I borrowed my best friend's stick welder today to reweld a hanger that had come off and taken a piece of the pipe with it. I got it on and welded good, but it SURE DID HURT (insert "ouch" similie that shouts curse words) with all those showers of sparks coming down and burning through my long sleeve shirt! I tried 3 rods, 7018, 6011, and 6013. I liked the 6013 because it didn't tend to drip so much and had less sparks showering off. Is there anything, like a welding jacket that is non-flammable to keep those dang sparks off my arms?

 

Hi,
They offer leather sleaves, jackets, bibs and also aprons for welding.
I don't believe that any of these items are expensive, and the cost will be cheaper than the replacement of several shirts.
Any welding supply should carry them, and they come in different sizes.

 

Lisle Tool makes a kevlar "hot" sleeve that will cover your forearm. Not as good as real welding clothes, but cheaper. Carquest sells Lisle under their brand. NAPA might as well.

 

my last welding jacket cost about $100 canadain, for a full leather jacket.... they work great, but are a little on the warm side in the summer

 

Something else you can check . You may need to turn your heat down on your machine! The 6011 ,6013 rods are going to throw more sparks than the 7018. But the 60`s are good for for the first pass to get the junk out of the metal, then go over it with lo-hi(7018) for strength!! You can get a one armed sleeve made out of cotton or leather that won`t be so expensive as buying the whole jacket! Hope this helps!!

 

Somebody should have taken the time to explain the three different rods you were trying to weld with.......7018 rod is a low--hydrogen rod used for Strength and has no business being used in your particular situation...(in my opinion)..it is a difficult rod to weld with under good conditions......most welding that is done on exhaust systems is performed with some type of wire welder......6011 rod is a universal type of rod that can be used in alot of different situations.......my 02's worth......fd

 

Does any out there know what kind of welder is best for less then $300?
I have done some stick welding in the past, and very little Meg Welding, which was hard to get use too. I never owned my own welder. Now I see that they have Meg Welders vs. Stick Welder. Which is the better one? My main concerns and probably not limited to these are:

I will be welding outdoors.
I want to weld light gauge steel such as truck fenders, doors, floorboards and cab on my truck.
Also, weld heavier metals such as the truck frame, angle bars, and Thick gauge tubing.
In addition, what about light gauge steel?
What about all those sparks flying around? I hear Meg Welders do not throw sparks.

I am sure I have many other questions.

Old Diver

 

Pipefitter/welder here for 23 yrs.I use a partial leather sleeve jacket that covers the shoulders and arms when welding in hard to reach spots,like laying in a ditch under the pipe.If i'm bench welding I either where a denim shirt or a flannel shirt.About a machine choice,a Lincoln 225 amp welder would suit you just fine.We call 'em cracker boxes.They've been around forever.Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info, but what 225-amp welder are you talking about? Is it a stick welder, or Mig Welder? Moreover, what can I do with it?

On the other hand, is it better to get a welder cutting outfit and braze weld everything or do it with a arc welder ? I don’t know.

I was looking at the Lincoln Welders for less then $300.00.
Does anyone else have any helpful advice. Hurry! because our income tax is coming real soon. Do not want to wait to long on deciding on it because my wife will think I don’t need one, but, I DO.

Old Diver

 

I'm not a welder by profession but I'll share what i know.......fat150 is correct...the lincoln 225 is an AC only ..stick welder...it will do alot of different jobs.....you might want to also take alook at the MILLER Thunderbolt .....it is also a "crackerbox" but it will allow you to weld with DC current which is better for some things........it also has ac like the lincoln...Both MIG and TIG are wire welders that use a "wire feed " along with an inert gas to assist the welding process........They are easier to weld with than a Stick welder, but the Stinger is only about 15 feet long.......and they don't don't work outside very well!!!.....You should educate yourself before you spend anymore of your "kids inheritance"......I think the thunderbolt (about 425) for ac and dc current is maybe alittle more versitile than the linclon.......fd

 

Hello all, now ya know I gotta get my 2 cents in here.

For Old Diver, you really can't get the best of both worlds from 1 machine. The Lincoln 225 your looking at(Prolly from the Depot) will do fine for jobs like brackets, frames, and heavy gauge projects around the garage. As far as using it for sheet metal, it could make a mess of your project, burning holes in everything. Sheetmetal should be done with a MIG (Metal Inert Gas). When welding body panels, it's best to tack many areas along the weld seam to avoid warping, just do short welds,(1/4") every 2 inches, and keep going over until the seam is filled. These joints are called 'butt welds'. After getting used to the MIG gun, you can do a quarter panel in no time. The gas used for most steel jobs is called C25, some suppliers have thier own designation, (Like Praxair calls thier stuff "StarGold"). Basically it's 75% Argon, and 25% Carbon Dioxide. When using a mig outside(I do it all the time), if it's windy, then you'll need to put up a sheet of plywood, or cardboard to block the wind, otherwise it blows away the shielding gas and makes you do booger welds. Just put up the plywood, and turn up the gas and outside migging is fine. Another reason for migging body panels is the welds come out clean, there's no slag to clean off, and if your good with the MIG, there will be very little grinding, and if there is, then a 4 inch flap wheel in a small angle grinder will clear it up fast. 10 minutes and it's ready for paint.

Gotta have the right tool for the right job.
Here we use a few different rigs.
A Little lincoln SP125 Mig. Use this the MOST out of everything.
A Lincoln 225AC buzzbox. Got at a yard sale for 60 bucks.
A Lincoln SA300DC trailer mounted machine, AKA the Stinkin' Lincoln. Got it for 200 bucks, only use it once in a while, she burns a quart of oil in 2 hours, but it keeps the Mosquitoes away.
A Daytona Mig Plasma Prof 50 Plasma cutter for cutting pretty much everything.
Not to mention the torches for cutting/heating.

 

my suggestion is if you can use a buzz box for your rod and pick up a 110 mig you would have a pretty good combo. the 110 mig i have is a craftsman 205-11 and i run flux core wire in it most of the time(requires no shielding gas), but also run solid wire when i want a smooth pass that requires less clean-up. i paid around 300.00 for it and spend about 100.00 a year in supplies(wire, tips, nozzles, and retainers).this model is great for sheet metal and up to 1/4 inch then move to your buzz box.
ken in st. louis

 

I am going to try a used mig welding head mounted on my 225A AC/DC welding unit. The welding head with stinger was $50 at a garage sale and works. All I need is a gas bottle (which I can borrow from a neighbor for an experiment) although I could try flux core. I have been told by a welding supply salesman that this won't work, but I have been told by several welders that it will work, so I figure 50/50 chance... The welder head could always go on another garage sale or ebay since it is good pro equipment.

 

NO!!! it wont work

you better sell it to me

Just run the power suppy DC, keep the amps around 125 to start out with, and it'll run real nice.

 

Well if it Won't work do you wan't me to ship it to you freight prepaid??? -hehe

Thanks, you are number three that has said it would work. I figured on setting the amps on about 75 for the .024 wire and maybe 125 for .030 wire then make adjustments from there.

I have a basket case spool gun that was set up for aluminum.

The power supply for a stick welder is a constant current design and for a MIG unit is constant voltage. It may do strange things...

The head I have is a Miller Matic 10E and works off 120VAC. I may need a 50A contactor to control the welder power supply if I hook it up more permanently. The head controls the delays to produce pre and post gas flow, wire feed, etc.