Choosing a Welder?

PB Forum :: Mechanics' Lounge
Choosing a Welder?
Author Message
flag ezekiel
Posted: Jun 19, 2009 at 18:22 Quote
thud wrote:
millers are garbage i use lincon easy to fix and maintain and generally dont over heat as fast as a miller

Just like cars, everyone thinks their brand is the best but the fact is that all of the major brands are good quality products that will work for the average DIYer when properly maintained. Its all in picking the right features and the correct duty cycle for what you need.

I've had a Miller for 2 years now, I use it weekly and the worst I've had was a burned out ground cable and I'm pretty sure that happened because the bolt came loose. Aside from that I've had to change one whip liner and have never once overheated it and that's with a whopping 30% duty cycle and running much longer passes then you'd ever need on a bike frame.
flag ricar
Posted: Jun 19, 2009 at 18:36 Quote
The guy that tought me to weld has the rep of... if he can't weld it it can't be welded. He has welded things people told him can't be welded. That is why part of his buisness was going to welding shops and fixing their problems. His opinion on Miller vs Lincoln was simply do you like red or blue? He has delt with both and with reps from both companies.


sidekicked, get your head out of your ass. PB if full of kids that talk like what they think is fact, but there are some guys on this forum that know their stuff. There are infact machinists and welders who also happen to ride bikes. Incase you missed it there is a thread on building frames that is over 150 pages long.
flag sidekicked
Posted: Jun 19, 2009 at 20:49 Quote
ricar wrote:
The guy that tought me to weld has the rep of... if he can't weld it it can't be welded. He has welded things people told him can't be welded. That is why part of his buisness was going to welding shops and fixing their problems. His opinion on Miller vs Lincoln was simply do you like red or blue? He has delt with both and with reps from both companies.


sidekicked, get your head out of your ass. PB if full of kids that talk like what they think is fact, but there are some guys on this forum that know their stuff. There are infact machinists and welders who also happen to ride bikes. Incase you missed it there is a thread on building frames that is over 150 pages long.

I realize that, but when people say go buy a flux core mig to weld a frame or get a harbor freight welder. They know there stuff? Are they machinest? I think not. Thats why said go read a book not the god damn internet.
flag shorerider16
O+
Posted: Jun 19, 2009 at 21:42 Quote
ricar wrote:
The guy that tought me to weld has the rep of... if he can't weld it it can't be welded. He has welded things people told him can't be welded. That is why part of his buisness was going to welding shops and fixing their problems. His opinion on Miller vs Lincoln was simply do you like red or blue? He has delt with both and with reps from both companies.


sidekicked, get your head out of your ass. PB if full of kids that talk like what they think is fact, but there are some guys on this forum that know their stuff. There are infact machinists and welders who also happen to ride bikes. Incase you missed it there is a thread on building frames that is over 150 pages long.

I second this statement tup
flag hambone2
Posted: Jun 19, 2009 at 21:44 Quote
well you gotta learn the basic's first.. go and get a bottle of oxygen and a bottle of Acetylene and try gas welding and brazing then i would move to arc!....then to mig, then tig!!!!
flag socalshreder
O+
Posted: Jun 19, 2009 at 21:57 Quote
Dont braze its getto. Go buy a Lincon mig welder from habor freight. Than whe you get better buy something nicer like a Miller or Hobart.
flag hambone2
Posted: Jun 19, 2009 at 21:59 Quote
socalshreder wrote:
Dont braze its getto. Go buy a Lincon mig welder from habor freight. Than whe you get better buy something nicer like a Miller or Hobart.


did you read what i wrote... ir did you just see the word braze?
flag madeinchinamyass
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 at 6:51 Quote
sidekicked wrote:
madeinchinamyass wrote:
sidekicked wrote:
Good point.Personally i'd buy a Miller Diversion 165, its made for light fabrication use Thin wall tubing and has both AC and DC out put.

Unfortunatly that is a bit out of my price range (you could have found that out if you read the thread) and My grandfather has already recomended a starting welder for me that is pretty cheap. I dont need a great welder to start out with I just need some thing that can stick 2 pieces of metal together, which is what my grandfather was thinking when he told me to buy a Harbor Freight welder.

Dude those are garbge, look at the Hobarts there decent and you can actually buy replacment parts for them. Would you ever buy a bike you couldn't buy parts for?

Maybe you dont understand, I want to get a cheap welder to see what I can do, the one I'm looking at is only $150. When i get some practice in I will buy a decent welder it is as simple as that, and I dont realy get why you are so defensive on what I do and what welder I choose to buy?
flag dspracing
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 at 7:14 Quote
Because you are throwing your money away, you asked for help so people are trying to help. Buy a used one from CL so you will have a piece of equipment that actually has some kind of resale value.
flag madeinchinamyass
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 at 8:35 Quote
dspracing wrote:
Because you are throwing your money away, you asked for help so people are trying to help. Buy a used one from CL so you will have a piece of equipment that actually has some kind of resale value.

Oh I realize you guys are helping and have given great advise, but to be honest I'm most likely not going to re-sell the harbor freight.
flag sidekicked
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 at 9:28 Quote
Well in that case, it sounds like your heart is all ready set on the H-F.
flag socalshreder
O+
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 at 9:33 Quote
hambone2 wrote:
socalshreder wrote:
Dont braze its getto. Go buy a Lincon mig welder from habor freight. Than whe you get better buy something nicer like a Miller or Hobart.


did you read what i wrote... ir did you just see the word braze?

Yes I did. My brother and I started with Mig and were both good; but hes gotten so good he is usually just useing TIG. Hobart is your best bet. You can pick up old Hobarts off of Craigs list. We bought an old Hobart TIG for are race program and it runs great.
flag shorerider16
O+
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 at 11:11 Quote
madeinchinamyass wrote:
dspracing wrote:
Because you are throwing your money away, you asked for help so people are trying to help. Buy a used one from CL so you will have a piece of equipment that actually has some kind of resale value.

Oh I realize you guys are helping and have given great advise, but to be honest I'm most likely not going to re-sell the harbor freight.

It's got nothing to do with resale. If you buy a cheap POS welder, you will never be able to make a weld that's worth half a damn. You will become fusterated and give up. If for somereason you ever get a chance to use a real welder you will also realise that you have wasted your time and you'll be even more angry with your purchase.

Were just trying to save you the hassle.Wink
flag ricar
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 at 18:24 Quote
It's true. If you spend $250 on a cheap welder, then thats $250 you will have to save all over when you want a better one. If you don't spend the $250 then you are $250 closer to a good welder. IMO just save your coin and keep an eagle eye on the papers for a used welder. Also estate sales can be a good place for bargains.
flag madeinchinamyass
Posted: Jun 21, 2009 at 7:25 Quote
ricar wrote:
It's true. If you spend $250 on a cheap welder, then thats $250 you will have to save all over when you want a better one. If you don't spend the $250 then you are $250 closer to a good welder. IMO just save your coin and keep an eagle eye on the papers for a used welder. Also estate sales can be a good place for bargains.

I guess I wanted to get some thing right away but maybe I should wait and save some bills. In the meen time I have and will be practicing gas welding. Thanks for all the help.

 


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