Welder for D-I-Y

[Dale Moser]

I learned with a Lincoln Idealarc 250 3 phase, that my grandad bought when he still ran our company.....he retired in '79 and we still use that welder here. Everybody's lights go dim when you turn that sucker up!

[Bill]

A little trick for using a mig welder at home- ours throws the 15amp circuit breaker pretty easily. My home was wired for an electric clothes dryer with 40amp service. Running a heavy power cord from the garage into the laundry room and using the 40amp service has stopped the lights from going out.

Only took me months to figure that out, maybe it will help somebody else.

[RR 314]

Bill,

I did the same at my last house! My wife was not happy with wire running through the house every other weekend, but I had the builder in our new house set me up with 220 in the garage. Much happier wife but the neighbor next door is miffed with the light show. . .

[Texas Grown]

Mig on carbon steel is the easiest to learn. Any mig set-up of 100 to 175 amps would be a good start for what you'll be wanting, pending your A/C outlet (110 volt or 220?) and your $$$.

Hobart is the oldest name in the business. I used to work for them in the eightys, as a welder. I'm still welding today. Started when I was eighteen YOA back in 1975, spool arc-ing aluminum . Mig, tig, and/or stick now. Most any type of fuseable metal with one or the other.

I personally preffer Miller products. But have used most all of the name brand, including Airarc, Miller, Hobart, Lincoln, Century, Orbital (a couputerized programable tig welder/machine for small pipe, like 3/16" dia .020 wall pipe), and a bunch I can't remember the names of at the moment.

Dale, take good care of that Lincoln.

[Cotton]

I've been using a stick all my life and I really like the miller in the picture and being able to use it anywhere. I now have a miller wire welder that runs off the miller in the picture. Just have to learn how to use it now. I also picked up a Plasma cutter so I'm all geared up to cut and stick some metal!

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[Dusty Britches]

What size generator would you need to run that small Miller?

Y'all have me thinking I might be able to learn to weld -kinda' sorta' in a way.

[bcg]

I learned with the Lincoln IdealArc AC/DC stick welders in school. Great machines but really expensive. I later got a Lincoln AC225 that I used around the house for a number of years. Stick welding with AC is a royal PITA, I think. I was never happy with the appearance of my welds. Sure, AC gets great penetration and the welds were strong but I don't like welds that look like crap. I just recently missed out on a used Millermatic 175 with both the carbon and aluminum setups and the gas for $650 so I went to Home Depot and got the Lincoln WeldPak 175HD. It's a great machine and can easily handle up to 1/2" material. I personally can't see any reason that I'll ever need to weld anything that thick. So far I've built 6 or 8 hog traps, a frame for a door canopy for a building, some ladder racks and a few other little odds and ends with it. I've run probably 30 pounds of .035 flux core wire through it and another 2 or 3 pounds of the mig wire with Argon shielding.

First, you should find a way to have 220 wherever you plan on welding. I was fortunate in that my dryer connection was in the garage at the last house and we used a gas drier and the new house has the breaker box in teh garage so it was nothing to add 220 here. I haven't seen a 110 welder yet that would make clean welds consistently unless the welder was really skilled and there's no reason to handicap yourself when you're learning if it can be avoided.

If you can afford $600 or more, you should get a wire-feed welder, you will want one eventually anyway if you like welding. Miller does make better machines than Lincoln in that area but htey also cost more. Both Lowes and Home Depot sell the 175 (different names but the same machine essentially) and Lowes will even give you a free grinder with the machine via a mail in rebate. You can also buy the "true" 175 at a welding shop but I think they run a little more there and I really don't see any difference in the specs when I look at them.

If a wire feed just isn't in your budget now and you decide to go with a stick, do yourself a favor and get an AC/DC machine. It is SOOOOO much easier ot weld with DC, especially with thinner material like 14 or 16 ga square tube and the DC welds will look so much nicer. You'll spend probably an extra $100 for the DC capability but believe me, it's worth it.

[Cotton]

What size generator would you need to run that small Miller?

Y'all have me thinking I might be able to learn to weld -kinda' sorta' in a way.

It's all self contained, the box on the side of it is a car battery, gas tank on top and the motor is to the back. It actually doubles as a generator so you can run other power tools out in the field. Just guessing I'd say that unit weighed around 500 pounds. But it's a must have when your on the ranch and have to repair a gate or something that's not easily brought up to the shop.

[JLSAG05]

That lincoln 175 from lowes was one of the one's I was looking at. I think you just might of seales the deal. Now just gotta wait for that holiday bonus.

[Dusty Britches]

So, Cotton - what Model is that Miller? It looks kinda small so the weight has me thrown for a loop.

[Cotton]

DB, it's an older model. This Miller is pretty much it in the new version. This one weighs 560 pounds so I'm pretty close on my guestimation but I was being conservative.

The only way it gets loaded or unloaded is with the front end loader of the tractor. The vertical blue plate with the whole in front of the gas tank is the balance (pick up) point.

[Stolle]

Cotton

I have the same machine. You ever have problems with the automatic idle? It will idle up a little when you strike an arc but not enough to weld.

[Cotton]

Funny you should bring that up, the last time I used it I had that problem. Don'r know if it will fix it or not but I'm going to give the engine a tune up.

[Andy]

I been useing a Miller Trailblazer 301G for past 4 years. Like lots of the other gentlemen here I been a welder all my life. I have used the comerical linclons in welding shops years ago and many other types even the old Heliarc....Never tried a wire feed yet use stick for everything but this trailblazer has been the best I have used.Several years back when it was brand new our electricty was out in one of floods for several day that 10,000 watt generator it has come in handy...I still want to buy the wire feed that will plug directly into this trailblazer..........Andy

[Cotton]

Andy, I got one similar to this one and so far it's great. I'm just learning it but man you sure can lay some purty beads!