Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 23 of 23

Thread: I broke my vice - again

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Iowa USA
    Posts
    4,441
    Good advise John. I remember as a kid growing up on the farm my dad repaired a cast iron bench vice with brazing, it lasted through 3 of us kids, installing or pressing in U joints and much more . Never cracked or broke.
    Learned to weld on the same farm POS Dayton low arc voltage buzz box. Terrible to get an arc started but then it was fine. Now fast forward 60 years or so and I have and have owned some really nice welding machines..... but still learning.
    PS If your going to buy a welder, spend the money and get a good one, its a lifetime investment and much easier to learn on.
    Last edited by Bill George; 08-30-2017 at 8:30 PM.
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    southeast Michigan
    Posts
    676
    Good advice Bill, I totally agree. But I learned that lesson the hard way with mig welders. Many years ago my first mig welder was the HF 90 Amp unit. Never could get it to weld right so I took a one on one class with a retired expert. The problem was they gave you a 2 pound spool of .035 wire and this unit couldn't handle it. Worked OK with .030 and .026 wire but I was not able to weld anything thicker than about 1/4 inch.

    So the next year I bought their 150 Amp welder. It was better but I modified it by adding a couple of large capacitors on the output side. It worked OK too and I was able to weld up a tandem axle trailer which is still in good service today. But the welds never looked good to me, not like the ones I made with the retired expert's equipment. He had all Miller equipment.

    I sold that welder when I had a chance to buy a used Lincoln 170T, which is what I still use today. The difference in welds is like night and day. And the other discovery I made is that the cheaper welders, like HF, come with shorter welding leads and power cord. This was especially a problem for me with the trailer as I was constantly moving the welder around.

    My advice is to buy Miller or Lincoln, even a used one, or at the very least, a mid-grade welder like Hobart, Clarke or Everlast.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Iowa USA
    Posts
    4,441
    Yes, I have downsized my shop in prepping to more to a retirement home sometime in the future. My MIG is a Hobart Handler 140 on a cart and small tank. Its 120 volt and could use flux core if needed. My stick welder is a dual voltage Longevity invertor that runs a beautiful bead with just about any rod. Once again 120 or 240 volts and very portable. Helmet, self darkening adjustable shade Miller. I believe the cheaper HF wire welders are AC out, my Hobart is a DC out machine, same as my Longevity.
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill George View Post
    ...I believe the cheaper HF wire welders are AC out, my Hobart is a DC out machine, same as my Longevity.
    When I read that I thought "how can that be, that would be terrible!" Sir Google showed me this:

    http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threa...version.51693/

    JKJ

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Iowa USA
    Posts
    4,441
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    When I read that I thought "how can that be, that would be terrible!" Sir Google showed me this:

    http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threa...version.51693/

    JKJ
    Yes that would be a very good improvement project. The HF welders are not bad, just the Hobart, Miller and Lincolns are better. Easier to get a good weld with DC, but there are a LOT of AC buzz boxes out there and doing a good job everyday! I learned to weld on one, and believe me once I mastered that, anything was easy.
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill George View Post
    Yes that would be a very good improvement project. The HF welders are not bad, just the Hobart, Miller and Lincolns are better. Easier to get a good weld with DC, but there are a LOT of AC buzz boxes out there and doing a good job everyday! I learned to weld on one, and believe me once I mastered that, anything was easy.
    I don't have any problem with an AC stick welder (once I learned how!) but have a hard time wrapping my head around an AC wire welder, the principle value maybe being the cheap cost of the machine. However, a little further reading directed by google shows there are occasional people that get good use out of the Harbor Freight 90 amp AC flux core welder.

    When I got an AC/DC stick welder I found my welds did look better with DC. Not beautiful, but better. I don't think anyone has ever told me my welds looked beautiful. Fortunately, the horses and llamas don't aren't too critical.

    Another thing for anyone to keep in mind when buying a welder is where you are going to plug it. Three of my welders came with a huge plug that fits into a 50 amp receptacle. I wired a few of these in the shop, inside and out. Fortunately my Miller MIG and TIG machines will also plug into 110v outlets and work at reduced power. This is great where there is no 50 amp outlet in sight.

    JKJ

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Iowa USA
    Posts
    4,441
    You live in a beautiful state John, we drive through it pretty often and it sounds like you have a nice farm. The one thing about a stick welder either AC or DC once you can run a decent bead it usually holds. Whereas a MIG welder bead can look very nice, and not hold diddly!
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill George View Post
    ... a MIG welder bead can look very nice, and not hold diddly!
    You got that right. Decades ago I was a welding inspector and both sectioned and polished weld samples and tested by breaking, etc., but mostly x-ray. Lack of penetration, inclusions, porosity, improper or omitted preheat, too rapid cooling and more can make the prettiest weld fall apart. But done right MIG is as strong as the untouched steel. Most of the bridge girder and beam welding I inspected was done indoors with huge automated MIG welders - set em up then sit back and watch.

    Much of our work was to nuclear specifications both in the shop and in the field (by hand) and wow, some of those guys were GOOD! I once watched a tag team weld a stainless pipe with TIG, in place, maybe 30" in diameter and several inches thick, layer after layer, took days. My best TIG welds look like they were done by 3rd graders.

    JKJ

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •