Type of welder

[RonG]

Folks many moons ago I welded roll cages in race cars using a stick welder and an asbestos blanket to for protection.
I am 77 and would like to get into bending, welding and building my own go-carts and mini bikes.
From what I have seen from these wire feed welders I wouldn't trust the welds, now I am pretty sure it's the welder that doesn't know how to use one.
What type of welder would you nice folks recommend.
Thank you. RonG

 

[Don_]

I,m about 7 years behind you If that means anything.

If your comfortable with Lincoln, then you should go down to your local dealer and let them sell you one of their MIG welders and a tank for your gas.
Otherwise I would buy a Prime Weld.
They make excellent welders.
Stay away from flux core, you won't like the splatter.
Get the largest tank you can handle. The bigger the better. My two 125 cu ft tanks will be traded in on the next refill.
Don

 

[FRYEDADDY]

I worked for the railroad for over 30 years and we used MIG welders almost exclusively. The welds are just as strong or stronger depending on the wire and gas used. You will be amazed at the speed and there is very little waste. I have never used a Lincoln MIG. We only had Miller with a few Hobart and Lincolns. Migs are great on thinner material and filling in gaps.

 

[cheetahpro]

Is MIG welding with gas better than flux core? If you are working indoors, MIG welds will have the advantage of being more visually appealing and will have no slag to chip off. However, if you are working outside, then flux core welding will be better as it can withstand windy conditions. if you are not sure about your endeavour then just buy a cheap flux core welder. The biggest problem with these, is they come wired incorrect from the factory and everyone hates them, they will all weld if the polarity is correct for flux core, negative on the stick side, one will have to check polarity after purchase regardless of manufacturer. Very easy to fix, just open the door where you supply the wire reel and look at the polarity of the leads. Here are a few recommendations. If you live in Canada. Canadian Tire Master Craft Brand have ones that work fine, but most of the time they are wired wrong from the factory they also have Lincoln and Miller being one one of the best. If you don't want any risk in your purchase go to a local supplier.

Easy Weld 261 140 Fc-I Mig Machine, 120V,​

YesWelder YWM-211P Double Pulse Aluminum MIG Welder​

Eastwood 180 Amp MIG Welder​

 

[Fueler]

Ron,
FWIW, 72 here.
If you are going mass production to compete with the chinese then MIG must be considered to shave off a few minutes.
Having welded a lot of tube chassis and other things, TIG would be my recommendation for those applications.
Not that it can't be done with wire but since it won't be thick wall tubing wire may be a detriment.
Items are small enough that it won't take that long to weld up.

Miller (my choice) and Lincoln will make your eyes glaze over on price. Prime weld or Everlast for the alternatives.

 

[Don_]

Examples of welding thin steel.
Wear proper PPE!
Mig Welding Thin Steel

 

[Xaviour_Onasis]

]if you are not sure about your endeavour then just buy a cheap flux core welder. The biggest problem with these, is they come wired incorrect from the factory and everyone hates them, they will all weld if the polarity is correct for flux core, negative on the stick side, one will have to check polarity after purchase regardless of manufacturer. Very easy to fix, just open the door where you supply the wire reel and look at the polarity of the leads.

What they said!
MIG is amazing for thin tube and I even like the flux core (except for the splatter which a good can of splatter guard can help prevent). When I first got my 2000 Amp MIG I was using gas but changed over to flux core to do some welding in the wind. I changed the polarity according to the owners manual but didn't like it. I didn't particularly like my welding with the gas either. It turns out after I got my son to check (see bad eyes) the polarity was wrong from the factory, it was already electrode negative which wasn't good for my particular gas welding and when I swapped it to positive at the gun it wasn't good for the flux core. I eventually changed the polarity correctly and went back to gas but I have some welding to do soon outside and we get strong winds right up till the end of October so it will be flux core wire in use.

I also have an AMAZING little inverter AC/DC TIG unit which is 200 Amp and so light. There's one problem with it though, I bought it to do alloy and haven't done any alloy in over 20 years and can't remember how to use the thing. I'll practice on mild steel soon though, I have to cut a rusty panel from my 31 year old Ford (my daily driver) and weld a new panel in and this is where TIG excels. I could use the MIG but it's heavy (non inverter type) but I'll probably take it to a friends farm and do it in a big shed out of the wind (as long as I get the repair panel out of another parts vehicle right).

 

[Xaviour_Onasis]

Examples of welding thin steel.
Wear proper PPE!
Mig Welding Thin Steel

Pardon my ignorance but at 18:20 and 22:20 (and probably numerous other parts I haven't watched yet) does anyone know what the shielding agent is being used in the MIG welding process?
It's clearly not gas and not anything I've seen elsewhere or was taught when I did the trade 20 plus years back, not that I'm any kind of expert.
Argon shield cylinder rental could be a thing of the past with a single bucket of corn?

 

[Gary Fowler]

That isnt MIG welding. That is called sub-arc welding in the industry. It uses a flux compound similar to what is on a stick electrode. It is very effective for welding thicker materials also since is can use much larger wire diameters. The excess flux can be recycled for reuse.

 

[Xaviour_Onasis]

Thanks Gary, I did some research and found a lot about it.
I di my welding trade 20 plus years back (and don't weld) but there's certain things they just can't teach in a classroom.

 

[RonG]

Gentlemen, I appreciate all the replies, since I stated the question my wife was diagnosed with Alzcheimers and that took care of any ideas I had of my new hobby.
This was going to be a hobby not production.
When I was 15 I built a mini bike and go-cart and my dad took them away from me stating that I had to insure them to drive, he hated me.
I always wanted to build for myself these two items before I passed.
I haven't given up yet.
Thank you for all your generous replies.
Ron Gooden

 

[RonG]

Ron,
FWIW, 72 here.
If you are going mass production to compete with the chinese then MIG must be considered to shave off a few minutes.
Having welded a lot of tube chassis and other things, TIG would be my recommendation for those applications.
Not that it can't be done with wire but since it won't be thick wall tubing wire may be a detriment.
Items are small enough that it won't take that long to weld up.

Miller (my choice) and Lincoln will make your eyes glaze over on price. Prime weld or Everlast for the alternatives.

Thanks fueler, sorry I didn't get back sooner, wife was diagnosed with Alzcheimers.
Miller is my choice also.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Folks many moons ago I welded roll cages in race cars using a stick welder and an asbestos blanket to for protection.
I am 77 and would like to get into bending, welding and building my own go-carts and mini bikes.
From what I have seen from these wire feed welders I wouldn't trust the welds, now I am pretty sure it's the welder that doesn't know how to use one.
What type of welder would you nice folks recommend.
Thank you. RonG

Big name welding machines are good but not necessarily better welders. Recently Project Farm (check out his Youtube channel for other test also)tested several, Miller, Lincoln, Vulcan, Titanium and Arc Captain to name a few. Vulcan rivalled all the big name ones and did it at about 1/4 if the price. I have had my Vulcan Omni Pro for a couple years and have had no issues. It is set up for solid wire with 75/25 mixed gas. I have a Titanium Flux 125 that is also very good for using when 220v is not available. Anytime I need FCAW, I just roll out the Titanium Flux core rather than change my Vulcan. It makes a good solid weld but does make lots of spatter and smoke. I have 3 machines that can do TIG welding but rarely use it in my welding shop since I havent had a job for alloy welding nor anything thinner than what I can do with my Vulcan. TIG welding was my preferred welding 50 years ago when I was a certified pressure piping welder doing all kinds of exotic alloy welding.

I would like to purchase a TIG machine that is capable of aluminum welding. I do prefer that to using my spool gun when welding aluminum but in the 10 years I have operated my welding shop, I have only had one aluminum job and I did it with my spool gun and it worked OK, so it is hard to justify the expense of another TIG machine right now.

I think 35% of the bad press with off brand machines had to do with using 110v machines which dont normally provide enough current to weld anything thicker than 12 gauge metal. The other 65% is welder error.

 

[56Captain]

I sold my Millermatic 1 year after buying and using a Vulcan from Harbor Freight.....hands down the much Better machine and tons easier to set up. It asks what steel you're welding, what gas, what size wire, what size steel....then sets the machine for welding automatically...Even "Forrest Gump" would turn out perfect welds.