Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work.

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Jeff Polaski
 
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Default Starter Welding Set

I'm hoping to buy a reasonably priced, used, welding set up.
Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has a working 220V
tombstone-style welder they'd want to sell for $50 or so, or a set of
oxy-acetylene tanks, torches, user-owned bottles, etc... I'm not sure
what a fair price is, but I've been told that I should expect to pay
about $150 for a complete working oxy-acetytelene setup, and $50 for
the arc welder. Is that about right?

I used to do a little welding in shop at high school, but that was a
while ago... I'd like to get back into welding by making some little
motorcycles and sculptures out of junk. Nothing too fancy at first.
The majority of my welding will be fairly light
"home-shop/fixit/sculpture" type stuff. Eventually there is some
automotive welding I'd like to do--I have a '65 Dart* that needs a
little work, so I'd like a medium or full-size set (not one of the
little portable ones w/milk jug-size bottles). Most of the welding
will be pretty light weight, so I could use a smaller torch, but I
think I'd just fit it on to regular size hoses (with an adaptor if
need be). I don't plan on welding or cutting heavy plate steel or
anything.

I don't mind if the equipment is a "older", as long as it's not
ancient. In fact I prefer older tools in general, if there well made
and in good working order.

I've been told (by Gunner) that the flux-core wire welders from Harbor
Freigh are a fairly decent value. Any one have any experience with
these they'd like to share?

I'm looking forward to welding, it's something I've been wanting to do
for a long time... Well, any way, thanks in advance for your input,


Jeff Polaski
jeffpolaski "at" cox "dot" net

"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that
they are extreme, but that they are intolerant."
-- Robert F. Kennedy, 1964

"The truth is found when men are free to pursue it."
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936




*It's a '65 270 GT convertable that I've was using for a daily driver
until my wife and I had a kid. Now that I pick my son up after work,
she won't let him any where near that car when it's running. Probably
a good thing, too. It's a great car, really fun to drive and all, but
not so good if you get into an accident.

  #2   Report Post  
RoyJ
 
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Default Starter Welding Set

Lincoln "tombstone" welders run about $230 new for the AC only version.
Since they last forever, a fair used price is on the order of half of
that. Of course, if you find someone who doesn't know the value of the
new ones (estate sale)or someone trying to 'get rid of it' (divorce or
moving to an apartment) you may see much lower prices. I bought a
vintage '60's AIRCO buzz box that is way nicer than the Lincoln for $5
that had been set down hard on the front. Fixed the adjusting handle,
straigten a bit of the frame and it was good to go. Cost about $50 to
get new stinger and ground cable assemblies. The deals are out there,
you may have a LONG look to find something in your $50 range.

Oxy acet rigs are a bit different. You can buy new Victor torches and
gages for $150, knockoffs for $100, and used for $25 to $50. (I got a
banged up set for free, the owner did not want to chance the repair
work, wasn't worth it to him) But the tanks are a different story. Many
gas dealers will not fill tanks that they are unsure of. Too many
stolen, out of certification, bad valves, etc etc. Not to mention
unprofitable. So they will want to sell, lease, rent their own tanks to
you. The 120 cu ft O2 and 135 acet tanks run around $250 to $300 to buy
(with trade in provisions so you don't need to worry about retesting) or
deposit on a long term lease (what I have) Smaller tanks are just too
much of a pain, always running to the store. So an O/A rig will run $400
or so to have a 'legal' setup. I'm seeing a usual price of $250 or so
from private sellers. Buyer beware on the tanks.

The small wire feeds with flux core can be had for $100 and up. Higher
price gets you better quality (fewer trips to the parts counter), better
duty cycle (10% on time gets old fast!), upgrade kit to add gas for
using plain wire (nice), better controls to set the heat, etc. Youpay
your money and get your product. Figure several hundred $$ new or half
that used from someone who is upgrading.

Which one? I have all 3 at home (180 and 225 amp buzz boxes, flux
core/120 volt wire feed, and O/A) and bigger units at school. Use them
all depending on what I'm doing. My personal choice is the buzz box to
start. Widest variety of possible welds for the $$. Hardest to learn
though. O/A for cutting and brazing (brazing for cast iron and repair of
sheet metal guards that have fatigue cracked). 120 wire feed is the
portable unit for off site repair work and the races. New fabrication is
either stick welder for heavy work (hitches and bumpers) or the 240 volt
wire feed for tube frames on race vehicles.

