shizzl Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 mine is a ryobi... we had a lincoln at work,it was a 180, fuck did we weld some shit with that.. at the exhaust shop we had a 250ish welder,was bloody overkill, but was good when we had to do chassis work. at my current work the boss has a invertor welder, tbh i hate using it, prefer my little mig.. oh btw its a gasless mig...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shavenYak Posted October 17, 2010 Author Share Posted October 17, 2010 lots of welders cheers, good to have lots of recommendations. I'm trying to do this on the mega cheap, but like most things it's probably better to invest a bit more if i want to get lots out of it. Might have to put it on the GE card Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valiant Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 thought the power settings might be on this: but I don't know how to decipher it.. Could be mistaken, but that has 3 levels there. 140a @ 10% duty cycle, 75a @ 35% d/c and 57a @ 60% d/c It'll be fine for panel steel, but it'll struggle if youwant to weld lots of thick steel. Thats the duty cycle ie the percent of continious use it can take before it thermal overloads and stops working untill it cools down. It will be an ok machine for light work and panel jobs. The inner cable is like the outer of an acelerator cable that carries the wire from the roll to the tip. Its cheap and easy to replace. I've had a MIG for ages. Heres my 2 cents about what to look for. Do use Argo shield, it costs more but it works much better. I find Co2 makes the weld to cold and spattery. Look for a welder with a solenoid valve for the shield gas. Smaller ones have a manual valve and aren't as nice to use. I prefer .8mm wire, it doesn't bunch in the feed roller as easily and it makes a nice neet weld. Look for a machine that is 160 to 220 amp single phase. You can get larger single phase machines but they are pretty industrial. I have a 170 a and it does everything I want it to. It would be nice to have a bit more HP though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cute wee gem Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 oh btw its a gasless mig...lol There's your problem! I used to use gasless all the time.. I'd never use it again unless I had to, it's terrible shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Oh also worth mentioning... some of the machines can take the large spdinles of wire which will cut your wire costs in half! Gaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 I got one of these for ~1k from BOC. http://www.bocworldofwelding.com.au/ait ... ile_id/33/ Couple of them floating around in peoples garages on here / toyspeed. Might not be what you're after due to price though. I figured i'd only buy one.... so why not buy a decent one as i've seen so many people struggling to weld with shit units its just not worth the hassle to save a few $$$. Came with rollers and welding tips for most wire sizes, so caters for most shit you can throw at it. 60% duty at 180A to me says its a pretty solid unit. Compare that to cheap units. Can adjust (infinite, not 6 settings BS) Voltage, Current and wire speed. All independently which is handy when you're learning as its easy to use trial and error to see how each affects the weld result. I've only done small welding upto 3mm or so, but it handles ~0.5mm metal which is what I wanted for rust repairs etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Slightly related to this, can someone please inform me the settings you would use to weld .5~1.0mm/panel steel? I've been meaning to find out for curiosities sake but just haven't got round to it, I'm sure many of you will know. Too hot will blow holes in the steel I imagine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westy Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 This is an excellent site for learning about welding. Great forum, vids and tips. http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Awesome, cheers man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testament Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Slightly related to this, can someone please inform me the settings you would use to weld .5~1.0mm/panel steel? I've been meaning to find out for curiosities sake but just haven't got round to it, I'm sure many of you will know. Too hot will blow holes in the steel I imagine? there is a big difference between 0.5mm and 1.0mm and 1.5mm There are different ways you can do it successfully, you can weld at higher amps but just do very short bursts (pretty much like a lot of tack welds) or you can use a lower setting and do longer bursts. either way though with panel steel you would will usually use a burst method to avoid putting too much heat in and A) burning through, or causing excessive warpage. You can change wire size, which will alter what settings you need to use. Then technique effects it too, how close you go with the torch and how fast you move it, how much gas etc. basically there are a bunch of variables and it takes practice and experience to work out what works in what application/situation for your particular welding machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Yeah, plenty of learning to be done and lots to have a read over on that site mentioned. Will have some serious scrap steel attempts before I bother even trying to tackle the C110's issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testament Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 dont get too worried. if you screw it up get out the grinder grind it back/cut it out. also be prepared to have black boogers from grinding dust for days afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Settings for thin metal will vary welder to welder / wire size. I just always start with a bit of scrap and adjust the settings from there. Will also depend on the type of weld you're doing as to how much heat you'll want in the metal. I could tell you the settings I used, but they only apply to my welder. However, for thin stuff, you'll want 30-50A with low wire speed, that's with 0.6mm wire, which is easiest for thin stuff. Thin metal I find easier to do in short bursts. Doing long welds is doable, but with the extra heat I avoid it. Plus your power settings and speed you move the torch have to be spot on. Short bursts is much less forgiving. I did my ae111 boot spoiler holes.... I swear its made of paper thin metal, was a pain. That UK site is where I frequent, you-tube CAN be helpful, but so many bad techniques on there you have to be careful what you take onboard Check out the method they have in the video section on the site for welding thin metal, works a treat. http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/thin-metal.htm I basically read everything I could from that site, watched some you-tube videos, then melted some metal Check previous threads where people have asked for advice on what's wrong with their welding.... means that if it happens to you, you know why and can improve a lot faster since you know why its happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I have the older version of this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-farmi ... 791911.htm I would not reccomend it as it tends to overheat/trip out if you do a decent length weld on the high settings. Also I only use co2 which is a bit rubbish for thicker stuff but is ok for the bit of panel steel/exhaust work i normally do. I definately would not undertake a serious project with it like building a trailer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Isn't c02 especially good at thick stuff but not thin stuff as it burns significantly hotter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testament Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Isn't c02 especially good at thick stuff but not thin stuff as it burns significantly hotter? nah the shielding gas doesn't "burn". some places doing mass welding might use co2 just because it's cheaper than argon/co2 mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 C02 gives a hotter arc which means that thicker sections can be welded Specifically though, I was referring to the post above mine where mjstar talks about C02 being easier to weld panel steel. I would have thought this was the opposite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Yeah going by that uk forum, co2 isn't as stable as argoshield, especially at low amps. Technique will be the winner on the day as both options will work, but argo is probably easier and gives a better result. Using co2 on half mil sheet is a bit of a bitch, but its doable if that's all ya have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Specifically though, I was referring to the post above mine where mjstar talks about C02 being easier to weld panel steel. I would have thought this was the opposite Just my experience with my setup, could be more to do with the welder than the gas etc.. who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sc@ Chi Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 I can highly recommend Ron Covell's MIG welding video. Magoos in Masterton sell them on Trade Me. $80 but you won't waste time and money trying stuff that just won't work. Or even better, do an evening class. I've done the MIG/TIG one at Weltec twice and it's $350 well spent. You also learn arc, gas, brazing etc. I'd also caution trying to weld thick stuff with a low powered welder. I've tried 5mm with my 160A welder (Telwin), and a 150A Lincoln and it is not safe. The weld might look okay, but with a 100A welder you won't get penetration which is what holds it together. You really do need to consider the consequences if it fails, i.e. your arse on the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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