welder question

dodgecrawler2011 · Jun 1, 2014

Well i finally got me a welder. Thought i got a good deal not actually knowing what i was buying. Its a 180 amp ac stick welder. Is this thing going to work for basic cage and chassis building? Its a old one but seems to work good. Any input would be great

TBItoy · Jun 1, 2014

Re: Re: welder question

Ac buzz box is basically a "farm" welder for running 6011 rods on dirty bushhogs and hay balers.

That's what i learned to weld on.

Will it work? Yes

Will it be convenient and look good? Probably not...

dodgecrawler2011 · Jun 1, 2014

Going to call in morning about a hobart ac dc stick welder. Should have done a little more research before i jumped on this one

xjmarc · Jun 1, 2014

Unless you work with it for a long time you won't get nice looking welds with a stick. I've got an old Lincoln tombstone that I use to weld up spider gears. Everything else I use a mig, I'd use a tig if I was better with one but don't weld enough to make it look good or get good penetration.

scrowexj · Jun 2, 2014

Yeah your not gonna won't to weld a cage up or anything with a stick welder in my personal opinion. Mig is where it's at and easy to learn with also, can't speak for the tig welding I completely suck at it. I see some people weld with a tig and look like a machine done it. But it's quite possibly the hardest welding to do in my opinion, but with enough practice and a determined mind anything is possible . Buy a mig welder and never look back

5BrothersFabrication · Jun 2, 2014

With A-FREAKIN-LOT of practice you can do it. I've 6010/7014'd ALOT of ****, so I could. Wouldn't want to, but if it was all I had...

rstdwright · Jun 2, 2014

I have stick and tig alot tube together its not time sufficient but looked dam good the stick will take alot of practice to get it looking good unless you do it all the time but tig if you turn your heat down and slow down and take your time its not bad alot of peoples problem with tig is they just try to rush it

rstdwright · Jun 2, 2014

But the 180 ac I would just set that one aside they are not bad welders I have one but you dont burn 7018 unless its ac/dc rod but they still dont burn real well but 6011 and 6010 are great with it but I would invest in a ac/dc machine especially if your going to tig but I wouldn't go smaller than a 180

yankster · Jun 2, 2014

5BrothersFabrication said:
With A-FREAKIN-LOT of practice you can do it. I've 6010/7014'd ALOT of ****, so I could. Wouldn't want to, but if it was all I had...

This exactly. Good stick welds are strong enough but it just takes a lot of practice to make it look presentable. DC stick gives you more electrode options but takes more skill than an AC machine. MIG is the most practical way to go. Any 220 machine from Home Depot, Lowes, or Tractor Supply will do the job and make it easy to get parts.

onepieceatatime · Jun 3, 2014

I was hoping I wasn't the only one that stick welds. I was a millwright for 6 years with no training other than a few of the guys giving me pointers here and there. 95% of what I did was 6010 on either electoplated or hot dipped galvanized steel. I just got so used to doing it that way that I've always struggled with a mig and getting the machine to work right. I like just throwing a stick in a stinger and burning it in there. I can make them look good but it's gotta be a pretty good joint. I also got good at filling any gap I came across but I try and avoid that with the jeep and make things fit.

96cherokeexj · Jun 3, 2014

I have a tombstone style Lincoln and use it for tig welding with a dry rig does very good. Just swap the leads around (same thang I do at work)

wont work · Jun 3, 2014

96cherokeexj said:
I have a tombstone style Lincoln and use it for tig welding with a dry rig does very good. Just swap the leads around (same thang I do at work)

Are you saying you AC tig with one. If so its got to be different than what he has cause he just has an AC buzz box. Must be high freguancy. The DC style will work with switching if you wantd to tig though

onepieceatatime · Jun 3, 2014

Not to hi jack the thread but does anybody have any tig for beginner sites they recomend? My buddy has a miller that we stick weld with but it will do TIG too and I've considered giving it a try. I've been told that I could probably do it because I'm pretty good with using filler rods while stick welding when I need to. Don't know if thats actually true since I've never TIG welded but its just what I've been told.

85toyo · Jun 3, 2014

onepieceatatime said:
Not to hi jack the thread but does anybody have any tig for beginner sites they recomend? My buddy has a miller that we stick weld with but it will do TIG too and I've considered giving it a try. I've been told that I could probably do it because I'm pretty good with using filler rods while stick welding when I need to. Don't know if thats actually true since I've never TIG welded but its just what I've been told.

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

Tons of info on this website.

TBItoy · Jun 3, 2014

wont work said:
Are you saying you AC tig with one. If so its got to be different than what he has cause he just has an AC buzz box. Must be high freguancy. The DC style will work with switching if you wantd to tig though

They made AC/DC+/- versions of the lil red tombstone welder.

I have an OLD miller syncrowave 250 with a scratch start TIG setup with the gas flow control on the torch. Works ok, the scratch start is a little aggravating sometimes. I wouldn't want to try to weld up a cage with it

wont work · Jun 3, 2014

TBItoy said:
They made AC/DC+/- versions of the lil red tombstone welder.

I have an OLD miller syncrowave 250 with a scratch start TIG setup with the gas flow control on the torch. Works ok, the scratch start is a little aggravating sometimes. I wouldn't want to try to weld up a cage with it

True but they are not high freq.

Your Syncrowave is. I have one myself and love the way it welds on tig. Thats all. I have it setup to do actually.

85toyo said:
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

Tons of info on this website.

This along with miller and lincolns websites have lots of info. They also have forums on their web pages.

TBItoy · Jun 3, 2014

wont work said:
True but they are not high freq.

Your Syncrowave is. I have one myself and love the way it welds on tig. Thats all. I have it setup to do actually.

This along with miller and lincolns websites have lots of info. They also have forums on their web pages.

I've never used mine on AC, just DC.

Didn't know it was/had high frequency, I assumed there would be a switch for that or something ???

Don't really know that much about it honestly

5BrothersFabrication · Jun 4, 2014

onepieceatatime said:
Not to hi jack the thread but does anybody have any tig for beginner sites they recomend? My buddy has a miller that we stick weld with but it will do TIG too and I've considered giving it a try. I've been told that I could probably do it because I'm pretty good with using filler rods while stick welding when I need to. Don't know if thats actually true since I've never TIG welded but its just what I've been told.

Go to youtube and search for Mr TIG. He's an older feller, professional as hell, looks like studio filming. No camcorder bullshit. I've picked up ALOT off the dude.