LocostUSA.com

Hi all,

I am not able to get 220v in my garage. I only have 220 in my basement. I am wondering if there are any 110v options for welding locost frame.

I am a welding newbie. I have a harbor freight 110v 90A flux core welder. But I don't trust it for welding frame. Are there any 110v MIG or TIG welder that can do the job?

1in x 1in squre tube with 1/8 in wall thickness should be easy to penetrate.

Any suggestions?

Any halfway decent 110v machine is going to be able to handle that as long as you correctly prep the 1/8" stuff prior to welding. A rough rule of thumb is 1A for every 0.001".

If you can spring the extra cash, get one that doesn't have tapped settings for the voltage. Being able to bump it up or down a little is a useful feature for correctly dialing in the machine.

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

Is that welder flux core only?

Some can be converted to MIG by adding the gas kit.

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Honey anyone?

Random thoughts by someone with his first 110 vac welder, a Hobart Handler 140.

1. They all work for what we're doing here. The question is how pretty your welds will be and what you can do if you decide to do more than 16 gauge steel. The cheapest ones are "Flux core" which is French market-speak for "you can't hook up the gas". I gotta bet that someone has used an arc welder, and the original Seven was put together with brazing torches. I'm waiting for someone to use glue.

2. If you get a MIG welder, I'd definitely get on that has a gas bottle capabilities. Why? Cause the flux core welds tend to be uglier, and produce more smoke when you do 'em. Don't get me wrong, flux core has its place - thicker metals and welding outdoors in the wind come to mind. And, you can do a locost with flux core only, and some here have done 'em. The gas option will add about $100 - $150 to the initial purchase price as you get a full bottle of gas that first time. However, I do think you'll enjoy the experience more.

3. If you want to do aluminum you're gonna need to go with 220vac. So don't bother looking around for a 110 unit that does aluminum. I'd love one that does aluminum, but like you, my garage doesn't have 220vac, at least not yet. Aluminum just needs too much heat for 110 vac to generate.

4. Many here are worried about perfection to the point where we don't get things done. There are some where whose work is so damned good that I won't show my work 'cause I suck at lots of aspects of this build. However, I'm still far ahead of a person who spent 3 years trying to design his build table, ya know what I mean? Just buy the best welder you can, and be done with it.

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Other thoughts:

1. Get a good welding mask/helmet. The one that comes with your kit will bite the weenie bigtime. Nothing will kill your love of welding faster than killer headaches. Look for that HF / Northern Tool unit on yet another $40 sale as a starting point.

2. Don't worry too much about gloves. I bought various pairs, and the bottom line for most of this project is just cover your hands so you won't sunburn 'em. And yes, I've sunburned my hand cause I thought that "this is just a few spot welds"

3. You will grind off your ugly starter welds until they look pretty. Go to HF and get about 3 of their cheapest $15 hand grinders. Go to Home Depot / Lowes and get better grade cutting wheels (one grinder), grinding wheels (second grinder) and flap wheels (third grinder) for them. Many of us now cut metal exclusively (or close to it) with a $15 hand grinder with cutting wheel. I've also put that HF mini belt "Finger" sander Item#62863 to good use, but you'll have to buy new belts online almost immediately (the ones that came w/ the unit are junk)

4. Which brings me to my big safety point -- the sparks from your grinder might be the biggest safety hazard in this project. (The hand grinder's cutoff wheel is probably a close second.). I've set my clothes on fire twice, my stack of cardboard once, and etched a couple of truck windows with sparks from grinding. Fire extinguisher might be handy here. And of course, time to move anything that would really go BANG! with some sparks.

5. I can lay down a weld and think "Damn I'm getting good at this". Then next minute, same metals, same prep, 1" away, same settings, and it looks like Mallard Inert Guano (bird doo). This thing will humble you in a hurry.

G'03

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.

I did my entire frame with a 110V Clarke (Italian) MIG welder. It did an exceptional job and, considering that the vast majority of what you'll be welding is 1/16" steel (.0625"), any reasonable quality 110V unit will do the job. I would heartily suggest a unit with gas, of course - welds will be cleaner, and there'll be less spatter. I used .023" wire with mine.

I've since moved up to a new 220V Miller 190 AutoSet unit, using .030 wire, but on thinner materials there are times the 110V would be better.

I've heard good things about the 110V Harbor Freight MIG welders.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

My first MIG welder I picked up at harbor freight as a scratch and dent for $150 a few years ago. It was a 110v unit, gas shielded and worked pretty well. Only complaint is that it tends to feed the wire for a fraction of a second before the arc starts. You end up with little bits of wire left in the weld that pull right off. For the money spent it's hard to beat.

Love my Dy Nasty 200 Miller TIG I can weld anything even my wife's SS pots

From the Miller site:
Auto-Line Power Management Technology
Allows hookup to either single-phase or three-phase electrical input from 120-460 V with no manual linking, providing convenience in any job setting. An ideal solution for dirty or unreliable input power.

BTW - there was one thing I absolutely loved about my "El Cheapo" Clarke welder - it had a two--stage trigger. Depressing the trigger part way allowed gas to flow, without starting current or wire feed. It was great! I could bathe the area in shielding gas before starting the arc, and I also continue to flow gas onto the weld after stopping the arc. This ensured that the welds were oxygen-free, and cooled evenly & quickly.

Sure wish I could do that with my fancy-shmancy Miller!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Plan B, get a heavy enough extension cord to support a 220 vac welder and run it to your basement?

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.

Although this is a true statement, we all strive for the same end result - becoming a 10 % er. Whether it takes months or years, we all strive to fabricate a vehicle that is as save to drive as we can build it. Doesn't matter how long the journey is long as we arrive at the destination (now that's deep).
Sure there's ups and downs, vroom vroom moments, br@cketz to be fabbed, goats, and such. what does this post have to do with the best 110v welder to buy - nothing, I'm just blathering away til I get home from Barbados and back to building.

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

There is no doubt you can weld a seven's bird cage with a light duty 110 volt mig fluxcore. However I would also suggest that CO2 argon gas is a nice option if you can afford it. IMO it does a cleaner job and if you work in a small garage gas mig hardly produces any fumes. I join my voice to those who have suggested a 220 v extension cord. The 220 volt welder is a far more efficient machine

I've had the Lincoln 140C for 10 years. Not once have I regretted my only machine being 110v or a MIG. It's been money well spent - plenty of power, adjustable, portable, and hasn't skipped a beat. You need a 20A circuit for a decent 110v machine to reach it's full potential but can run it off of a 15A for thinner stuff.

I've lived in 4 different places since I bought the welder. For two of the locations running a 220v line was not an option. One of the locations had a full breaker box but already had a 20A circuit. This house is the first one where I had room in the box to do 220v if I actually want to.

220v machines are larger and less portable and need a 220v circuit. Adding extension cords isn't a great idea regardless of voltage due to losses and increased resistance. For someone working in a garage, I wouldn't bother with a 220 machine for a first welder to weld 16 gauge tubing.

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

Though I moved up from a 220V welder from a 110V machine, I still agree with A.Moore ^^^ A 110V machine will build a Locost, comfortably & well. My old 110V machine (which was old & heavily used when I got it) was starting to need more time for repairs than for welding, which is why I moved up. Even so, I wish I still had it...

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

After building my Locost with a Millermatic 140 and .023 wire, I loaned the welder to a friend. He brought it back with a giant spool of .030 wire loaded up. Turned out to make much better welds. I wouldn't go back to .023 now.