should i sell it and get something else?

remember i know nothing about welding so please explain. thanx guys

 

I know very little about welding too. So I enrolled in a welding class at my local community college. I also bought several welding books from Barnes and Nobel. And I've read through about 100 welding topics in this forum.

 

a 3000$ price tag, and the name snap on, and you ask if it is good...

i wish that was my starting machine.

just dive in. under the lid there may be a chart telling you settings, then set your gas to about 15-20 psi, and go at it...

guessing is how i learned

get a helmet and gloves too.

 

well first you should find out what type of welding your going to do....
smaw - refered to as arc, or stick.
gmaw - wire welding.. can be flux or gas
gtaw - tig welding

then we can help you out from there,what are you planning to fabricate!?

$3000 and you dont use it in the shop.. cause you dont know how... then what the heck is it ther for?? just for looks, OH let me guess... it had snap on written all over it... so you though you would need for a shop... well congrats you just spend $1500-2000 for the name on the side.


Its alright though, I paid for a miller, on the side of my machine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by asianpoet &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well first you should find out what type of welding your going to do....
smaw - refered to as arc, or stick.
gmaw - wire welding.. can be flux or gas
gtaw - tig welding

then we can help you out from there,what are you planning to fabricate!?

$3000 and you dont use it in the shop.. cause you dont know how... then what the heck is it ther for?? just for looks, OH let me guess... it had snap on written all over it... so you though you would need for a shop... well congrats you just spend $1500-2000 for the name on the side.

[]http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/wetoddimage.wtdr/wMTE2MjM3NjZzNDEzZGZkMzF5NTQx.jpg[/img]
Its alright though, I paid for a miller, on the side of my machine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

what the fu-ck is your problem?
I've used a snap-on mig just like that and it only cost about $2000 from the snap on guy and i'd say its worth it for a massive mig. Its probably worth it in a commercial environment. It has enough amps to weld anything you can thing of and its got all the usual high end mig's should have.

You're comparing two worlds there; a miller inverter tiig for small stuff and a MIG that can weld a bulldozer together

 

for that price you could have a nice tig... oh well

 

Wow for a 120V machine putting out only 140amp... It sees very overpriced.

I paid under 2k, for a 300amp 220V Lincon Mig, which has all the options and more, plus a better warrenty!

Do a favour get yourself some welding books and read the instructions kid.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HamiltonRex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wow for a 120V machine putting out only 140amp... It sees very overpriced.

I paid under 2k, for a 300amp 220V Lincon Mig, which has all the options and more, plus a better warrenty!

Do a favour get yourself some welding books and read the instructions kid.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i didnt even look around; yea thats kinda rediculous. that snap on mig at my friends shop is a 200+ amp mig and didnt cost them but like $2k. IT does what its supposed to.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pay2play killa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

what the fu-ck is your problem?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

dont know if that was towards me!

In any case mine is cst 280 (230-460v single or 3 phase industrial grade) and can weld a bulldozer together. also using it as a tax decuction for my job
ofcourse I spent less the 1k for it, but as soon as i buy a mig wire attachment, tig attachements, and converting it to tig, on high frequency, i would have then spend 3k.
however it is portable, which is very appealing to me

 

I think he is commenting on the fact that is is about 2300 bucks more than it should cost, and they bought it without thinking it through. A miller with the same specs is built just as good for MUCH less money.

Getting past that..

MIG is probably the easiest thing to pickup. If you jsut want to play around with it, get some .035 flux wire, verify the wires are in the correct polarity, and go at it to a chunk of steel. Won't be pretty like gas shielded stuff, but you get a chance to play around with it, and don't need to purchase the gas tank right away.

 

well we got it so we can weld but we have no time at all. i work from 8-9 so i cant go and take a course which is what i whanted to do.
what number do i set the **** to? btw on it says mig on the left side and tig on the right. does that mean it can do both or somthing? ill get some pics tomorrow so yall can see what im talking about.

 

Well, you are going to need to use the "gun" on the side that says MIG. Choose a mid voltage setting, and around 30-40% on the wire speed scale, and play around. Will require tweaking for speed and voltage depending on the metal thickness (mild steel only)

There should be a chart with setting on the inside of the welder on the panel that covers the wire spool.

 

but does it mean i can tig aswell? and what kind of metal can i weld with this welder??