[BillyGman]

I just got my feet wet with MIG welding, (Flux core actually, but I might be upgrading to a gas welder). I've been practicing. I need advice from you experienced welders please. If you can watch at least 20 seconds of this video here below beginning from the 4:50 minute mark to the 5:10 minute mark, you'll see what the narrator calls the "Whip and Pause" technique of MIG welding which his colleague uses to make his MIG welds come out really neat. I realize this takes practice, but what do you think about the quote here below of what this technique really means? Does this guy make a valid point? Do really pretty MIG weld beads have anything to do with the strength and durability of the weld?

K F
1 week ago
All of these "techniques" do no more than compromise quality. Need any more than just a straight run bead to fill a joint? Two options either turn settings up, or run multiple passes. Want to try and make something to look like it's been TIG welded? Buy a tig welder

 

[GTO44]

Anyone can weld... but it can take a lifetime to make it look pretty...

it doesnt have to look pretty to have structural integrity. Just as long as you have enough penetration.

Just keep practicing.

 

[Alwhite00]

Get rid of the flux core. Imo you will be much happier with gas.

 

[SFD]

This ^^^

 

[kmakar]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ X3

 

[Hotwire]

Definitely gas shielding is 100x better. My buddy uses flux core, my welds are cleaner and stronger. I set my welder to stevie wonder too.

 

[BillyGman]

OK guys. Thanks a lot for your input and advice.

 

[BillyGman]

Can any of you guys give me any feedback/reviews/opinions on "transformer" vs. "inverter" type MIG welders?? It appears to me that many of the Lincoln welders, (if not all) are transformer type, while lots of the other brands be they cheaper, middle of the road such as "Titanium" brand as well as the high end Miller brand, are "inverter" type. The latter being the more modern technology. Does the inverter type offer any real advantages in the weld quality potential, or the ease of use over and above the older transformer technology?

 

[Molly's 70]

Billy, if it were me, I would buy a Lincoln or Miller. Invertors have come along way in the last 20 years. I am old school so it would probably be a transformer for me. Buy the best one you can afford. Look at Duty Cycle, and defiantly gas solenoids for shielding gas.

 

[BillyGman]

Billy, if it were me, I would buy a Lincoln or Miller. Invertors have come along way in the last 20 years. I am old school so it would probably be a transformer for me. Buy the best one you can afford. Look at Duty Cycle, and defiantly gas solenoids for shielding gas.

Thanks. Yesterday I just bought a MIG180 inverter type welder from Eastwood. It can be used for 120 or 220v and unlike most of the Lincolns I looked at, it can be used with a 30amp breaker for the 220volt operation, so I can plug it into our 220 clothes dryer outlet with an adapter plug I bought from Home Depot. For some reason, all the 220v transformer type welders I looked at, require a 40amp breaker, and I have no intention of installing a new outlet with a new 40 amp breaker just for a welder that I'll use a few times per year. So $500 was plenty for me to spend for the small amount of welding that I'll be doing. And it's quite a jump up from the cheapo $100 MIG100 flux core welder that I already had.

A co-worker of mine has been using one of the Eastwood welders for a while now, and he really likes it. What really surprised me was how much the Eastwood 220v 6 gauge 40 ft long welding extension cable cost me. It was almost half of what the MIG 180 welder itself cost. But the 25 ft length wasn't long enough, and I didn't want to skimp on one of the cheaper/smaller gauge extensions that I found elsewhere. I think all I have to do now is buy a gas cylinder. I believe I'll be using 75/25 Argon/Co2 and I wont need one of those big tall ones either, so I'll just get one of the shorties to see how long that lasts me.

 

[BillyGman]

...anyway, thanks to all of you guys for the welding advice you've given me here. I'm glad that you guided me to break down and drop the coin for a real MIG welder that uses gas. I sure wouldn't want something to happen like this video shows LOL....

or this one shown here where the axle tube bracket clearly came off of the axle tube itself on the passenger side....

 

[goatless]

...anyway, thanks to all of you guys for the welding advice you've given me here. I'm glad that you guided me to break down and drop the coin for a real MIG welder that uses gas. I sure wouldn't want something to happen like this video shows LOL....

or this one shown here where the axle tube bracket clearly came off of the axle tube itself on the passenger side....

Look at that: Minimized body damage.

 

[rkd]

I started with an Eastwood flux core. It welded everything I needed for 20 years, except I was not good for auto body metal. So 7 yrs back I bought a gas bottle and changed over. Wow, what a difference. Two years ago I got a Millermatic 141, with gas, and it also improved my welding... I love it. I would go with the largest gas bottle practical so its there when you need it, as its a couple hour trip to get another one here.

 

[BillyGman]

I started with an Eastwood flux core. It welded everything I needed for 20 years, except I was not good for auto body metal. So 7 yrs back I bought a gas bottle and changed over. Wow, what a difference. Two years ago I got a Millermatic 141, with gas, and it also improved my welding... I love it. I would go with the largest gas bottle practical so its there when you need it, as its a couple hour trip to get another one here.

Thanks for sharing your experience on that. I'm looking forward to using my new MIG 180 110/220volt inverter welder. With the new inverter technology, the thing is light and compact. It only weighs 26 lbs. And even in 220v mode, it only requires a 30 amp line, so I can plug it into the 220v clothes dryer outlet. I was planning on using 75%/25% argon/Co2 but this quote below has me wondering about that. What do you guys think about this????

 

[77 cruiser]

Did you get the new helmet figure out?

 

[BillyGman]

Did you get the new helmet figure out?

Not yet Jim, I haven't had the chance to do some more welding practice yet. My mrs. just had surgery, and I'm home from work just to take care of her. It sucks that she's in pain and now that the surgeon got her big $$$ for performing the surgery, she cut her off of the pain meds after just two days post surgery. Typical greedy millionaire surgeon who has only been on the pain-free end of the scalpel. Sorry for the digression, but I hate seeing someone in pain and knowing that their surgeon doesn't give a rip about anything but avoiding law suits, and collecting the BIG $$

 

[77 cruiser]

Ya gotta take care of the Mrs.

 

[BillyGman]

Ya gotta take care of the Mrs.

Yep