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Started welder

mikebest

Plastic
Joined
Jul 2, 2022
Hi all...
I'm trying to get into welding, but have no place to start. I'm not sure what a good beginner welding setup is, I've read countless articles, but they all say something different. I just wanted to take this issue directly to real people.

ps. this is very budget minded considering I'm broke
 
Welding is a big field. Many people start off learning oxy-acetylene welding as that is a great place to learn how to control the weld puddle - downside: Gas can be expensive.
Tig will also teach good puddle control - downside: expensive equipment.
Stick welding is very versatile and easy to learn. Cheaper equipment works. downside: harder to learn good welding technique without outside instruction.
Mig is less versatile, but fast and great on thin materials. Cheap equipment is not very good. downside: good equipment is expensive.
 
Id get a $150 inverter welder ,one with decent leads,and a auto helmet.....get some LH70 rods ,not the awful GP rods most beginners use,or even some cellulose rods ...........I might add.....I have all sorts of welding stuff ,2 x Lincoln 400 amp diesels ,sub arc,fluxcore ,mig.......and if I want to do a bit of weld ,I grab the Inverter ......bought it from a Trade Tools outlet,they actually do endurance tests of anything they sell ,and for the money I am 100% happy with it......Forget learning to oxy weld ,cost of acetylene is astronomical......you can braze with oxy and LP gas.
 
Heres a story....30 years ago an Essetti 140 amp inverter cost $1200,it used to have the weirdest breakdowns,every time back for a $400 repair,maybe 4 times a year.......$4000 over 10 years......20 years ago a Lincoln 140 amp inverter was $1000,had a new one go poof straight out of the box......internal terminals loose...........So,now for $150 I can buy a inverter as good as any ,and if it goes poof ,I toss it and buy a new one .......and get a set of OK leads and holder.
 
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Hi all...
I'm trying to get into welding, but have no place to start. I'm not sure what a good beginner welding setup is, I've read countless articles, but they all say something different. I just wanted to take this issue directly to real people.

ps. this is very budget minded considering I'm broke
What kind of welding? It matters.
 
Hi all...
I'm trying to get into welding, but have no place to start. I'm not sure what a good beginner welding setup is, I've read countless articles, but they all say something different. I just wanted to take this issue directly to real people.

ps. this is very budget minded considering I'm broke
I think a good option is to buy a used 120 volt mig welder. Buy a Miller, Lincoln, or Hobart. Also buy a used gas cylinder. A 120 volt mig welder using gas is the easiest welder to learn on and will work well with steel up to about 1/8 inch thick. If you give up on welding or upgrade to better equipment you should be able to sell the welder for what you paid for it.
 
Beginner welder? 2 words..........Harbor Freight.
You can't go wrong, you won't be disappointed and the weld quality and capability will be (for all practical purposes) as good as any welder that costs more. If you're 'broke' then look for even cheaper options on EBAY.
 
Hi all...
I'm trying to get into welding, but have no place to start. I'm not sure what a good beginner welding setup is, I've read countless articles, but they all say something different. I just wanted to take this issue directly to real people.

ps. this is very budget minded considering I'm broke
Why are you broke ?
Attend a tech school, if your un-employed, they should be free.
 
yeah, LKeithR... I purchased a Lincoln Electric MIG welder to replace a 250 amp MIG unit that I found cumbersome and time-consuming to set up for my home projects ( I used to have a shop where I needed the big welder for).
This flux core unit is amazing and very fast to get out and start welding. As expected it will welt about 1/8 " or maybe a little larger but the weld is strong and looks as good as the gas MIG unit I replaced it with. Worth its weight in gold as when you buy quality you get the same. Being new to welding this guarantees the machine was 100% and I could just focus on perfecting my techniques
 
My advice, for what its worth, skip the 120v inverter cracker boxes, find yourself an old Lincoln SP-200 that operates on 220v single phase, it takes a forklift to lift one, so put it on casters if you want it to be portable. I can teach anyone to weld with my machine, it is literally point and shoot a nice pretty bead.

I've tried several 120v and 220v inverter migs, cheap and expensive models, you can stick metal together, but it ain't pretty. They may be ok for little projects, but for real work you spend more time waiting for them to cool off than actual welding.

If you want a stick welder cheap, look for a Lincoln tombstone welder, they've been making them for 40+ years, bonus points for an AC/DC model. https://www.ebay.com/itm/284875815089?hash=item4253ebf8b1:g:GLUAAOSwW1Nin-cT
 
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I've tried several 120v and 220v inverter migs, cheap and expensive models, you can stick metal together, but it ain't pretty. They may be ok for little projects, but for real work you spend more time waiting for them to cool off than actual welding.
Some of us just aren't as lucky as others I guess. The HF Titanium 200 multiprocess that I have had for 3 years now has been flawless. It welds amazingly well, and both MIG and Stick welds are VERY pretty. I use the shit out of it and it's never shut down for thermal overload. I'm pretty sure most people that complain about such problems have never actually experienced them, it's just spreading bullshit and bashing equipment that not made in the USA, because it's popular to do.
 