My $.02

Cheers.

Jeff Polaski wrote:

I'm hoping to buy a reasonably priced, used, welding set up.
Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has a working 220V
tombstone-style welder they'd want to sell for $50 or so, or a set of
oxy-acetylene tanks, torches, user-owned bottles, etc... I'm not sure
what a fair price is, but I've been told that I should expect to pay
about $150 for a complete working oxy-acetytelene setup, and $50 for
the arc welder. Is that about right?

I used to do a little welding in shop at high school, but that was a
while ago... I'd like to get back into welding by making some little
motorcycles and sculptures out of junk. Nothing too fancy at first.
The majority of my welding will be fairly light
"home-shop/fixit/sculpture" type stuff. Eventually there is some
automotive welding I'd like to do--I have a '65 Dart* that needs a
little work, so I'd like a medium or full-size set (not one of the
little portable ones w/milk jug-size bottles). Most of the welding
will be pretty light weight, so I could use a smaller torch, but I
think I'd just fit it on to regular size hoses (with an adaptor if
need be). I don't plan on welding or cutting heavy plate steel or
anything.

I don't mind if the equipment is a "older", as long as it's not
ancient. In fact I prefer older tools in general, if there well made
and in good working order.

I've been told (by Gunner) that the flux-core wire welders from Harbor
Freigh are a fairly decent value. Any one have any experience with
these they'd like to share?

I'm looking forward to welding, it's something I've been wanting to do
for a long time... Well, any way, thanks in advance for your input,


Jeff Polaski
jeffpolaski "at" cox "dot" net

"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that
they are extreme, but that they are intolerant."
-- Robert F. Kennedy, 1964

"The truth is found when men are free to pursue it."
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936




*It's a '65 270 GT convertable that I've was using for a daily driver
until my wife and I had a kid. Now that I pick my son up after work,
she won't let him any where near that car when it's running. Probably
a good thing, too. It's a great car, really fun to drive and all, but
not so good if you get into an accident.

  #3   Report Post  
Dan Caster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Starter Welding Set

You really need to let people know where you are. Finding a arc
welder in WA may not help you. Especially when WA mean Western
Austrailia to some of the folks here.

Dan


Jeff Polaski wrote in message . ..
I'm hoping to buy a reasonably priced, used, welding set up.
Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has a working 220V

  #5   Report Post  
Jeff Polaski
 
Posts: n/a
Default Starter Welding Set

On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 14:19:50 -0400, "wallster"
wrote:


Jeff Polaski wrote in message
.. .
[I meant to cross post this to the sci.engr.joining.welding group, but
it was late and I forgot]

I'm hoping to buy a reasonably priced, used, welding set up.
Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has a working 220V
tombstone-style welder they'd want to sell for $50 or so, or a set of
oxy-acetylene tanks, torches, user-owned bottles, etc... I'm not sure
what a fair price is, but I've been told that I should expect to pay
about $150 for a complete working oxy-acetytelene setup, and $50 for
the arc welder. Is that about right?

I used to do a little welding in shop at high school, but that was a
while ago... I'd like to get back into welding by making some little
motorcycles and sculptures out of junk. Nothing too fancy at first.
The majority of my welding will be fairly light
"home-shop/fixit/sculpture" type stuff. Eventually there is some
automotive welding I'd like to do--I have a '65 Dart* that needs a
little work, so I'd like a medium or full-size set (not one of the
little portable ones w/milk jug-size bottles). Most of the welding
will be pretty light weight, so I could use a smaller torch, but I
think I'd just fit it on to regular size hoses (with an adaptor if
need be). I don't plan on welding or cutting heavy plate steel or
anything.

I don't mind if the equipment is a "older", as long as it's not
ancient. In fact I prefer older tools in general, if there well made
and in good working order.

I've been told (by Gunner) that the flux-core wire welders from Harbor
Freigh are a fairly decent value. Any one have any experience with
these they'd like to share?

