This will be for my home shop. Probably 1/2 steel & 1/2 aluminum work. I would like to be able to weld up to 1/4" steel, but doubt I'll truly use anything more the 3/16". The aluminum would be for smaller stuff, ramps for bikes, bike stands, parts, etc.
Lincoln Squarewave 175 pro
Miller SD 180
or
Millermatic 210 with a spool gun
They're all within the same price range. I've never used a spool gun, so not sure if that will make welding aluminum as easy as TIG? On the other hand will those little TIG machines have the poop to weld 3/16" let alone 1/4"???
Thanks in advance. Great board here.
lincoln 175 pro. You need arc and tig capability. I do not suggest the sppol gun rroute for aluminum. We have all of the above. good luck
Thanks Don. What will be my material thickness limitation on steel?
realistically you wont have one as long as you keep your duty cycle in mind. At 150 amps its 25% which as you know means 2.5 minutes per 10 minutes. At 125 amps its 40 %.
These are an EXCELLENT tig machine and come ready to weld stick and tig. Just add argon bottle.
Just my opinion, good luck, Don
if you have at least 200 amps and around 20-30% duty cycle w/ a stick welder, you'd be unlimited on thickness of steel. as for welding aluminum, you'd want a welder that goes up to 300 amps to be sure you have enough juice to do any thickness up to half inch.
MIG aluminum vs. TIG aluminum: MIG is faster and you only need 1 hand to do the work but it takes a bit of practice to make consistently pretty beads. TIG is slow, you need 2 hands and a foot (or a thumb if you get the control on the handle), but it's easier to make a consistently pretty bead.
Thanks guys. What got me thinking about MIG for aluminum was an article I read at the lincoln website regarding a radiator mfg. that switched to Powermig 300's (from TIG) to increase production and they seem very happy with the results. Perhaps this particular MIG has different charachteristics than say the millermatic 210? Because they were not using a spool gun.
I have to say the one handed operation is appealing and I've done my share of MIG & stick welding in the past. But, I see these really nice looking welds on some of my aluminum motorcycle parts and it would be very cool to be able to fab some aluminum parts. I don't see myself using any aluminum over 1/4".
On Ebay I've been seeing Lincoln Squarewave 275's for sale, box only, no leads, for like $1600'ish, brand new. How much am I going to spend to outfit that unit with a TIG torch and other items to get ready to weld? $1500 is pretty much my limit, but could stretch it to get a better unit.
You will have no problem welding 3/16" steel with these machines. With small home/race shop type projects, it's unlikely you'll get into a duty cycle issue...at least I haven't with my Lincoln 175 Pro.
If you were close to Maryland, I'd offer you a killer deal on a very slightly used Lincoln 175 Pro with a custom built undercarrage. I'd like to switch to the Miller 180SD Tig runner package they just came out with (that way it would match the Blue Miller 251 Millermatic mig welder sitting in my shop...lol).
I would go with the new syncrowave 180. The new model includes balance control which lets you decide the percentage of cleaning vs penitration. You will most likely limited to something around 1/4 inch thick alum. Check it out at the miller website. Another thing to remember is when you tig weld alum the torch tends to get really hot even with a gloved hand so you may want to think about a cooler and awater cooled torch. Dont rush into anything dont buy a machine that in a year or two you'll want to replace. The syncrowave 250 in my opinion is the best bang for the buck. You could always buy this machine with the aircooled torch and upgrade to water later. This same thing happened to me when I bought my 180 a few years ago. Dont get me wrong these are great machines but one must know there limits. If you saw beautifull welds on you motorcycle they were most likely done with tig. Unless you want to mass produce tig is your answer. Your comment about Lincolns powermig 300 is most likely because that machine has pulsed mig capability allowing it to do thin radiators/thin peices. I believe that machine also has dc tig feature. A pulsed mig welder can often weld down t 19gage alum. I think the powermig 300 is pretty expensive; maybe $3,500-4000 If you go that route check out the millermatic pulser It comes with everything you need including the spoolgun for about $2300 drawbacks with this machine Lesser output than the powermig 300 No tig welding ability. As far as being easy I think migwelding is easier than tig in every instance. But there is nothing like becoming good with a tig welder. Good luck on whatever you decide. CHUB380
Thanks again for all your comments and suggestions! Ya, I'm trying to avoid spending money on something that I'll want to upgrade later. On the other hand, I can't justify spending more than $1500 or so right now...even that's a stretch (not so much finanially, but for what it's for.) Believe me I've worked my way up from 130amp Firepower!! Funny how we do that. :)
Goose, trying to find ANYTHING used here in the KC area has been impossible. They're either WAY overpriced or just junk. I have yet to see a TIG. BTW, I emailed you a while back regarding your trailer construction. Wish you were closer, sure like to see the 175 in action!
Scott
hey dirt,
i started with a lincoln sp125, then bought a miller 250 ac/dc stick welder, then bought a miller bobcat 225 nt, then sold the sp125 and traded in the bobcat for a trailblazer 301g. i shoulda got the 301g first. if you love welding like most of us, yer gonna want more power. just suffer till you get more money or take a loan and do jobs to pay for it. all my equip was bought new and luckily the resale price isnt to bad.this is my opinion. i should have known from the beginning that having a low budget doesnt mean that yer ready to spend it. unless yer gonna dew production alum. stay with tig for that. short welds with the mig might have cold starts and you dont have the heat control like tig. let us know what you get.
rich
MC,
This is just a hobby more or less, so I have to keep costs under control somewhat. :) I think I've resolved to sign up for general welding class at the community college. It starts in Jan, so just about 6 weeks or so to wait. I figure I'll get some hands-on with different MIG machines of various sizes and see what suits me best. I doubt we'll do any TIG, but perhaps I can atleast get a better feel for things and make a more educated descision. Not to mention getting some torch training too!! Right now I feel like TIG is what I'll end up with.
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