I have decided I'm going to try to learn how to weld. Its just came up to many times that I have had to pay people to do things for me because I can't weld or dont own a Welder. Here's my situation. I'm a heart Patient and have a cardiac defibrillator. I was told by my old doctor that I couldnt do any welding because somehow the electrical current would cause interference. I'm happy to find out today that with my newer unit i have now that I can infact weld now. (I even called the Medtronic the maker of the device) When I called medtronic they told me yes I can weld with limitations. I can only weld at 130amps or under. My question is I know pretty much nothing about welding. Is that going to put a huge limit on what I can weld? I mostly interested in chassis and suspension work. thanks guys for any help.. Also if you can recomend a decent welder for a begginer at a reasonable price Any good books or any other tips?
at 130 amps and under you will be limited to sheetmetal and very light structural work (1/8" and smaller), I would not suggest doing any frame or suspension work with such a small machine. buy the best machine you can afford, Lincoln and Miller are good makes. I've also had HTP which are good starter MIGs. Best of luck. Dave
oxy-acetylene is what we call a "torch" also known as gas welding. A well designed frame is made of 3/16 or lighter metal, which you can weld with a 140 amp machine, and not have it turned up to full power. I would not be so quick to dismiss chassis work! I don't seem to have any trouble doing it with my HTP 140 set to 6 (out of 8) on the heat adjustment.
Some of the Brackets I'd need to weld on my current project are 1/4 thick. They are the 4 link brackets. Whats your take on that squirrel?
Just to clarify, oxy-acetylene doesn't require electricity. Just the torch setup and regulators and bottles. It takes a lot more skill to learn, and it's real slow work, but very versatile. It also has a lower cost of entry since you can get everything except the bottles for about $250 (a good Victor set, not offshore junk). Oxygen & acetylene bottles vary in price depending on size and your location. I'll back up what squirrel says about not needing a 200 amp machine to work on a well-designed frame. I have a Millermatic 135 that burns in on 1/4 inch stuff surprisingly well. You just have to know how to watch the puddle to make sure you're getting good penetration. (not for the beginning welder.)
See, I agree with Squirrel and Slide here. I always see 110 MIGs put down, but I do 1/4" mild steel all the time with my Lincoln 175 (or whatever model it is). No welds breaking, and I've never had mine turned up all the way, and mine goes to 11.
Chop, You do NOT need a 200 amp machine to do frame and chassis work. Granted the higher current ranges allow you to make a single pass weld on thicker material but in your case you will have to do more prep. work before you make the welds. I/E you will need less land on your bevels so that the lower current will still give 100% penetration on the root weld then you will fill and cap the weld out with multiple passes until you have reached a 20% over on the cap. That will work fine for butt welds, fillet welds and also even tube welds on a cage in position's 1G thru 6G. Like I said you will have more time involved but you can still do it!! There are pipelines I've welded on will 160 gauge pipe beveled at 33.5 degree's 1/ 16" land. Thats a rather large gap at bevel ends and when you root, hot pass, fill, hotpass, cap with 1/8" 9018 it seems forever to make on weld on a 6" pipe. You will want to stay away from any High Frequency TIG machine as that will toast your heart machine and as long as you don't plan on using TIG on aluminum your set!! Regards... Tommy
You can paint a house with a smaller brush..it just takes longer ...if you "v" your welds correctly and do multiple/ correctly layered runs, there shouldnt be an issue...it still adds up to full penetration.......but as I stated, it has to be done properly with no inclusions in each pass etc.....but since your starting out, get all your important loadbearing, frame work done by someone who is up to it.........you can set it all out and tack it together etc and pay someone a few hours to weld up these areas ......and all the small extra lugs and brackets you could have a go at....my first trailer I ever made looked like a bird had puckered its arse and shit in all the welded areas, but by the end of it I was getting there.....that was 25 years ago.....and Im still learnin !......take your time, make sure the metal is CLEAN and no paint etc and just practice practice...........by the way, that first trailer hauled ass for many years......lol........and push with mig and drag with stick welding....its amazing how many dont do this and wonder why it aint clicking................cheers, Bert
looks like you fellas beat me to it..............and with the heart thingy take it easy and ALWAYS wear decent thick welding gloves........I was told by a DR the same thing years ago as I had a heart ablation done and might have ended up with a pacemaker, but not the case.....but if you are told all is OK the go for it.....good boots and gloves bud....Bert
check around for community colleges that offer welding classes....taking both stick and o/a welding classes will make you much better with a mig welder!
lots of people weld with a too small machine and think because it hasn't broken under normal usage it must be OK. your welds also need to survive a possible crash. a broken weld in an accident can change the outcome significantly. so while there are weldors (the person) who could successfully weld a frame with a 130 amp machine, it is not something for the newbie one thing to think about, do all your fabricating and tac everything together with your 110 welder and have someone else finish it up with a bigger machine
Alot off good info guys.. I know it depends on the person but how much practice does it take to get yourself to the point of being able to weld Chassis and Suspension with a small 130 Amp Machine? Im only 24 so lord willing I will have some time to learn.. Is this something that would take a couple months of practice? or skills that take years to get down?
I think the key to being a great welder isnt how great your welds look. Its many thing such as knowing material thickness, heat settings and wire speeds to match your applications,how to clean your metal properly, techniques to match the job, how fast or how slow to weld etc... These are not things that come very quickly, they take time, practice and most of all experience. Best advice is to just weld away on scraps and such as much as you can. After awhile it all makes sense
you should buy yourself a stick welder to start with, i bet you can get a nice used one for less then $500, gas is fine but it will cost you quite a bit to get it all set up with buying torches and bottles, i have never heard of a welding course that doesnt start you off welding with a stick machine unless its a hobby course or something.
I would highly suggest you stay away from tig welding. It is entirely too easy to lose track of where your filler rod is and touch the tungsten, which can shock the hell out of you. And if you dont insulate yourself from the table your welding on, you can shock the hell out of yourself. All it takes is once, man. Take a class at community college and then buy a 220V mig. Cant go wrong.
I have a 110v 125 Plus Lincoln mig. If your running it with gas you need to stick with the thinner materials. But if you switch it to flux core wire with no gas you will get all the penetration you will ever need to do chasiss work. I just want to say, if you haven't been there or done that done say you can't.
i would go out and buy a hobart handler 140. you can weld frames, rollbars and almost any suspension stuff you will need to. you do not need 200 amps to weld anything on a car. because a person has a 200 amp machine in thier garage does not mean they need it. id liek to know how many times any one in here has maxed out a 200 amp machine on thier car. the key is joint prep and having everything nice and clean. its always nice to have a little gap or a little bevel when running a mig. its all in the technique though.
I've been Tig,Mig & Stick welding for years - I have never been shocked by any of them. FWIW On my welding table I even have a built in seat - I've heard arguements for and against my setup but all's I can say is that so far it's been trouble free. BTW the weld table is on rubber wheels and as I understand sitting on it puts me at the same "potential" - which is a good thing. Another thing to avoid is mimicking those goof balls on TV who weld with no gloves or other safety equipment. I TIG with gloves on - it's the way I was taught - the "hot tip" to weld bare handed (to allow you to feed the rod better) is dangerous advice - read: skin cancer. Learn to do it with the reccomended gear - you'll never regret it that way!!! IMHO
get some light (deerskin?) gloves for tig or torch welding...keep safe and also be able to control what you're doing.
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