Thoughts on this used welder?

[California]

I can see that I am really under-equipped to deal with other aspects of fabrication using heavier metal--specifically cutting.

My welding and fabrication needs are minimal - generally an occasional farm equipment repair. I bought Harbor Freight's portable band saw. It should be around $70 using a 20% coupon. So far this meets all of my cutting needs and does an excellent quick job.

Like anything from HF, if you are a tradesman and would use this daily, then the Milwaukee that this is a cheap copy of would be preferable.

[joshuabardwell]

My welding and fabrication needs are minimal - generally an occasional farm equipment repair. I bought Harbor Freight's portable band saw. It should be around $70 using a 20% coupon. So far this meets all of my cutting needs and does an excellent quick job.

HF has really come up in the world. I'm shocked that you can get a portaband so cheap nowadays, and there is a fair (but not excellent) chance that it's not a total piece of you-know-what.

[joshuabardwell]

Today's welding victory is repairing my angle grinder's side handle. I was (carelessly, I know) using the grinder one-handed, holding the work piece in my other hand, and the grinder caught the edge of the piece, sending the grinder and the piece flying. The handle broke off. It turns out, it was just plastic, formed around the head of a metal bolt that threaded into the body of the grinder. But there was no metal reinforcement running the length of the handle or anything, so as soon as it was stressed, it broke right off.

What I did was, I drilled a hole in the base of the handle, then I cut the head off a bolt and welded it to the original bolt from the handle, so there were basically two bolts back-to-back. I inserted the new bolt into the hole that I drilled in the base of the handle, then, the handle being hollow, I put a washer and nut onto the bolt and cinched them down.

The broken-off plastic base of the handle was still sheathing the original bolt when I went to weld the second bolt to it. It instantly melted and began to burn when I started welding. I had kind of hoped that if I was careful with the arc, I could avoid that, but no dice. I ended up chiseling the top part of it off and then backing the bolt out of it and throwing it away. Mental note: anything flammable that is touching the work piece or within an inch or so of the arc will burn. No two ways about it.

The only bad thing about it is that, since I threw away the plastic sheath, it just looks like there is a bolt stuck in the side of my angle grinder, with a handle stuck to it. That has always been the case, but the sheath gave the illusion that something more substantial was going on. Oh well. At least I saved the $20 or so it would cost me to buy a replacement.

[CNC Dan]

So get a fresh bolt that fits, and a heavy washer, and a short length of pipe. Put the bolt through the washer and weld. Then weld the pipe to the washer. Wrap the pipe with hocky tape for some more grip. If you want, add a second washer at the other end. Remember to protect the threads from spatter.

[joshuabardwell]

So get a fresh bolt that fits, and a heavy washer, and a short length of pipe. Put the bolt through the washer and weld. Then weld the pipe to the washer. Wrap the pipe with hocky tape for some more grip. If you want, add a second washer at the other end. Remember to protect the threads from spatter.

That was going to be my second choice, although I hadn't thought of the washers yet, so thanks for that tip. I figured I would give a go at having the nice, ergonomic handle.

[joshuabardwell]

Since a few folks here seem to be enjoying reading about my progress, I will continue to post updates. I took various TBN'ers advice and got some pieces of metal to stick together, instead of just welding beads. I bought some 1" x 1/8" thick bar stock and cut it into 3" lengths. Here are the results.

All welds were done using DCEP.



One catch: everywhere it says 100 amps, it should actually be about 65 amps. I was accidentally reading off the AC side of the scale. I was also going to take a picture of the back side of the welds, but it was pretty boring. No blow-through, just basically a clean joint. On two of them, the two pieces were a little bit mis-aligned when I did the weld, so I can see penetration at least halfway, and in some parts all the way through. But I didn't think that would come across on camera.

Having had some moderate success with butt joints, I moved on to T joints. These were surprisingly challenging. The main challenge was angling the rod properly so as to get the bead to climb up the vertical piece. I aimed at what I thought was a 45 degree angle, but that was insufficient.



Again, I was reading off the AC side of the scale, so where it says 100 amps, it's about 65. Where it says 130 amps, it's about 100. I used the same 3/32" 7014 at first, but had a little trouble and decided to give 1/8" 6011 a try, thinking that perhaps the thicker rod would make it easier to get the bead up the wall. Judge for yourself!

[CNC Dan]

Keep at it. I can see a little bit of learning. Soon, you will have a breakthrough, and have more rapid improvement.
Check out weldingtipsandtricks.com
For good vids that show what you should see.

[joshuabardwell]

Thanks, Dan! I will check out that web site. I recently went back and re-watched the Wall Mountain welding videos I have: "Watch the puddle," he says! Got it!

One challenge is that I can see what it looks like in the video when a very skilled welder does it exactly right, and I can see that what I'm doing isn't producing the same result, but I'm not sure what I should be doing to get closer. Just keep burning rods, I guess! By the time the rod starts burning and I have to keep moving, a lot of the "what you should be doing" goes out the window, and I'm just responding to the puddle. Like, this time I tried to make sure to weave back and forth while making the weld, but I was also supposed to pause at the sides to let the puddle tie in, and I was so busy trying not to burn through that I completely forgot that. Maybe I should spend more time "dry-firing," if you will--practicing moving the stick without the welder turned on.

[k0ua]

Check out these:

Stick Welding Tips from Bubba - YouTube

arc welding aka stick welding is better...sometimes - YouTube

Stick Welding / Arc Welding with Lincoln Excalibur 7018 rods - YouTube

and my favorite, because I learned the most from this one:

ARc Welding Project -Everlast PowerPro 256 - YouTube

Joshua I see progress, stay with it, we are all pulling for you.

James K0UA

[k0ua]

This old part film and part cartoon, also seemed to help me understand it a bit:

How Arc Welding Works - YouTube

James K0UA