I'm looking forward to welding, it's something I've been wanting to do
for a long time... Well, any way, thanks in advance for your input,


Jeff Polaski
jeffpolaski "at" cox "dot" net


Jeff, oxy-acetylene is handy, and a stick set up is handy as well, but for
your application, a nice mig set up would be the best choice. The fluxcore
cheapies are alright for the price but if you're considering body work,
those will just blow holes through the sheet steel. I use my miller mig
welder on most of my projects. Look for a name brand 110volt mig (ie.
millermatic 135, hobart ahndler 135, or lincoln sp135) in the long wrong you
will just be saving time of selling the fluxcore unit and buying one when
you "out grow" it.
I make "little motorcycles and sculptures out of junk" too.
http://www.geocities.com/weldingwalt/ek3chopper.html

good luck,
walt


Well, it looks like I'm going to luck out--an old friend is going to
give me his O/A setup!

I think that I'll get a MIG welder in a little while, too, when I Have
a little more "fun-money". I don't think I can justify the $ for a new
brand-name welder, but maybe I can find an older one...

This is certainly a subject I know very little about, but I think that
learning O/A welding first will pay off in the long run. Also, having
the set will be very useful around the shop for brazing, heat treating
tools, etc...

I don't mind spending four or eight hours practicing to get an
adequate weld. In the future I can take a weekend welding class at a
local junior college or something, but at first I'll be happy if I can
just get a halfway decent weld.

I've been looking around for more info on how to select a welder but I
didn't see anything that directly addressed the issue. Did I miss a
FAQ or something? I'll be happy to put together a mini-faq about
getting started and selecting welders, if there isn't one already. I
certainly won't have years of experience to add to it, but I gladly
compile the stuff I've read.

Thanks for all your help! I'm really excited about all the stuff I'm
going to make now. I'm going to set up a website and a blog to share
my progress and hopefully make things a little easier for others.

Again, thanks!

Jeff Polaski
jeff =at= cox =dot= net

[P.S. I've cross posted this to R.C.M because the original post was
there, and wanted to let them know to follow up on it here in
sci.engr.joining.welding]





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wallster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Starter Welding Set


snipped for space
Well, it looks like I'm going to luck out--an old friend is going to
give me his O/A setup!

I think that I'll get a MIG welder in a little while, too, when I Have
a little more "fun-money". I don't think I can justify the $ for a new
brand-name welder, but maybe I can find an older one...

This is certainly a subject I know very little about, but I think that
learning O/A welding first will pay off in the long run. Also, having
the set will be very useful around the shop for brazing, heat treating
tools, etc...

I don't mind spending four or eight hours practicing to get an
adequate weld. In the future I can take a weekend welding class at a
local junior college or something, but at first I'll be happy if I can
just get a halfway decent weld.

I've been looking around for more info on how to select a welder but I
didn't see anything that directly addressed the issue. Did I miss a
FAQ or something? I'll be happy to put together a mini-faq about
getting started and selecting welders, if there isn't one already. I
certainly won't have years of experience to add to it, but I gladly
compile the stuff I've read.

Thanks for all your help! I'm really excited about all the stuff I'm
going to make now. I'm going to set up a website and a blog to share
my progress and hopefully make things a little easier for others.

Again, thanks!

Jeff Polaski
jeff =at= cox =dot= net

[P.S. I've cross posted this to R.C.M because the original post was
there, and wanted to let them know to follow up on it here in
sci.engr.joining.welding]


Oxy ace is a great place to start. It will get you to learn the basics like
pushing that darn puddle around. Alot of welding classes start off with
oxy-ace, some start with stick. Oxy-ace is real handy around the shop even
if you dont weld with it. As far as FAQ's on choosing welding equipment, i
cant think of anything that hasn't been covered (in sci.engr.welding), do a
google search in the group and get ready to read!
Here are some "best of" advice i've picked up:
1. buy name brand equipment. All welding (and cutting) units use
consumables. From torch tips, electrodes, to collets and cups. A name brand
part is easier to find.
2. buy more than what you'll need. in most cases if you go smaller, you'll
be buying again. I learned this lesson the hard way. Started out with a chop
saw and a CH flux core welder. That turned in to thousands of dollars worth
of stuff.
3. Read posts from Ernie Leimkuhler regarding welding, he is the guy to ask
when you're stuck. There are alot of bright guys in this group(Randy
Zimmerman, Gary Coffman...), but Ernie may be the reigning king. (I bookmark
his stuff!)
4. Get to know your local welding supply store guys. I bring mine food! They
will save you time and aggravation with they're knowledge. They do this for
a living.
5. Have fun! I cant get any happier than when i'm making something in my
shop.

Good luck,
walt


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