Ok I do alot of little fabrication stuff around the house and garage, I like to make my own things and repair also. so I am looking to put exhaust on my truck, would a cheap little harbor freight welder work for this sort of thing? also like re-welding a drillpress motor to its frame? stuff like that. and if so which one? arc, mig or what. 110-220? dont hav alot to spend on it either. thanks in advance

 

I have a Lincoln SP125 wire feed, which is a 110v machine and it's great for jobs just as you describe. Nice thing is you can plug it into any wall plug, although for any bigger welds it should be plugged into one with a 20A breaker. I use it to fix garden tools, make small projects and do some bodywork. I would recommend you get one that uses gas though as using it to weld thinner items without gas is more difficult.

 

Theres a ton of threads on here abt welders, try a search and you'll come up with tons of stuff. I got a nice 135 Hobart Mig that welds pretty good. Although between welding at work and school, I've fallen in love with their Millers. Of course they have 250 Amp migs. i'm buildinga woodburner with mine, and keep poppin my breaker (20A). There's other stuff runnin on it though I can't control, like the fridge. So whenever that kicks in, it kills me. I just wired up a 30A breaker today and that solved my problems.

 

Exhaust work with flux core wire does not work well, it burns though it pretty easy, at least using the .035 wire. I like to use gas and solid wire (.023) on my Hobart 135 for exhaust work.

I would not bother with any 120v ARC welder or the 90 amp MIG setups. If you need it just for one project and already know how to weld, Home Depot rents decent welders including MIGs.

Otherwise invest in a $400-$600 120V Lincoln or Hobart.

www.hobartwelders.com was been useful to me.

 

I use a Hobart Handler 180. Great welder, uses gas or flux core, and can even weld some aluminum. The 180 is probably overkill for what you plan on using it for. What you should be looking at though is a 230 volt unit, and duty cycle is important(the higher the better) The 135 model is good model for your purpose, but don't look for the the 135 cause they've been replaced by the Handler 140 model, the only thing with this model is it's 115V and only has duty cycle of 20%. Lincoln offers a in between model of the hobart 140 and 180 that runs on 230V it's the MIG PAK 15 And it's cheaper than the Hobart 180. In my opinon though, the best thing for welding an exhaust system is a good old set of torches with filler rod.

Good luck

Madmike33

 

torch and filler rods? is that brazing? what kind of rods do you use? I suppose I could go into a supply shop and they could tell me but I dont want them selling me a bunch of stuff I dont need.

 

That's exactly it, like brazing/welding. Using oxyacetaline torches and filler/welding rod. It's like stick welding(arc welding) but with torches instead of a welder. Like any welder though the proper rod to use all depends on the type, thickness of material you are welding on. When I was working at the garage I used copper filler or copper coated mild rods for filling/welding exhaust systems.
If you decide to go this way I would still recommend you go into a good shop and get the proper materials for the specific materials you will be welding on.
A mig will work fine and torches will work also. I guess it all depends on what you want to spend your money on, and what you will use the most after you are done your exhaust system.
A welder is great to have around, but a torch has its other set of advantages. Oxyacetaline can be used for other purposes than welding and brazing.
Bottom lime only you know what will be most usefull in your garage.
You can rent the gas bottles or you can buy them, The most expensive is a decent set of gauges/lines/nozzles for the Oxyacetaline. (not much cheaper than a budget welder).

Let us know, I'm curious to find out what you decide

Madmike33

 

so you cant use a propane torch?? sorry if thats a stupid question. I didnt realize you needed a oxyacetaline torch when doing this. what other uses would that type of torch come in handy for. for instance could I heat and reshape metal with it and then braze it together? how strong are the welds when done like that? if you can do stuff like that then that is probably the way I will go.

 

For sheet metal, you cannot beat Tig but is very expensive,1000 plus for a good one , but it can weld anything including arc welding. I have a mig and sometimes I have good results with sheet metal and other times the sheet metal looks like swiss cheese when I am done with it. I guess I need to take some classes in welding

 

A set of torches are priceless. Yeah you can use it to bend metal, and braze. The main use is for cutting metal. The welds are fairly strong, but not pretty lookin usually, at least not when I do it.

As for doin sheet metal witha MIG, I was always told to turn ur wire feed way down andcrank the amps, and just do a bunch of tack welds. As soon as it arcs, let off.

Anyone know about a propalene setup as opposed to acetylene? I've heard you can get a real hot flame with it, a guy demo'ed it to a friend of mine and he said it cut thru 1" steel ina single pass, clean asa whistle

 

Well the torches can be used for simply heating seized bolts, to free them up(like a regular propane torch) you can heat and reshape metal, You can also melt/cut through metal (doesn't leave a clean cut like a plasma cutter, it's more like a melting of metal) It's a very versatile and handy peice of equipment. It's not the easiest style of welding ( I suggest some practice ) Keep in mind this is not meant for welding sheetmetal or super strong welds (but not bad), but for an exhaust system, it's great. I guess we can compare it to soldering copper plumbing pipes in the househols. It fills up, seals the seams, and holds together the pipe sections. If you find a whole lot of extra cash though, get a Tig, They're gold.

Madmike33

 

Well, OK. I think I am going to go with a set of torches to do my exhaust and have as a all around tool for little projects, and try to save up for a tig for finer auto work. thanks for all the input.

 

No worries, hope it all works out for ya.

Madmike33

 

Lots of good information, lots of misconceptions. It's true you can solder and braze weld with an oxy/act torch but you can also fusion weld steel, chrome moly, brass, cast iron, and sheet metal. The most common mistakes people make are not using the correct gas pressures and/or tip sizes and/or rod types and sizes for the thickness of metal they are trying to fusion weld. In brazing the base metals are not heated to the melting point which makes joining sheetmetal pieces a lot easier. Brazing materials are available to at least 80,000 psi so fusion welding (commonly 60,000 to 70,000 psi)isn't necessarily better but it can be done with satifactory results. Another advantage of brazing is that it can join disimilar metals (like copper to stainless, etc.) something most other welding methods can't accomplish.

The same goes for cutting with a torch. With correct gas pressures and tip sizes the process, when done correctly, doesn't melt the metal but instead oxidizes the metal and then blows it away producing crisp edges and clean cuts on metals up to a couple of inches thick.

 

Well said, it's more detailed than what I had previously mentioned. IMO welding/cutting/brazing with torches needs practice a lot of trial and error. So ask lots of questions and practice practice practice. A lot of good info that had been left out previously though.

Madmike33