Inexpensive Welding Solution?????

[kwolfe]

I found this at Lowes. It combines MAPP gas and Oxygene. It says that you can cut, braze and weld with it. Do you think it could be used for welding applications using standard 1/4" steel? Cheaper than a welder and the wife would not get mad.

Welding Kit

 

[Soundguy]

I think 1/4 is going to be dicey. If i were you.. I'd save up and get a pawn shop or garage sale buzz box.. or save up a bit more and get a hobart stickmate or lincoln ac model in the 240-260$ range and weld all the way up past 1/2" material.

Soundguy

 

[kwolfe]

So you think 1/4" would be too thick? I don't weld, but I figured for $50, I could give it a go. Maybe I should rethink?

 

[jeff_jeff]

I tried that (a long time ago) - the oxygen tank only lasts a few minutes, and is expensive to replace - by the time you make all your adjustments, you're out of fuel. It was OK for an occasional quick repair on thin metal, but that's about it.

 

[MadReferee]

That setup will NEVER weld 1/4" steel and hold. Sheet metal maybe but you will be wasting your hard earned money buying it. CHeck around at places like a pawn shop or CraigsList and get a cheap buzz box like Soundguy suggests. You won't regret it.

 

[kwolfe]

DARN! DARN! DARN! I thought I was on to something there.

 

[kwolfe]

OK, what thhe heck is a buzz box. Keep in mind, I know nothing about welding. I am a fast learner. I am looking for the cheapest way to be able to make metal stick together. It does not need to be pretty, just functional.

I saw some arc welders at HF for under $100. I would like to be able to plug this into the existing wall outlet. Is that possible? I think that thickest thing I might every weld would be 1/2". And that would be rare. I could aslo weld two pieces of 1/4 together

 

[California]

DARN! DARN! DARN!

You would be saying worse than that if you bought it!

I used one once to repair a broken mount for a car seat. Less than 1/8, maybe .060? The mass of that small object was more than it could heat well.

The finished repair was so bad that I had no faith in it.

And as others noted, this exhausted the expensive fuel and oxygen cylinders by the time I got going so I had to get more to complete the project.

Never again.

 

[California]

OK, what the heck is a buzz box. ... I am looking for the cheapest way to be able to make metal stick together.

Buzz box = AC arc welder. If you have a 220v dryer outlet handy then there are lots of old heavy cheap AC welders out there under $100. (I paid $50 at a yard sale.) If 'cheapest' isn't really the most important criteria then get an AC/DC version which is worth more.

Here are some cheap welders: Craigslist/Philadelphia/ Arc Welders under $200.

One of my first fabrication projects using mine - a rear forks attachment to go on the Quick Hitch. Cheap, crude, strong:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...71849399-pallet-forks-rear-3-pt-p1050892r.jpg

 

[Tig]

I just replaced my $100 arc welder (70A) with a $100 flux wire welder (90A). It's still a toy but I am much happier with it. Both are better suited to material in the 1/8" range. If I had to do larger material I would tack it together myself and then take to someone with a real welder to finish up.