yamaha04 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 gas isway better then fluxcore wire i would prent the money on a small gas wire feed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty1100 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 ok when looking at a welder what are somethings to consider like wire type or are they all the same Well like some have said here there is fluxcore, which kinda works like stick welding (you have to chip off the slag), and the other is the best IMO is just regular wire with gas, which I think burns in better to make a better weld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin 2 stroke Posted March 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 im pretty sure im going to buy this one this weekend http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_0...keyword=welders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin 2 stroke Posted March 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...uctId=100039229 i woul dusing the welder for simple stuff like atv frames etc found one a lil cheapr..let me know im ready to buy a welder tmro or tonight if it stop raining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Just buy the Lincoln, or a comparable Miller. I prefer the color red, some like blue........At this level you're not going to notice anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snopczynski Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 If I bought a new one I would get the Lincoln Weld pak 3200hd from home depot. Comes with all the stuff to run gas except for the cylinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberneck Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Get a machine that will run gas man. The flux core is ok for outdoor stuff like fences and whatnot, but the welds dont look near as nice as if you were running gas. if you are going to be doing frames and stuff that you want to look nice get the gas. If you dont spend the money now you will probably end up doing it anyway later. why buy twice. my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin 2 stroke Posted March 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 i ddont see why i should spend couple more hundred dollers for a better looking weld ater on i will get a real nice but right now im just looking for a good beginner welder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty1100 Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 i ddont see why i should spend couple more hundred dollers for a better looking weld ater on i will get a real nice but right now im just looking for a good beginner welder What rubberneck said makes a lot of sense. When he says that it makes a better looking weld, he is also saying that it will hold prob. twice as good. The better looking the weld the better the weld is, sounds stupid but its true, anybody thats welded for long can tell you that. I just wouldnt use the fluxcore on any major parts, like something that could cause you to have a terrible accident if it broke. Gas naturally burns into the metal way better than just the electricity to heat it up like the one your looking at. Just my 02 also. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snopczynski Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 i ddont see why i should spend couple more hundred dollers for a better looking weld ater on i will get a real nice but right now im just looking for a good beginner welder Your spending a couple hundred more dollars to get a better looking and stronger weld. Its only $459 for the weldpak 3200hd, and you can weld flux core or mig gas. Your gonna regret after you weld something and see how hard it is to clean and how much splatter those flux core welds make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Your spending a couple hundred more dollars to get a better looking and stronger weld. false. F/C penetrates better. I would steer clear of a lowes/home depot welder. I have one and it's not enough. Buy one from a reputable dealer, they have two big things for a beginner: knowledge and customer service. Good luck getting much of either one at a chain store. If you're worried about cleanup put a wire wheel on a bench/angle/die grinder; you're gonna need it for material prep anyhow. The weld pool itself can look just as pretty as a gas weld as it can without. FWIW, anytime you see a BIG weld, there is no gas like were talking about. It will be either submerged arc, or who guessed it? FCAW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zach45 Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 times like this i wish i knew what there talking about... i wouldent mind learning to weld... but i dont think i would have anything to weild.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthemail Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 i hope you take heed my advice. when buying tools, why look down the road and say oh ill get better, you arent supposed to grow out of tools, tools are supposed to grow with you so when you buy then you buy bigger than you need or better. then you have no worries about a useless insignifigant tool. get the gas welder. lincoln electric all the way. you can still use regular flux core wire in them and weld without gas if you like, but for nicer jobs you can keep your gas around the shop and USE it with regular wire for a nicer weld? see what im saying? you can do ALL the jobs with a gas welder instead of half the jobs with a totally gassless one. the extra investment will be worth it believe me, just dont waste your gas and wire welding up someone elses junk if it dont need to look pretty then why make it pretty at a cost to you? atv frames will look twice as good welded with gas IMO than non gas and you dont have to be hammering on your welds to chip them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberneck Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 false. F/C penetrates better. I would steer clear of a lowes/home depot welder. I have one and it's not enough. Buy one from a reputable dealer, they have two big things for a beginner: knowledge and customer service. Good luck getting much of either one at a chain store. If you're worried about cleanup put a wire wheel on a bench/angle/die grinder; you're gonna need it for material prep anyhow. The weld pool itself can look just as pretty as a gas weld as it can without. FWIW, anytime you see a BIG weld, there is no gas like were talking about. It will be either submerged arc, or who guessed it? FCAW. I agree with you on just about every point you made. Smokin2stroke, IMHO welders are like anything else, you get what you pay for. Listen to what racer is saying. Customer service and having a guy behind the counter that can look at a sample weld and give you suggestions is invaluable. I agree that you are going to need a wire wheel and grinder anyway, so you may as well figure those costs in now. I dont care what kind of welding you are doing even if you are good, you are going to screw up from time to time and have to fix welds. However, finished product appearance and clean up time have to be figured in and for that the gas feed will win hands down. The other thing is these small machines are geared towards lighter materials and like you said FC penetrates better. Try doing body work or really thin tubing with the flux core and you are going to be blowing lots of holes. To me anyway, it doesn't make sense to have a machine that limits you on amperage so you cant do any big stuff well, yet will not let you do really delicate stuff. Granted for some really light stuff, wire is probably the wrong process anyway, but i did a lot of bodywork and sheetmetal work on cars with little hobart handler gas feed for years before I got in to TIG welding. Seriously though, the most important point is that customer service will really help you when you are learing how to weld. It can be frustrating if you dont have somebody that can steer you in the right direction when you are learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthemail Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 what is tig welding?? sorry for the threadjack.... but it seems alot of you are pretty knowledgable on this. is there a welder that does all from regular farm mechanic stick welder (for the big heavy broken shit) to popcans. i actually have seen someone weld a popcan before im pretty sure it was tigged. you need a tig welder to do aluminum correct? cannot be done with a mig wire feed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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