Finally decided to get back into welding......

[ATP]

No thanks to this forum.....

Man, you guys got me wanting a welder....again......after 25 yrs(as a teenager on the farm)....using a lincoln tombstone.....
i have researched these new welders for about 2 months....and finally ordered a new welder....

Today i set it up in the garage... MAN....these things have come along way.....

I went to my local AIRGAS welders supply and ordered a Thermal Arc 211i.....took them about a week to get it in....
The guys there got me fixed up on rods/wire/gas..gloves, cart,clamps...etc.....

Ran my first bead in 25yrs.....

[Shield Arc]

Need to turn it up, too cold.

[yomax4]

Welcome back to the Welding World. Nice welder choice and now you will be dreaming up all kinds of projects.. That machine has some nice features. Power factor for one lets you pull big amps out of a 115v 20 amp circuit. You actually got 3 machines. 3 in 1 as they are called. Good luck..

[deereman75]

I agree with shield arc, you can see at the edges it didn't dig into the plate, just kind of sat on top. It might help if we knew what you were running, at what power. Not knowing that, I would crank it up another 10 amps or so, and see if that fixes it. The other thing I find helps is moving the rod in little circles, so it really ties into both pieces well. That probably didn't help at all, I am useless at explaining how to do something, so much easier to show someone.

[cqaigy2]

Nice start, warm it up a bit. Have fun!

I got my dads old tombstone going again. Now i just need to invest in a new helmet.

[Shield Arc]

Looks to me like it is some type of gas less flux core. With all that splatter, could be holding too long of stick out. Hopefully he is left handed!

[deereman75]

I guess I assumed it was stick seeing the spatter, I have never ran flux core, so it didn't really occur to me. I thought it was 6011 or 6010, at least that are what mije look like.

[/pine]

Having a welder and being able to make repairs etc is good thing...I'm envious of the guys that seem to have an endless supply of on hand and scrap steel etc...

Good luck with your new machine..have fun

No scrap yards within 1.5 hr. min. of here...So if I want to fabricate metal project I'm stuck with the local welding/fab. shop (about 12 mi.)...but even at their cost for steel I can often find something already manufactured (including paint) and often a warranty...for what I would have in just materials and consumables...a lot of the scrap I have been able to salvage requires as much prep work as the rest of the project...i.e., dealing with rust, cutting old welds/joints and grinding etc...

[/pine]

Looks to me like it is some type of gas less flux core. With all that splatter, could be holding too long of stick out. Hopefully he is left handed!

What do most pros do when they are in the field and the wind is really blowing?...I would love to use gas over flux more core but I always want to use the welder on breezy days and I have no place inside to weld...

[Shield Arc]

I have used Lincoln's NR-211 in Alaska with up to 90-MPH winds! Had to be very careful when walking around or we would be on our butts in a heart beat!
Here is a picture of the newer NR-212.