Welder for fabrication

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Gmorrone1214

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Hey guys I am looking for which type of welder would produce enough power to work on the motorcycle frame. Just looking to weld small things like seat bungs, gussets, brake pivot ,headlight mount, seat mount. The only thing that would be big is the seat cross bar that comes with the TC bro hardtail and is tack welded on.

I'm looking to not spend over $450 and would appreciate any insight.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Weld-Pak-125-HD-Wire-Feed-Welder-K2513-1/100670933

would this be enough?


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That welder would be more than enough. Caveat though: Im not sure i would go with Flux Core personally. They run quite hot and can produce a lot of spatter. Good for welding outdoors but harder to get a good looking weld, and i think harder to control on thin metal. Remember most of these bikes use relatively thin DOM tube so perhaps you would be better with a similar MIG setup using a hired shielding bottle, or even one of those small disposable bottles.
 
Gmorrone1214 said:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Weld-Pak-140-HD-Wire-Feed-Welder-K2514-1/100670934

Then how about this? Its capable of argon and is mig. Plus i can get it used for about 350 locally.

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Hi Gmorrone,
that's a better choice, it has more available power and gas shield welds nicer than flux core.
BUT
If you are new to welding, run through a few spools of wire joining up stuff you ain't trusting your life to before welding your frame, eh?
 
Yeah i was looking at the eastwood products. Would the 135 be good enough for the work I described or should I have to go with their 175amp welder?

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Duty cycle is the important factor when buying a welder. I cant find any info about the duty cycle of the Lincoln in your link.

The 135amp Eastwood only has 20% at 90 amps, the 175amp has 30% at 135 amps.

You may not be welding a lot for any length of time but this is important.

Here is a link that goes into detail about duty cycle and how it affects what welder to buy.
You may not think it affects your situation untill you buy that cheap one that cuts out after 30 seconds of welding and then having to wait for 5 min until the welder can resume.
 
I'd say no. Max is 12 gauge. That's about a touch more that .095". I'd ASSUME that the TC bros hardtail kit is at least that. IDK, but That's at max amps. The brake pivots I make are .120"

I'd imagine you could find a solid 220volt at 175amp wire feed welder use for that price.
 
I would agree on the 220v welder but most people don't have a 220 hookup. I used a HOBART for years and it worked well. If you are going to weld a lot invest in a good one. If this is just a one time thing then its up to you. WEAR a mask my lungs look like tar from years of being a knucklehead.
 
I'm old school and still use a stick welder, bought it last century and is still going strong.
I plug it into the dryer 220 volt plug. it is the compact version of the Lincoln tombstone welder. I can weld 1/4" with no problem I can weld 18 guage with no problem too. It does splatter though. But I wouldn't trade it for a 120 volt flux core mig that's for sure.I don't think you can buy them any longer but the tombstone is a great too
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lcn-k1357
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-AC225S-Arc-Welder-K1170/100041326
 
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Iron_inc; - - - Tig $245 Gauge $50 And a bottle of argon off Craig's list or rent one for 10/15 Buck a month[/QUOTE said:
Hi Iron_inc,
I have to admit that my ideas about the price of a TIG-welder were formed back when they cost so much that the only place you'd see one was in an aircraft factory.
$295 plus $15 a month for shielding gas, eh?
I'm tempted but at my age and for how little I weld these days I'll stick with my Lincoln buzz box and my el-cheapo Oxy-Acetylene set.
Click to expand...
 

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