Any welders in here?

ebijack said:
liner and tip.
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I checked with Hobart as I'll Probally move up to a Hobart Handler 130 or 140 in the Future and they said no liner change necessary.

gvSiU9fl.jpegl
 
Czarbecue said:
I saw one at Northern Tool for $279... Hobart Stickmate 205.. But I did a quick Amazon check and it needed 50-60 amps on the outlet. I am sure that is completely out of the question with my current breaker box.

I ended getting the same machine Smitty has for about $100 and some change with a coupon. I guess I can cut my teeth with this for now.
Click to expand...


That $279 buzzbox is the AC only model. You would want the AC/DC which are $540 at Tractor Supply.


I have mine on Craiglist for $250 with no takers. Strange. All I got was one Craigslist scammer asking about it. I thought it would be gone in 2-3 days. If I dont get a bite in the next week or so I will drop it to $200. If no takers.....I will just consider it a loss and give it away.

https://houston.craigslist.org/for/d/hobart-ac-dc-stickmate-welder/6308000978.html
 
Last edited:
Rockinar said:
That $279 buzzbox is the AC only model. You would want the AC/DC which are $540 at Tractor Supply.


I have mine on Craiglist for $250 with no takers. Strange. All I got was one Craigslist scammer asking about it. I thought it would be gone in 2-3 days. If I dont get a bite in the next week or so I will drop it to $200. If no takers.....I will just consider it a loss and give it away.

https://houston.craigslist.org/for/d/hobart-ac-dc-stickmate-welder/6308000978.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the time table :clap: :grin:
 
Don't waste your money on Harbor Freight, Northern welders. I'd buy a minimum of a 140 in Miller or Lincoln. Brand name, warranty repairs, easy to find consumables.

I have a Lincoln 140 that I keep loaded with .023 wire for welding thin gauge steel and a Lincoln 210 loaded with .035.
 
Check Craigslist. I picked up a brand new, still in the box, never been opened, Lincoln 140 Pro Mig for $350.
 
I basically have the exact same set up as Rockinar with a Lincoln 180HD. I have the same size bottle and same Harbor Freight cart. This is the welder: http://m.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/equipment/Pages/product.aspx?product=K2515-1(LincolnElectric)

I was lucky enough to find a great score at Home Depot....I think normally was around $699, and I paid $400. I bought it to build my original trailer smoker, and the reason I went with this other than the price, was that I wanted a 220V machine. I really feel that the 110V machines struggle to push the amps to get good penetration on thicker materials and had previous experience with a cheap welder. I wanted MIG as I was welding in my garage. The only real drawback with it is that it has a low duty cycle compared to the big machines. I only found building my smoker that I bumped a few times on long welds. Should be alright for what you guys are doing. Any structural mods to your trailer, you are going to want the extra power in my opinion. The trailer I used for my smoker was also a tilt variety with 3,500 pound axle, and I welded the tilt solid.

I really enjoy welding and you will too if you take the time to watch the videos online, AND you start with a quality machine.:thumb:

Good Luck with it,
Ed
 
I guess like a first time brisket I just need more confidence in what I am doing with welding. I see no problems upgrading in the future once I have my space back and can set things up the way I want.
 
Zak said:
The Hobart 140 is a very good welder, i used one for years building all kinds of stuff and if you know what you're doing, then it'll do what you need it to do. If you have only a couple projects to do, then flux-core will do you fine, no need for a bottle at this point in time. If you bought that welder, you'd get most of what you'd need. On top of the machine you'll need welding helmet, jacket, boots, gloves, plyers, grinder, and probably some extra wire. Practice till you're laying decent beads. Make sure the polarity of the machine is set correctly for flux core or MIG, many guys make this mistake. The machine will come with the correct liner, tips and cup but if you run other sizes of wire then you need different parts. When it comes time clean, shiny metal is critical. A dedicated 20 amp circuit is recommended but it can be done on a 15amp.
Click to expand...
A MEN BROTHER I AM A RETIRED UNION IRONWORKER i like a lincolne welder but the same size model will do what ever you need get a roll of 211 wire any two year old kid can run it halve fun
 
@ Smitty -

Sorry I'm late to the party, just saw this.. I bought that same Hobart 140 last fall. Its a great little welder for sure. Gets penetration up to 1/4" so I figured if I did decide to build some smokers I would be in good shape. I don't use it everyday, just a weekend warrior, but it lays down a good weld, even my wife can get a decent(ish) weld with it.

For the tank... It took me a little research to figure out. Getting the initial tank is the real challenge. Make sure that whatever tank you get can be refilled by someone nearby for a decent price. Some guys wouldn't just fill any tank that was brought in. A couple places would only fill their tanks. I ended up paying around $150 for a tank, but I own it, and refills will be real cheap at the same place. Its a new tank, and when I refill, it will be a refill, not an exchange.

The setup comes with your regulator, a couple tips, ans a small spool of flux core wire. I just picked up a spool of .030 at the welding supply store and I was good to go. Super easy to set up and use.
 
If you're changing wire size and solid vs flux, you may need a different drive wheel also. They're cheap but it's one more thing to add to the list.

I suffered with bolting many things before i got a welder and i totally understand how much of a PITA a dull drill bit is. Either buy some decent bits or a sharpener. You'd be amazed at the different.
 
Well, it looks like my steel tubes have a bad case of gonorrhea. I was gentle on the first time.

7280f4ee49b95b62c1760bee9e446418.jpg
 
Czarbecue said:
Well, it looks like my steel tubes have a bad case of gonorrhea. I was gentle on the first time.

7280f4ee49b95b62c1760bee9e446418.jpg
Click to expand...

We've all been there on first attempts. Practice, practice.... practice! Start with scraps & small pieces. Using the good stuff gets expensive. Check out youtube & read as much as possible. You'll get there.
 
Yup. That's the same kind of mess I would make if I tried to weld it with a wire feed, because I have never used a wire feed. With gas or with my TIG torch, though, I would be able to make a nice clean weld with good penetration.

As I tried to point out in post #27, welding is a skill. Buying a MIG welding machine wouldn't make me a MIG welder just as buying a violin wouldn't make me a musician.

I think someone earlier in the thread suggested some training. I took gas welding and TIG welding classes at the local vo-tech school and they were immensely helpful. You might want to consider something like that.

I'm not trying to be nasty here, I hope you appreciate that. Just trying to make sure that your trailer does not fall apart!
 
No offense taken. This is the first of many welding attempts. I’ve had this thing for about two weeks now and finally got the time to put it together and try something out.

There’s a place here in Dallas where hobbyist/semi-professionals host a class free to the public. The shop has a MIG setup but the classes are far and few in between.

To end on a high note, I bought Rockinar’s stick machine he had on Craigslist so hopefully my welds improve once I am able to get down to Houston metro and grab it. In the meantime I will practicing on this wire feed machine. I am clearly getting what I paid for. I see a lot of grinding in my future.


airedale said:
Yup. That's the same kind of mess I would make if I tried to weld it with a wire feed, because I have never used a wire feed. With gas or with my TIG torch, though, I would be able to make a nice clean weld with good penetration.

As I tried to point out in post #27, welding is a skill. Buying a MIG welding machine wouldn't make me a MIG welder just as buying a violin wouldn't make me a musician.

I think someone earlier in the thread suggested some training. I took gas welding and TIG welding classes at the local vo-tech school and they were immensely helpful. You might want to consider something like that.

I'm not trying to be nasty here, I hope you appreciate that. Just trying to make sure that your trailer does not fall apart!
Click to expand...
 
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