Time to learn to weld...

[bruceb58]

Depends on what your working on. A 110V is fine for most household repairs. OP said he wanted to do trailer repair. Depending on what the repair is, 110V is not up to that task.

 

[JASinIL2006]

No Title

On my trailer, the fenders and a stepping area in front of, and behind, the fender are welded to the tubular frame. A couple welds have cracked where the step and the fender, both fairly thin steel, are welded to the tube frame. That is what I need to repair: several welds bonding the steps to the fender, and the bonds between that unit and the trailer's frame. I've attached a couple of pictures below that show the step/fender area generally.

 

[gm280]

On my trailer, the fenders and a stepping area in front of, and behind, the fender are welded to the tubular frame. A couple welds have cracked where the step and the fender, both fairly thin steel, are welded to the tube frame. That is what I need to repair: several welds bonding the steps to the fender, and the bonds between that unit and the trailer's frame. I've attached a couple of pictures below that show the step/fender area generally.

A 115 volt MIG unit would weld that all day long. I am not arguing or diverging from anybody else's suggestions in the least, everybody has their own opinion and suggestions. But I did weld up an entire trailer with a 115 volt Hobart MIG welder without ant problems. And because I had a certified welder looking over everything, I'm okay with my welds. If you care to see that trailer project, click on the trailer link below and have a look. JMHO

 

[bigdee]

A 115 volt MIG unit would weld that all day long. I am not arguing or diverging from anybody else's suggestions in the least, everybody has their own opinion and suggestions. But I did weld up an entire trailer with a 115 volt Hobart MIG welder without ant problems. And because I had a certified welder looking over everything, I'm okay with my welds. If you care to see that trailer project, click on the trailer link below and have a look. JMHO

I have to agree. I have welded up to 1/4 thick ms with an 80 amp dc stick welder. A bit slow but with multiple passes it can be done. I even welded a broken frame on a 16 disk harrow where it attaches to the III point hitch.

 

[JASinIL2006]

A 115 volt MIG unit would weld that all day long. I am not arguing or diverging from anybody else's suggestions in the least, everybody has their own opinion and suggestions. But I did weld up an entire trailer with a 115 volt Hobart MIG welder without ant problems. And because I had a certified welder looking over everything, I'm okay with my welds. If you care to see that trailer project, click on the trailer link below and have a look. JMHO

I remember that topic from a couple of years ago! Very nice work. I would be very happy if I could get to the point of fabricating even half as good.

Jim

 

[bruceb58]

Just so you know, you can have welds that look perfect but, without proper penetration, can fail. If you are just doing fenders, a 110V might work.

A certified welder would NOT be welding up the structure of a trailer with a 110V MIG welder. I can guarantee that. If you ever go into a certified welder's shop and he pulls out a 110V MIG welder to do the repair....run as fast as you can.

Figure out what sized metal you are going to weld and plug it in here:
https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators/mig-solid-core-welding-calculator
That will tell you what capacity welder you will need.

Then look at this 110V welder an you can see what a good 110V welder can do, Basically, you will have to use an innershield wire for sure. If someone tells you a 110V welder using shielding gas will work on what you are trying to do, stop listening to them.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/global/Products/K2471-2/e723.pdf

 

[JASinIL2006]

This is very helpful. I just went out and measured the thicknesses of the metals to be welded with my el cheapo micrometer. The trailer's tube frame is about 5/32" thick and the the steel from which the steps/fender are made is a little less than 1/8" thick. If I'm reading the data from the Miller and other welding sites correctly, it looks like that puts me right at the edge of what a 115v welder could do (in a single pass) and what would require a 220v welder. Am I making sense of this correctly?

 

[bruceb58]

Am I making sense of this correctly?

Yes you are.

You would have to use Innershield wire for sure. In case you don't know what that is, it is wire that has the shielding flux built into the wire. It leaves a weld that looks like stick welding and you have to scrape the slag off. Pretty much all welding that is done outside is done with innershield wire unless it's a dead calm day.

Most people start with innershield wire anyway because you don't have the expense of a bottle and a regulator.

 

[bigdee]

This is the little welder I use 90% of the time. It is cheap and VERY easy to learn with because of its anti-stick feature.. You can start off with this and always move up to something larger if you discover welding is your thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyuaisi2vvI. BTW I'm old school and prefer stick except when aesthetics matter.

 

[bruceb58]

The advantage of stick, especially with a cheap welder, is you don't have the wire feed mechanism that can get messed up. Of course if you buy a Lincoln/Miller/Hobart, that really isn't much of an issue.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I've been reading a bit on stick vs. MIG welders. It sounds like stick welding would be more appropriate if I were going to be welding heavier stock, but the stuff I need to weld (at least initially) is right around 1/8" or a bit thicker. It sounds like I would have to be pretty good with a stick welder to not burn holes in material like that. I think I'm going to restrict my search to MIG welding for the time being.

 

[bruceb58]

MIG is WAY easier. It's like a metal squirt gun. You still have to learn. You can do a pretty weld but if you didn't use enough current and get good penetration, the weld will fail. When I took my welding class, all of out first welds didn't have good enough penetration. Our instructor would break our pieces apart to show us.

When you start welding, definitely invest in an automatic dimming helmet.

Sign up onto http://weldingweb.com/

 

[bruceb58]

Here is a sterndrive stand I welded up a few years ago. So many projects you can use welding for. I even make special tools for working on cars.

