Let's see your Welders

[sgtsandman]

My welders are grumpy and don't like their pictures taken. They might give me a black eye if I do.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Here's 2 of like 6? welders, assuming you don't count the O/A torch set... This is just the Titanium Unlimited 200 on it's new semi complete welding cart I just finished getting to the point of holding the bottles and my Miller Thunderbolt AC stick welder, I moved that to the garage and the Montgomery Wards AC/DC stick welder (made by Century) to the shop... I also have the spool gun for the Titanium as well as the smaller brother the Titanium MIG 170 (was $125, I couldn't not...), a 100A flux core welder and the old 110/220V stick welder that is a pain to use (haven't even tried it in a LONG time). For that welding cart I have a ~45' extension cord so it can get a long ways from the panel...

 

[superj]

that is the same model i have, but i think mine is older. i traded for it almost 20 years ago. i had a 220 lincoln stick welder but didn't need 220 and a buddy needed a larger welder. we swapped and i have been doing all kinds of stuff with this little harbour freight welder ever since.

90% of the time, i do exhaust with it but every once in a while, i have had to do roll cage stuff on jeeps. it has always worked fine. mine is modified with all the stuff to run gas/fluxless core but i have not ever used anything but flux core and been fine

 

[Roert42]

Here is what I’ve got for shop at work. Miller EconoTig. Pretty weak/ low end machine. Not a huge fan of it. Lacks a lot of the options you see on even the newer entry level machines.

I mostly use it for Stainless sheet metal so it does the job for that. The tig stinger is setup with 1/16 tungsten and anything over 3/32 or so I just end up stick welding it.

 

[Shran]

Picked that up last week for $50, included with it was two new rolls of wire, a full box of 6011 rod, and an auto darkening helmet. Ran a bit of wire through it and it works great - I just needed a cheap beater flux core machine for use outdoors on occasion and my Miller 211 is a pain to unhook and swap wire on just for that purpose.

I also have a Miller Diversion 165 TIG machine, an ancient but really useful Century AC/DC stick welder, one of those little 110v inverter stick welders from Harbor Freight, and a Hobart Airforce 500i plasma cutter.

Thinking about picking up a Hypertherm Powermax 600, I found a nice very lightly used one at a good price. Old machine at this point but it would work great on my plasma table, probably way better than the Hobart.

 

[dvdswan]

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Not sure how I missed this thread… I’ll have to get pictures or find my pictures at some point.

I learned how to weld with oxy/acetylene. Dad gave me his old torch set years ago and a couple books and a little guidance and off I went. First attempt wasn’t right, but the beauty of torch welding is that you can go back and re-work it. Kept the heat on it longer and when the metal flowed together I finally understand exactly what was needed. I don’t do much torch work these days as far as welding just because of convenience, but once in awhile I do. I also have a big oxy/propane cutting rig (100# propane tank). The oxy/acetylene is mounted on a 2 wheel dolly.

My second welder is a Lincoln “tombstone/doghouse” AC-225 stick welder. I’ve burned a decent bit of rod with it, and I’ve had plenty of success with it holding, but I’ve had a hard time mastering stick. I’d say the welder just has too coarse of settings or that because it doesn’t have DC it makes things harder, but I’ve seen guys run textbook welds with these machines so I know it’s possible.

My third welder is a Lincoln PowerMig 200 if I remember right. Big monster, 230v, 44# spool of .035 wire inside and 70/30 gas bottle on the back. I’ve burned most of that spool. Awesome welder in my opinion and when I’m patient with it, I can lay some nice welds. Heck, even when I don’t take the time to perfectly dial it in and get comfortable I can still do decent welds.

Ok, sidebar time. My mechanic buddy has a Craftsman 110 wire feed. He bought it before he met me because his cousin said if he got the welder, he would teach him to weld but never did. My buddy said he tried figuring it out on his own but it was no good. I looked it over and discovered it was set up for .030 wire and loaded with .025 (Sears sold him the welder and accessories and the wire that they got everything together for him and still sold him the wrong wire), which naturally doesn’t work. I got it set up correctly and it’s not a bad little unit and fine for light stuff. The frustration is that sometimes low is too low and high is too high which makes things difficult to dial in. I also got to use a couple times from someone else a Harbor Freight 110v wire feed that was really similar and not any better.

Sidebar #2, dad bought a Harbor Freight Titanium, forget the model, but it’s the inverter 110v wire feed. He was going to try using it for some stuff around the house, but I ended up using it the most. Was really nice to use, super compact and light and very adjustable, ran a nice bead with .030 wire, but stopped feeding hot shortly after burning the first 1# spool of wire. Feeds cold all day long but not hot. Tried digging into it a little (out of warranty of course) and so far haven’t found the problem.

Because of being annoyed with those 110v welders, I bought a used Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 I believe it is. Didn’t work really great when I got it, but a new liner (it was badly kinked right out of the machine and had another like 5 lesser kinks) and some cleaning and new gun parts and it’s really nice. Running .035 flux core in it, got a 10# spool in it because I got the 10# spool for what a pair of 2# spools would have cost. Being it has a dial for voltage control instead of a high/low switch, it’s a lot easier to fine tune.

 

[Shran]

My second welder is a Lincoln “tombstone/doghouse” AC-225 stick welder. I’ve burned a decent bit of rod with it, and I’ve had plenty of success with it holding, but I’ve had a hard time mastering stick. I’d say the welder just has too coarse of settings or that because it doesn’t have DC it makes things harder, but I’ve seen guys run textbook welds with these machines so I know it’s possible.

AC stick can be relatively easy to do but you have to use the right rod. Some work better with DC (7018 for example.) Vertical stick is difficult to master no matter what.

Welding Rods Compared: 6010, 6011, 6013, 7018 & 7024

Compare the differences between 6010, 6011, 6013, 7018 & 7024 welding rods and learn how to choose the right one for your job!

weldguru.com

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FYI on those 110 welders with the High/Low switch - you have to fine tune those with your wire speed. You almost have to think backwards. Sometimes it benefits you to run higher wire speed if Low is too hot and less wire speed if High isn't hot enough.... more wire can cool off the puddle, less can help it stay hot and thus penetrate further. Your distance between the material and gun nozzle plays a big part too... there are a lot of factors involved, those crappy little wire feeds are capable of a lot more than you would think they are.

 

[bilbo]

View attachment 90661

Picked that up last week for $50, included with it was two new rolls of wire, a full box of 6011 rod, and an auto darkening helmet. Ran a bit of wire through it and it works great - I just needed a cheap beater flux core machine for use outdoors on occasion and my Miller 211 is a pain to unhook and swap wire on just for that purpose.

I also have a Miller Diversion 165 TIG machine, an ancient but really useful Century AC/DC stick welder, one of those little 110v inverter stick welders from Harbor Freight, and a Hobart Airforce 500i plasma cutter.

Thinking about picking up a Hypertherm Powermax 600, I found a nice very lightly used one at a good price. Old machine at this point but it would work great on my plasma table, probably way better than the Hobart.

I have Hobart's version of the 211. It's been a great machine for me. How well does the little stick welder work? I'd like to pick up a small 110V stick welder for light outdoor repairs as the 210 is kind of clunky to move around but I haven't been fortunate enough to find one on CL.

 

[Shran]

I have Hobart's version of the 211. It's been a great machine for me. How well does the little stick welder work? I'd like to pick up a small 110V stick welder for light outdoor repairs as the 210 is kind of clunky to move around but I haven't been fortunate enough to find one on CL.

I forget what the difference was between the 210 and 211, was it the wire speed? The 211 has infinite control on both.

The little stick welder works great within reason. 1/8" rod is too big for it, just can't keep the heat in the rod... have to run 1/16 or 3/32. No surprise there. My one complaint is that the leads are just terrible. They need to be a lot longer and better quality. The power cord is also not great. In cold weather it is almost impossible to roll out. If you can overlook or fix those two things, it's a good machine. Some guys are even using them as a power source for scratch start TIG.

 

[bilbo]

I forget what the difference was between the 210 and 211, was it the wire speed? The 211 has infinite control on both.

The little stick welder works great within reason. 1/8" rod is too big for it, just can't keep the heat in the rod... have to run 1/16 or 3/32. No surprise there. My one complaint is that the leads are just terrible. They need to be a lot longer and better quality. The power cord is also not great. In cold weather it is almost impossible to roll out. If you can overlook or fix those two things, it's a good machine. Some guys are even using them as a power source for scratch start TIG.

I think it's the voltage adjustment. Mine has taps where the 211 has infinite. The 211 also has digital displays where mine just has numbers painted on the panel. I was real close to buying a Lincoln 110V machine from a friend but went with this instead. I'm super glad I did. I've used the upper ranges more than I thought I would and it works better on 110V than the Lincoln did.

Thanks for the info on the stick welder. I'm going to have to see if I can pick one up.

 

[superj]

i learned on oxy/acet also. i really like gas welding and the welds can look like you never touched the metal.

 

[Shran]

I think it's the voltage adjustment. Mine has taps where the 211 has infinite. The 211 also has digital displays where mine just has numbers painted on the panel. I was real close to buying a Lincoln 110V machine from a friend but went with this instead. I'm super glad I did. I've used the upper ranges more than I thought I would and it works better on 110V than the Lincoln did.

Thanks for the info on the stick welder. I'm going to have to see if I can pick one up.

I'd see if you can score one from a pawn shop, I think I paid about $50 for mine. I've seen them often in that price range, people seem to think they are a miracle machine and then are disappointed with what it's actually capable of. $170 is a rip off for what it is new.

 

[bilbo]

I'd see if you can score one from a pawn shop, I think I paid about $50 for mine. I've seen them often in that price range, people seem to think they are a miracle machine and then are disappointed with what it's actually capable of. $170 is a rip off for what it is new.

Yeah I was thinking that was a little steep. I remember seeing a similar one on clearance at menards for $79 and I wish I would have bought it.

 

[Vindictus]

Miller matic 140, It's small but does what I need