jazz2561 wrote:
Tell what y'all think about harbor freight welders. I have a 90 amp flux core welder from harbor freight that my dad brought for me for my 16th birthday and I've built 4 board track racers with it without any welds breaking(the frame tubes were 1 1/2 x .120 DOM tubing.) I'm trying to work up the money to upgrade to a more powerful welder.
I started out building the infrastructure for my build with that same H/F welder. On 0.120 material, it obviously can be made to work, but on 16 gauge (assuming you use that more or less standard Locost material), you'll find it a real challenge. Flux core is too hot and it's very easy to burn through. Besides, the slag clean-up is going to be totally annoying.
Next, I tried a good quality, but old fashioned and simple, scratch start TIG welder. For several reasons, it was too slow and too awkward for me as a new welder, especially in some of the tight joints on a Locost chassis.
Last, I bought a 110V, Miller 140, MIG welder and that was the ticket. You can tack easily and quickly (not true with TIG in most areas of the chassis), it welds "out of position" easily, is very fast and is also highly adjustable. Once I switched to 0.023 wire, the quality of my welds on light tubing went up quickly. The good, adjustable welder and the smaller wire provides very subtle control and then it's a matter of dialing things in to your personal attributes such as hand speed and welding style (circles, half-moon, back and forth, etc.).
Some guys have success with the automatic settings feature on the Miller 140 and some people like me prefer to do lots of coupons and testing to find the right combination. I'd highly recommend a switch to a machine like the Miller 140 or similar machine from another
quality welding manufacturer. The welder will be to you as a Locost fabricator what a hammer is to a carpenter - you want to make sure you have a good one. Your welder is one tool you shouldn't skimp on IMHO.
Cheers,
Login
Register
FAQ
Members