I use the shit out of it and it's never shut down for thermal overload. I'm pretty sure most people that complain about such problems have never actually experienced them, it's just spreading bullshit and bashing equipment that not made in the USA, because it's popular to do.
I own an HF mig, its about 20 years old now, transformer based, it produces a crappy bead with flux core wire and can only weld about 10" before it shuts off from getting too hot, have to wait 10 minutes to get 6 more inches, repeat, repeat, repeat :toetap: . Friend has a newer Lincoln mig, inverter based, bead is a little bit better, but it is also gas shielded wire, I can get about 12" of bead before it shuts off. Borrowed another friends inverter mig last year to fix my front gate because it was too far to run power for my mig, using flux core wire it sputtered and popped and left a nasty weld, it is still holding, but I'm not bragging or even owning up to that weld. It has nothing to do with being imported, it has everything to do with duty cycle, with only a 10 or 20 percent duty cycle its going to overheat on a real job. The SP200has a 60% duty cycle at 200 amps, so on 1/4" to 3/8" metal I can weld non-stop until the gun gets too hot to hold even with a glove.
 
very interesting to hear the different experiences professional metalworkers report with cheap units. I think there are probably some units that are very good value, particularly the newer inverters. the technology has advanced considerably, so comparing older (particularly transformer) units to the new is apples and oranges.
they are still cheap and crappy, but much more capable. as to reliability, the low price has to have some downside.

im a Miller/Hobart guy myself, but for the OP, I'm inclined to say get the HF recommended above (and im surprised im saying that!). don't buy from unknown internet sellers, at least you can take it back if you go brick and mortar. for someone learning, and not concerned with Lbs/hr laid down, its hard to beat the value.
the inverter units are the way to go, they use less electricity, and are so much lighter and more compact.
its easy for an old pro to say " my 3000 lb name brand 50 year old unit is the only way to go", but for a beginner (95% of them at least), that's just not good advise.

take a look at Jody's site "welding tips and tricks" if you don't already watch him, and practice, practice, practice.

I mostly TIG myself, and think its a good place to start if you really want to learn welding. it is harder, and the setup costs more though. an upside is less fire risk by the way, since you only have the arc and no spatter (unless you'r really screwing up!).
stick is less outlay to get going, its reliable and strong, and a halfway decent inverter should run 7018s fine, unlike low-end transformer units. (don't by a buzz box or tombstone! the arc sucks on them).

a little tip, when stick welding, make sure your gloves are loose enough so you can "flip" them off when you get spatter in them, because you will.
 
Happy July 4th! Americas birthday. Speaking of that, why not think a bit about the state of USA made goods.

My 1971 Airco (Miller) TIG/Stick 300 amp unit did OK with Stick, sucked with TIG. Never had strong High Frequency right from the factory and never did even after I replaced numerous parts on it multiple times.
My 1973 Airco MIG 200 amp was 'OK' and usable. Nothing great.
Both machines: Massive, NON portable power hogs. Take up lots of floor space.

Inverter units: Less power consumption. Light weight portability. Added bells/whistles that much improve weld quality. I don't have to try as hard or be frustrated with weld quality as with the old machines. At the 4 and 3 year mark, The HF Titanium 200 and the AHP 201 Tig/Stick have been much easier to obtain better quality welds with, and have both paid for themselves several time over with Zero reliability issues so far. This is my personal experience, not me repeating general hearsay from the China junk bashers on the internet. I am sure older generation China welders had reliability issues but the scary truth is, electronics from China keep improving. The other truth is, many if not most of the supposedly "made in USA' welding machine out there are NOT. All of them use electronic components that come from China. I'm absolutely not a fan of hypocritical US companies that brag up their made in USA products but actually lie about it. Which is illegal but apparently never enforced. The worst part of it is those welder companies charge premium prices for their products based on the made in USA lie. Some of that is their greed for maximum profits. Some of it is the high cost of doing business as a US company.
Facts of the state of the world economy these days.

The Eastwood company comes to mind. Most of their products are re-badged China goods with the Eastwood paint scheme and logo. Customers pay dearly for the Eastwood name. Their website is littered with American flags and Made in USA wording. I called them out in a forum once about their air compressors being made in USA. They finally admitted that they were assembled in the US with 'parts sourced from world suppliers' or some such propaganda.
 
its easy for an old pro to say " my 3000 lb name brand 50 year old unit is the only way to go", but for a beginner (95% of them at least), that's just not good advise.
I see old transformer welders sell cheap at auction on a regular basis, no you can't test run them, but cheap enough you can scrap them if that is what needs to be done. I bought my Lincoln 32 years ago for $25, dirty dusty looked like it had not been used for years, plus several hundred for a new Bernard gun, and it has made thousands in that time, I think it was well worth it. Yes it sucks to move it, its on casters but it takes full body weight shoving it to get it rolling. I have no doubt some of the newer pro grade inverter units could match it, but my experience with the portable 110v machines is that they will never match its capabilities.

As for duty cycle, if you are doing light sheet metal, maybe they are ok, but at max power you will hit the limit rather quickly. Maybe you guys don't trip the thermal switch because temps in upstate NY are milder, in central Tx at night when its still 100f, it took me 3 to 4 hours to finish a job that the Lincoln could have done in under an hour.

The only use I see for the 110v units is portability if you do lots of small offsite work.
 
I assumed the OP needed complete portability........I might also add ,the best gasless in the world will weld crappy with cheap wire ........seen many times where a new reel of wire that costs about twice what the el cheapo does transforms the situation.
 
I assumed the OP needed complete portability........
If he wants to make money it better be diesel or gasoline powered and take up the majority of the bed on a 3/4 ton truck :D . I have met a few mobile welding guys that have a small inverter mig for doing light work, cannot say I've met any that only use one. If they can't bring the part to me, I refer them to the mobile guy.
 








 
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