Give me your welding experiences

slydog · Jan 12, 2005

LOL...took me longer to take those pictures and get them resized and posted than it did to weld that thing up! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Mith · Jan 12, 2005

so tom are you on mig aswell?
i presumed you were arc
i cant picture this tank - you said under an RV or am i confused - i cant see how that would fit in the space unless the scale different to what im picturing
still, looks like an interesting project

slydog · Jan 12, 2005

Yes..under the RV. It is sitting on the floor in the picture UPSIDE down. Imagine it flipped over and screwing to the underside of a trailer. The brown metal bracket is what holds the tank UP agains the underside of the trailer. Does that help?

Mith · Jan 12, 2005

aha got it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif nice one /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MMM · Jan 12, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( was told that the look of the weld dont matter much its if its penetrated through that matters )</font>

Don't listen to that. $#%&. Or the infamous "it ain't purty, but it'll hold". An ugly weld has inclusions and usually poor penetration. With practice and concentration, you'll learn to watch puddle and get it right.

texastomtom · Jan 12, 2005

those look good to me

maybe I need a mig welder

I have never used anything except an ac arc welder

tom

i'm going to keep at it with what I have though....
Maybe i'll get more time soon to mess with it..

stevenf · Jan 12, 2005

mith I hope you'll forgive me but I have no welding experience to speak of and I'm dying to start. I am looking at a Lincoln 225amp cracker box type welding kit at a US company named Sams it cost $225. It is only AC and I keep hearing folks say how much easier it is to learn with a AC/DC machine. I know I'm not to old to go to school but with the print shop and the ranch my life is about full for several years but I need to be able to weld stuff together for repairs mainly and fabrication of stuff for my tractor now. Can the welders in the group just mention their thoughts on Ac only welders vs AC/DC while continuing to respond to this great thread. I think by the time everyone gets through telling how to do stuff I'll have my continuing education class licked.
Thanks so much Mith and please Everyone continue your reponses as they are a great inspiration to us welding deprived folks out here.
Steve

texastomtom · Jan 12, 2005

My welder sounds similiar to yours.

230amp ac only
It is probably 30 years old,,, barn most of its life
the point:

it is the only welder my family ever had on the farm and my brothers used it for all farm needs. I dont believe they ever hired any welding out once they got it..

so - ac only should be fine... maybe not the best but ......
I dont think they had mig welders back then, I really thinkg mig might actually be better - just not necessarily the only way to get it done....

tom

slydog · Jan 12, 2005

Hey Mac,
Are you anywhere near Winnsboro?

JD3130 · Jan 13, 2005

Nothing wrong with AC, (220v stay away from the 110v) DC has more uses and can operate for longer periods of time. But they are more expensive. Many DC machines require 440v 3phase, which most of us don't have. If you get a self contained one, its quite an investment. Buzz-box are probably the most practical home/shop/farm welder, but affordability of home MIG machines in the past few years has started to change this. The post of Tom's above is a good example of why Buzz-boxes are nice. The welder had been sitting on the farm for years, he blew the dust off and fired it up. Not sure you could do that with a MIG. Seems if I leave mine for a month, I have to go all thought it. Only moving parts are the fan motor in an Arc machine. Boene is a long drive from the Southwest Learn Center, of the Sac. College. which is out near old Kelly AFB. I used to teach night classes there long time ago. But they have good classes.
JD