Mig Welder Review

[TopJimmy]

IMO too much machine is a much better option than not having enough. You can always turn the power down. My primary machine is a Miller 250. I have a 135 for portable use that I keep small wire on for small projects. I also have a Snap-on (Century) that I keep big wire on. I rarely use anything besides the 250.

Jim

 

[JeffHK454]

I'm a firm believer in complete over-kill, I have a MM 250 and a Esab 1125.

Both are much bigger than needed for 99% of the stuff I do.......

you can do little stuff with big tools but ya can't do big stuff with little tools....er..a ! :censored:

I've cut 1.5" thick plate with that 1125, very cool!

Jeff

 

[TopJimmy]

I should have gone for a little overkill on the plasma cutter as well. I have a Hypertherm Powermax 900. It is rated at 5/8" capacity that will cut 7/8" and sever 1 1/8". Not sure I understand the difference other than it works best on 1/2" and smaller, not to bad on 5/8". Pretty rare that I need to cut anything bigger than 1/2" anyway and I don't think I have anything on hand bigger than 3/4"

Jim

 

[04ultra]

I have a MM251 and a HH180 Hobart..My Miller is used with gas and .035 hard wire .The Hobart is used with gasless flux-core.. Plasma is next item I will be buying..

 

[Rspike]

Aw.......If it gets that big/thick just whip out the O/A torch.

 

[Rspike]

Originally Posted by NWCS Mig Welder Review
Lincoln WeldPak 3200HD Kit

Alright , Alright ...........lets see a few beads there brother. Butt joint is fine , a "T" is even better. What wire are u using ? L-56 ?

NO ? No weld pic's ? ......do you know what wire you are using?

 

[Four Paws]

YOU welded up a wood splitter with a HH 135!? The HH135 is good for steel up to 3/16" so how did you build that?

Well, for a fella who has a welder as an avatar, and who has claimed in other posts to have a knowledge and background in the field, you should be the first to know that proper preparation of the steel pieces to be welded, proper pre-heating, proper electrode/filler metal selection, proper machine settings and other factors play into the quality and strength of a weld.

Sure, you can weld thick steel with a HH 135. No company I am aware of makes a welder, nor an electrode, that is rated for 4" steel in a single pass, yet you see massive creations welded with a 600A machine, using proper preparation of the steel pieces to be welded, proper pre-heating, proper electrode/filler metal selection, proper machine settings and MULTIPLE passes.

That said, don't give him a hard time! Especially since you are a welder and lay down boogers like this!

 

[Rspike]

four paws .........less coffee

I asked how he welded a splitter with HH135 that is only rated for 5/16 . Sit down Four Paws <img src="http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/Roospike/FOURM/P5130028.jpg"> picture : 5/8" thick steel support bracket <img src="http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/Roospike/FOURM/PIC00007.jpg"> 1/4" bracket.

 

[Rspike]

Well, for a fella who has a welder as an avatar, and who has claimed in other posts to have a knowledge and background in the field, you should be the first to know that proper preparation of the steel pieces to be welded, proper pre-heating, proper electrode/filler metal selection, proper machine settings and other factors play into the quality and strength of a weld.

Sure, you can weld thick steel with a HH 135. No company I am aware of makes a welder, nor an electrode, that is rated for 4" steel in a single pass, yet you see massive creations welded with a 600A machine, using proper preparation of the steel pieces to be welded, proper pre-heating, proper electrode/filler metal selection, proper machine settings and MULTIPLE passes.

That said, don't give him a hard time! Especially since you are a welder and lay down boogers like this!

BTW ........ this is not boogers , it called build up. Throw you welds up on the forum there Four Paws. We want to see a nice clean bead in "tin" sence you brought it up.

 

[Four Paws]

I asked how he welded a splitter with HH135 that is only rated for 5/16 .

Thought you said it was only rated for 3/16? Now it is 5/16? Either way, definitely not capable of laying down multiple passes on some heavy steel.

BTW ........ this is not boogers , it called build up. Throw you welds up on the forum there Four Paws. We want to see a nice clean bead in "tin" sence you brought it up.

Well, we could take a poll and I am sure most would call it boogers...or bird ****, or? The 'build up' as you call it, is from an improperly set machine. Maybe YOU didn't know what wire you were using or the right voltage/wire speed to use on 20ga muffler 'tin'. Next time I weld on a muffler I will post up some pics! Will likely use my TIG though as I don't have any .023" wire for the MIG.