 

[JASinIL2006]

When you start welding, definitely invest in an automatic dimming helmet.

Sign up onto http://weldingweb.com/

Looks like auto-dimming helmets are the way to go.

Registered at Welding Web!

Thanks!

 

[MTboatguy]

Looks like auto-dimming helmets are the way to go.

Registered at Welding Web!

Thanks!

Auto dimming is the ONLY way to go, I bought one on sale at HF 4 years ago and that thing is amazing over having to strike and flip, during the summer if I know I am going to weld, I sit it on the hood of the truck to make sure it is charged, during the winter, I just put it under the UV daylight lamp I have, have never had it fail and still have not changed the battery in mine.

 

[bigdee]

the stuff I need to weld (at least initially) is right around 1/8" or a bit thicker. It sounds like I would have to be pretty good with a stick welder to not burn holes in material like that. .

Not a problem with inverter stick welder....just use small rod 1/16" and turn down amperage. By controlling your speed and watching puddle you should not have that problem,especially with 1/8". For general repairs stick is easier because you can burn through paint and rust without everything being painstakingly clean.

 

[gm280]

Oh yes, auto-darkening helmets are a must, hand down! I actually see them from a mere $20 dollars to hundreds of dollars. So I asked a welding supply dealer, what is the difference between a $50 dollars helmet and an $400 hundred dollars helmet. His actual answer was, the paint job on the helmet. He stated that he supplies the technical college for the new welders taking courses there. And it seem the new guys all come in and want those graph enhanced costly hundred of dollar helmets to look cool. He tells them that until they get a job and have the extra money, they are not getting anything better with those helmets then the $50 dollar version offer.

So he seriously told me there is NO difference between those helmets. Their reaction times are the same, and even the ability to adjust the shading is the same. The only difference between a very costly auto-darkening helmets is, some times but not always, the very costly types have just a little bigger viewing area. But that isn't even a given either.

So buy a quality made auto-darkening helmet and you're good to go. And for starters, set it to a max darkening setting until you see how it all works and then adjust the shade to your likes. Also make sure you get one that has replaceable viewing shields. You will need to replace them as they get splattered, and that will happen too. JMHO!

 

[bigdee]

Oh yes, auto-darkening helmets are a must, hand down! I actually see them from a mere $20 dollars to hundreds of dollars. So I asked a welding supply dealer, what is the difference between a $50 dollars helmet and an $400 hundred dollars helmet. His actual answer was, the paint job on the helmet. He stated that he supplies the technical college for the new welders taking courses there. And it seem the new guys all come in and want those graph enhanced costly hundred of dollar helmets to look cool. He tells them that until they get a job and have the extra money, they are not getting anything better with those helmets then the $50 dollar version offer.

So he seriously told me there is NO difference between those helmets. Their reaction times are the same, and even the ability to adjust the shading is the same. The only difference between a very costly auto-darkening helmets is, some times but not always, the very costly types have just a little bigger viewing area. But that isn't even a given either.

So buy a quality made auto-darkening helmet and you're good to go. And for starters, set it to a max darkening setting until you see how it all works and then adjust the shade to your likes. Also make sure you get one that has replaceable viewing shields. You will need to replace them as they get splattered, and that will happen too. JMHO!

Have a 7 year old cheap HF AD helmet still going strong.

 

[gm280]

Have a 7 year old cheap HF AD helmet still going strong.

Yea bigbee, I had an old one as well. But I didn't install the plastic shield in it initially and just used it for years until the splatter got so bad, I couldn't hardly see out of it anymore. And...well...if served its time and now has gone to that big welding machine in the sky. :facepalm:

Now a got another one and it has the replaceable plastic shield. I also have a few fixed masks. But I only use them when the grandkids are over and wanting to watch.

If yours is working well, there really is no reason to buy another one. Age doesn't change that. :noidea:

 

[StarTed]

I bought a silver HF helmet when their cheapest one was about $80. I just leave it on top of my Hobart MIG machine and it has worked for close to 20 years now without replacing the battery or anything else. In my early days I used to weld with my face closer but now I see better further away so the lens covers last much longer. It needs to be cleaned often but that is about it. The head band padding is shot now but I still prefer it over my new one.

I've done lots of stick welding of all kinds of iron based metal with 1/8": 6011 rod. Several hundred pounds of it primarily on an AC "Buzz Box". Welds have been on a D-4 Cat frame to 1/16" thick sheet steel. The thin metals take more care but the puddle is the secret. Thicker metal is best "V'd" out first and multiple passes made cleaning between them. I usually use as low a current as I can get away with so the metal doesn't overheat and break next to the weld. Very seldom did I use over 90 amps on that rod.with that machine. Often in the 60 to 70 amp range. I used the low current range exclusively so the voltage would start out higher.

I was taught that the secret was to use as low amperage as you could start with and would make the puddle look right. Don't move too fast to get the proper penetration.

I'm not a certified welder but I've made all kinds of things like trailers, loaders, tools and whatever I want. I can't remember when was the last time I've had a weld break. Usually I struggle to get a simple weld separated when I want to make a change or reuse the material. An air grinder and plasma cutter are my friends.

You can make most any kind of welder work but I'm always up against the duty cycle. When you're up against the duty cycle time the welder doesn't work properly. Always leave it running to cool it down before shutting it off.

Just some of my thoughts and advise.