Welding for choppers

[TeknoRob]

Hey guys
I was wondering if any of you could pass me some advice.
I had a dabble in mig welding the other week and would like to do more welding. The things I'm looking at doing are like bungs for fender struts, electronics box... And future project bikes as well.
It'd definitely be a handy skill for outside the motorcycling also.
I will be practicing a lot on sheet metal but whatever mig I buy I want to eventually use on my bikes too.
What can you guys tell me too look for in a mig welder?

So far from reading I'm convinced gas would be suitable, and a continuous feed would make life easier, but what about amperage and so on?

Thanks

 

[Yamaha_chop]

If you're only looking to do sheet metal and such then a 110v welder will do. But if you're looking to advance I would really recommend picking up a nice 220v unit. Pick up a name brand welder like a Miller or Lincoln, and you can get them used with confidence. Once you know how to properly weld, you'll wonder how you did anything at all before then.....

 

[TeknoRob]

If you're only looking to do sheet metal and such then a 110v welder will do. But if you're looking to advance I would really recommend picking up a nice 220v unit. Pick up a name brand welder like a Miller or Lincoln, and you can get them used with confidence. Once you know how to properly weld, you'll wonder how you did anything at all before then.....

I'm definitely keen on moving up to welding structurally important pieces on bikes eventually. But initially I'll be doing non-structural/decorative things, or small sheet fab work.

Would something like this suffice do you think?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-MARS...51212114206?pt=AU_Welding&hash=item3a7d68a91e

 

[SINKING78]

For someone starting out welding that unit will suffice just fine. My advice would be to read read read as much info on welding of all types that you can get your hands on; forums, youtube, whatever. There is a ton of info out there.

P.S. Not to highjack but it seems in context and could be beneficial. I've been doing some brazing lately, anyone else?

 

[tmb99]

Its a little difficult as a lot of the cheaper units people mention in forums are not available in Aus. Whatever you get make sure it has readily available consumables, I've heard of people having trouble finding tips and shields for cheap units. I went with a tradetools 180 unit as I'd heard good things, it was available for pickup and easy if there are any issues for warranty. I run gasless wire with anti-spatter spray and a flapper disc at the ready! Also be sure if it's 15amp you have 15amp socket in your house - 10amp is standard.

To get used to the machine I went to a local metal fab place and paid to dig through their scrap bin, got lots of different thickness and shapes to practice all the different joins and directions on.

Oh and brazing is cool, I did it 10+ yrs ago - but I remember it was fun.

 

[Curtis P]

Pick up a book. I can't remember the name of the one i have but.it taught me alot of different techniques that i would not have known by myself.

TIG welding is my next hurdle. I will ve taking a class for it

 

[Focusinprogress]

for a hobbyist, a 220v welder is overkill. you can weld 1/8" thick steel plate with flux core wire (gasless) on a 110v box, I do it all the time. Anything thicker than that I just pre-heat the area I plan to weld using a mapp gas torch to get good penetration once I carry an arc on it. I have a Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 that I bought used for $120, and it doesn't owe me a cent, I love this thing. It's got a connection for gas too (which I use for welds that I want to be "pretty")

When shopping for a welder, just make sure to buy something that has adjustments for both wire speed AND heat....and when I saw that, I mean one's with multi-position dials, not a switch for hi/low on the heat.....those ones are terrible, you need something you can dial right in to the material your working with. Mine has 4 positions for heat, and 10 speeds for wire feed.

For brands, go with Miller / Lincoln / Hobart....

Hobart is actually made with miller parts, and sold cheaper

 

[landerson]

Check on Amazon or local trade school for instructional text books on welding and metal working. They provide step by step on welding processes, positions, torch angles, heat input etc. They also give great pictures and explain troubleshooting and a better understanding of how the machines and processes work. I still loan mine out from 15 years ago to help teach guys to weld while they're practicing. Look into machines that have shielding gas options for solid core wire rather than hollow or flux cored wired. Best of luck.

 

[emzdogz]

I will pass on one thing (well, really 2) that made my little Weld Pak 100 work a LOT better: a. use argon mix gas (rather than straight CO2) and b. make sure you have a flowmeter (for some reason the Lincoln gas add-on kit did not come with one), so you can set the correct flow rate of the gas. I can't even begin to express how much of a difference this has made. Wish I'd have realized sooner. There's just literally NO spatter this way, unless something else is way off.

I find with the smaller welder I have to be more careful about position, speed I move the puddle, etc. Sometimes I run a bead as an "on-off" kind of thing. like bzzzzt bzzzzzt bzzzzzt bzzzzzzzt, rather than bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt. I start the next short bzzzzt just before the molten puddle of the one ahead of it has solidified.

