You would be correct in asuming this thread is for information. With that said, as a professional welder, im sure your iformation may be helpful for some.

But as a professional, if your going to give advise...please make sure it is factual...
no tissy here...lol

now for those of you looking to purchase a new welder, if its off brand(other than miller, lincon, esab..) be sure to look into aftermarket support. You should have the ability to purchase drive rollers, contact tips(sized for wire) gas nozzles...and if you work in your garage thats cluttered..you might want to look into replacment liners..once they get kinked the ability to reliabley feed wire at a constant feed rate deminishes greatly.

another thing, if you "roll" your torch around the handle of your machine...make the longest, laziest loops possible(helps keep the liner from being "kinked".

 

Yeah on my build thread I have a link to that ahahahaha

I like the idea of it but I was more leaning towards getting an invertor strong enough to power a welder while on trail. I want a proper control of my amperage (rather than upping my throttle to up the amperage, high idle in the AZ heay no thanks)
Somewhere I saw a post of that and it made my mouth drool so much.
I could also go with one of those fancy arc setups that I forget the name of. More or less an expensive invertor with an arc welder built in. Cool idea but not for me. I just hate the idea of upping the revs on my engine.
I am way into the idea of getting some deeeeeep batteries so the alternator only has to come on in spirts. Keep in mind the planned setup I have is going to have two alternators totalling over 200 amps easily. (The zj swap alone will get me up to 136 amps..)

 

But as a professional, if your going to give advise...please make sure it is factual...


Oh. So which part wasn't factual? Saying you can't actually GET 90 amps of useful welding current out of a 110 machine that may SAY it can produce 90 amps? Of course I could have done a search and listed the ratings of various machines, but I already know that what I said was basically true. Duty cycle among other things allows manufacturers to fudge the numbers a good deal. My experience with 110 welders is that when you max out the wire speed/amperage, the voltage isn't enough to get penetration. However, I will make sure all my professional advice is thoroughly researched from now on, K?
I mean, other people can post all sorts of random nonsense and hearsay, but I will be the exception.

 

I'm just blowing smoke. For all I know 90 amps is perfect on 1/4".

What some people may not realize is that many MIG welders show wire speed rather than amperage, so the numbers aren't necessarily an indication of your amp output.

 

MIG welding is perfect for almost anything on a Jeep, except headers and turbo intakes of course. MIG welding is considered the easiest welding process to master, although I feel it takes a fair amount of practice and skill to make really awesome welds. However, it is often referred to as the "metal hot glue gun" of welding processes, and just about anyone can manage to stick metal together with a MIG gun. Stick welding is something I don't know much about other than its a pain, takes skill and patience, and is not nearly as common as it used to be. TIG welding is the crown jewel in a weldor's portfolio, as it takes more finesse and is regarded as the most difficult to master yet produces the most beautiful results. TIG welding is universal and can be used on any weldable metal. However, it's slow, and tyically requires two hands and a pedal or other amperage control, so welding in funky positions is quite challenging. The upside is that a lot of TIG weldors spend their days in short sleeves sitting in a comfortable chair, instead of being showered with sparks lying under a truck like MIG or stick weldors often are. A lot of people ask what welding machine to buy, which process is best, etc. I have said it before, and I am still adamant that cheap Chinese welders are a poor choice for a number of reasons. I have heard that some of the TIG machines perform well. Same for the MIG or fluxcore machines. However, not many of them have been in service long enough to make any judgments about their durability or longevity. You can find Miller, Lincoln, ESAB, and Linde machines that have been running longer than I've been alive. Also there is the moral question of buying crap from China. I for one refuse to go to Walmart, ever. It's almost impossible to avoid buying some Chinese tools, as even Craftsman is now mostly Chinese. BUT, every chance I get I buy stuff made elsewhere, any where else really. Taiwan, India, I don't care as long as it's not China. We will all come to regret buying Chinese soon enough. That's an opinion, not a fact.

 

This is very true, I have seen lots of welders that the numbers make absolutely no sense. Matter of fact I have an old Lincoln buzz box that goes from 0-400 in increments of 50, yet it is only a 200 amp welder. All I know is it single passes 3/8's pretty damn good way up high.


Stick welders are definitely becoming less common for the weekend warrior and general shop duties. They are still the norm in most industrial, bridge, tank and pipe welding. I personally believe it is one of the best ways to start learning because a decent welder can be picked up for cheap and electrodes are also dirt cheap. That and it works much better than any other process on rusty or dirty metal.

 

I learned on a stick machine, and its still what I prefer. In my opinion, its much quicker and easier to lay good beads.

 

Stick is definitely the cheapest, down-and-dirty way to weld anything anywhere. Outside, inside, under water, it can all be done with stick. And a name brand machine might only cost a couple hundred bucks. For those who are good with stick, I commend you. For the rest of us, I will take a MIG welder any day for my Jeep, and a TIG torch and comfy chair for my day job.

 

Stick is very versatile, and that's why i use it most. And yes, the cost. I bought my Hobart 205 machine for 250 bucks. I find with stick, you don't really have to try for penetration. Penetration is already there, you just have to keep your bead straight and you gap small, and you can punch pretty deep in anything. It's MUCH harder to stick weld things thinner than maybe... 12 Ga. though, which can be annoying. I'm not good enough for it. I can MIG. I usually use it, and flux core, for anything where i can't fit my stick But i wish i was trained in the art of TIG welding. One day.

 

im not sure if anyone has shared it yet but http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/index.html is an amazing website full of lots of helpful info, i basically taught myself how to weld with this site.

 

what about cast or ductile iron like an axle housing or axle tubes to keep them from warping??

you can make great welds going downhill you dont mig going up hill unless your using soft wire in which you dont need on anything less than 1/4 thick anyways

can you leave this thread to people who actually know what theyre doing?

 

Don't make me drive up to Hesperia to educate you about welding...ask an engineer next time you get a chance before you decide you're the expert.

 

Again your not the only ******* who knows how to weld everyone has their way. And brace yourself, your way isn't the ONLY right way. I know its shocking but deal with it ya *****. Now if you prefer downhill to uphill thats fine, as long as you get proper penetration its all good. As far as the axle tubes to pumpkin welding goes I only heat it enough to get out the moisture and weld it. Unless its like below zero out then I crank the garage heat and let it warm up to room temp over night. Never cracked warped broke an axle and ive welded tons of tubes and axle trusses. See no cracks, but make sure its real real clean.

 

im old school stick welder but everbody does it different as long as it works for ya its all good...to each his own what makes us all different

 

Yea sir