 

[UrbanLogger]

Just out of curiousity, Why don't you TIG mufflers like the one above, it would be much, much cleaner looking and 10 times stronger (not that it needs to be, but...) Also, IMO I would never buy a 110 welder, waste of money/time. I'm a welder by trade...The smallest welder I'd ever buy is a MillerMatic 251 - You can always turn your welder down, but once you've turned a slammer welder the way up, and its not enough you're pretty much done, not to mention the pathetically low duty cycle times on 110 welders. I personally prefer TIG for lighter guage material, not to mention that with a TIG machine (If you have a good one) is that you can weld any type of weldable metal (Steel, Stainless, Aluminum, Magnesium, Titanium, Copper, Brass, Bronze, Cast Iron, and any other type of weldable metal you can think of) These are just my opinions, and one thing I have come to realize is that every form of welding and every type of welding machine has its place.

 

[Rspike]

Thought you said it was only rated for 3/16? Now it is 5/16? Either way, definitely not capable of laying down multiple passes on some heavy steel.




Well, we could take a poll and I am sure most would call it boogers...or bird ****, or? The 'build up' as you call it, is from an improperly set machine. Maybe YOU didn't know what wire you were using or the right voltage/wire speed to use on 20ga muffler 'tin'. Next time I weld on a muffler I will post up some pics! Will likely use my TIG though as I don't have any .023" wire for the MIG.

Your right , was posted 3/16 . Thats what it is. I'm not a "home owner welder" I own a fabrication shop , you know ... full business. I dont do "day care" so your on your own there four paws , i cant help you. I asked oneadam12 a question ........ I didnt ask Four Paws. And NO, no welder is going to weld 1/4" , 1/2" , 5/8" steel with a HH135 this is why i asked how he did it. But thank you for starting a bunch of **** like to 4 year old.

 

[Rspike]

Just out of curiousity, Why don't you TIG mufflers like the one above, it would be much, much cleaner looking and 10 times stronger

I agree with you there , Tig would of looked better and been stronger. I did the mod on the weekend and and i dont have a tig at home , just a MM210 . To me it was just a muffler mod and i guess i just didnt have the interest in tig welding it a muffler + i was going to cut that weekend and really didnt have the interest to go back down to the shop. When i welded the muffler i welded the steel plate to the muffler and put it all back together , tached it and got it hot and run a few test cuts out back. Even with a muffler mod them Husqvarna 359 still get super hot , i noticed where i welded the steel plate to the front that it was getting red around the out side ......... So i went back and did a "build up" of the weld at the add on plate. Works fine now . The 359 still get hot . Out cutting wood you leave a black burn mark all the way down the wood when you cut. Anyone else have this issue ? my other saws dont do that.

 

[GPH85]

I'm sure I'm going to get extremely "flamed" for this since I'm picking on a person who "claims", rather I was lead to believe he's claiming this, because I didn't read anywhere where he actually was, to be a great welder, but...

The "tin" welded muffler, it looks like all you did was do a great big "oval" back step maneuver... Not bad as it will allow for the dissipation of heat better, but it does make one horrible looking weld, especially if you don't control your spacing or oval shape consistency all that well... Chicken scratch, but serves the purpose... Most prefer a "stop / restart" setup with thin steel like this, but what you did is the best way, only it could look a slight bit better...

As for your big welded together pieces... What were you thinking... Just get it done as quick as possible? I noticed you not only used a weak weave maneuver, but you also didn't even bother to prep the steel, such as beveling... Look at your weld "how it's bubbled up or rounded", this means almost no penetration... You cut this and do a bend test and you fail right then and there... NO measuring tears for allowable acceptance, just fail... This will be because of a few reasons... First, no beveling = no to little penetration / Second, not enough heat = the big mound you've got, even with no beveling a weave shouldn't have this big of a mound / Third, you weaved = you never weave on something you rely on for strength "especially something that has this big of a weave" - you use nice small "packed" stringers

They will teach you all of this, if you take any sort of "high pressure" welding test such as a boiler welding test or any other "bend" type test, not the cheapo xray test... Bend test actually stresses your welds, by bending them completely around... Xray just looks for inclusions such as slag or air bubbles = much easier to pass...

Just my thought on the subject... OH yeh, I personally, like most tig or mig welders that rely on welding to make a profit, prefer Miller... Just my $.02... Lincoln always seems to tear up much worse, don't get me wrong, they all have their ups and downs and I at one time would only use Lincoln, until I got to using them to make money, instead of as a hobby welder, then realized just how easily they tear up and how much better the Millers layed out a bead... This, all of course, depends on the options you get on any welding machine...

The only pics I can currently provide of any of my welding abilities is of a test I took in a class I had, of round to round and round to flat, then a gusset... This was for learning the best way to weld roll bar (steel tubing)... The best thing I liked about this class was that my instructor admitted to me welding better than he, but I did learn a lot of nice things from him on the best welding procedures for certain situations... Oh these welds that I will be posting are nearly 1&1/2 years old - "when I took the class" and I won't have any pics until I take them and get them put on a CD to load to the computer and hopefully they will turn out clear and good, so you can comment with all of the bad comments on (I like hearing the bad, you learn from them)...

Other steel piping I'm great at welding is any type of boiler welding (extremely high pressure pipe), this is probably because I've got all 6 of my boiler welding certifications... I've always been able to weld and work with my hands, in fact gifted in the manor... I've worked as head welder for two different places, first a propane shop (don't recommend for anyone) and then I was head welder for Motor Sports Image, a little show car / nascar shop in Mooresville, NC (don't really recommend working there either - going through some management issues, or were when I left)... I did all of their Tig welding "both steel and aluminum" and any Mig welding where peoples lives might be Dependant on... The shop manager wouldn't let any other welder in the shop near it in this situation, other than me... I kinda liked that, but boy I don't like having to run around in circles trying to do 10 or 12 things at once... Welding should be something you take your time on, not rush...

Sorry for the long post and what seems to be a bunch of jibber jabber and self "brag" I'll try to get the pics as soon as I can then you can let the bad comments roll
Greg

 

[GPH85]

Sorry, I've got "slow" dial up... Didn't see your next pic of the splitter...

But why did you use stringers in places, then those great big weaves in others???

Greg

 

[TopJimmy]

O/A Torch? What's that? Oh yea that thing in the corner with the two bottles and hoses. Seriously, I use the torch to cut bolts off and similar items off and for heating. I do not think of using it for cutting like I use the plasma cutter for. But when my plasma was down (Cut the lead with a piece of 3/8 plate), I got reacquainted with the torch. I forgot that it can make a pretty nice cut (for an amateur). May have to try it from time to time.

I kind of agree with it not making sense to own a 110v machine. But I like it for the portability. I often need to build a sheetrock chase around a grease hood in a restaurant. I weld the metal studs directly to the grease duct. The 135 is perfect and light enough to throw on top of the hood. That is primarily all I use it for. I keep it ready in the shop with small wire, but rarely use it. For my use, the passport looks like the perfect machine, but I was afraid that I would have to have 5 bottles of gas to equal the small bottle I keep on that machine.

Jim

 

[NWCS]

the Lincoln 3200HD was all i can afford. bigger machines cost money, same with a tig. if you want to have me modify 10+ saws i can afford a tig and keep my working capitol going. if i need something bigger than my mig i fire up the Lincoln Ranger 9 arc and grab an 11lb box of my Air Liquide LA 18 Plus rod out of the case. rod might be made in canada but it works for my uses

 

[Rspike]

the Lincoln 3200HD was all i can afford. bigger machines cost money, same with a tig. if you want to have me modify 10+ saws i can afford a tig and keep my working capitol going. if i need something bigger than my mig i fire up the Lincoln Ranger 9 arc and grab an 11lb box of my Air Liquide LA 18 Plus rod out of the case. rod might be made in canada but it works for my uses

I think all welders have there place. I dont see anything wrong with 110 welders. I'm sure the Lincoln 3200HD fits the bill for what your needing it for. Your right about the $$ of tig ...... most would be better off having the odd job done for just a few jobs that "need" the services of Tig. There are odd jobs in my shop you just cant justify a $10,000-$30,000 machine for the few time it needs done so we hire it out. good review.

 

[GPH85]

Sorry if it seems like I was "picking" on you Rspike... After all you are the only person on here who has bothered to post any pics right I don't claim to be a "know it all" on the subject and I'm sorry for anyone who may have taken it this way (I just reread my own post and took it that way), but I do like to state the bad more than I do the good and I am always looking for ways to improve on my own welds... Although you learn from both the good and bad, the bad has the most effect and is why I was pointing out the things I did...

 

[CaseyForrest]

YOU welded up a wood splitter with a HH 135!? The HH135 is good for steel up to 3/16" so how did you build that?

My splitter got welded up with a 180. Only a couple times we had to stop and let'er cool down. Most of what my splitter was built with was 1/2" to 3/4". No problems yet, and running 3000psi into a 4.5" cylinder, you can bet its getting tested.

EDIT: had to think about what I said for a second, there is no 3/4" material on my splitter, thickest is 1/2".