A 220 MIG machine is actually easier to use. Easier penetration right off the bat. And the continuous bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzztttt is not a prob. And like was mentioned in the post above, having the material nice and hot already, in the area you're gonna join, does seem to help the little guy do its thing.

I bet by the end of your project you'll be a much better welder than when you begin.

Taking a course at a vo-tech would be a very good thing, just so you get used to seeing what's good penetration and what isn't, get used to working with your molten puddle, get use to the sights and smells of welding before you work on your own stuff.

Good luck!

 

[Ballsout]

I have 2 welders, a 220 Millermatic that I rarely use, and a little 110 Lincoln. I havent found anything on my XS hardtail project that I couldnt handle with the 110 Lincoln. I prefer a C25 (Argon mix) shielding gas. Makes for very clean, strong welds.

You can get 110 Lincolns or Millers just about anywhere for a few hundred bucks. Good luck!

 

[Tim of DO THE TON]

I'm just getting into this myself, having registered for a 6 hour intro-session to MIG at the local college.

I picked up a Lincoln 180 (220v) for a good deal. I have 220 in the garage, and frankly don't necessarily have the excess 110v circuit for a smaller machine, so it made sense to get the 220.

For 'structurally important' things on my bike, I'll continue to trust professional TIG welders for years to come. I just always wanted to play around with a welder. I have a couple sections I need to weld onto my trailer that I might tackle at some point, but for my bikes, I like the pretty beads of pro TIG.

 

[tmb99]

In Aus our standard voltage is 240v straight out of the wall so 110v vs 220v is not an issue. Our welders are instead 10amp or 15amp variations.

Lincon and Miller do have supplier stocked in Aus however I've never seen them in small units, only in welding stores with the pro style expensive units. Hobart make a unit often quoted as being great cheap unit. Hobart don't have a supplier in Aus.

 

[hotdog]

This is where I got my Tig/stick inverter combo from & I love it. Search the web for reviews of their equipment - rate fairly high.

BTW - 240v is standard throughout Australia,the next step up is industrial units on 3 phase 415v

 

[mrkil]

I'm taking a welding course right now. I have one of my ticket tests today.
I will be going for my all position stick and flat mig and tig tickets.
The course finishes in May. I can see the difference now between a home welding job vs a proper weld. I'm glad I took fhe course.

If I was buying a mig for home I would go for a unit that does gas and flux core. So I could have the option if I ever wanted to use gas sheilding.

Posted via Mobile

 

[TeknoRob]

Wow, Everyone had given me a lot to think about.
I definitely intend on doing a course eventually, but like everything I've ever done I'd like to dabble amateurly for a while first.
Thanks heaps for the info guys, now I know roughly what to keep my eyes open for.

 

[Focusinprogress]

it's extremely helpful to have someone that's halfway decent at welding show you the ropes at first....someone to watch your technique and explain how to adjust wirefeed speed and heat range and such. I've shown 3 different people how to weld in the last two weeks haha.

 

[Tim of DO THE TON]

The course I'm taking is just a one day general interest thing for $190 at the college. It was about the only non-certificate multi year $1000's program I could find.

I have a few friends who are self taught and none of them live close enough to walk me through it. So I decided to learn properly

 

[gggGary]

The intro courses are a great deal. I took one before i got serious about not using the TIG I bought a year and a half ago. Wisconsin has great tech college (dabbler) courses available in evening time frames typically running a night or 2 a week for a month or two.
Newer small sized suitcase welders (basically solid state voltage manipulation instead of huge copper coils) are getting to the do it all stage of design. There are some decent units coming out of china now. (junk too) I am sure you could get one delivered to Australia? check eBay.

Someone mentioned brazing and yes it is a great process, with good design and fitting of parts, brazed joints are superior to any other process! especially if you are into chromoly.

There that should spark some debate!

 

[TeknoRob]

it's extremely helpful to have someone that's halfway decent at welding show you the ropes at first....someone to watch your technique and explain how to adjust wirefeed speed and heat range and such. I've shown 3 different people how to weld in the last two weeks haha.

I'll be sure to have my club welder watch over me the first go to give me a little instruction

 

[5twins]

I stick weld. I've been a Union Ironworker for 30+ years. We built America and did it with the help of stick welders (among other things). All your bridges and high rises ...... stick welded. I'll admit, I'm ready to buy a mig or tig - but then I think - is it all hype? A good welder can weld anything anywhere with any machine. It's not the machine, it's the guy.