Welding Questions?!?!?!?!

[Earthmonster]

Ok, I have experience with oxy/acetaline (sp?) and with Stick, but have never used wire fed welders. can someone fill me in on these? I have heard that you can get awsome welds right from the word go, and it is fairly easy. True?
Also, what type of welding is recommended for frame work-- such as shock mounts, spring mounts, hitch mount, etc.
I have limited experience with welding because of my job= but brazing copper is a little different thank frame work. Thanks, Earth

[wagdriver]

If you can stick weld you will have not trouble with a wire fed welder. The biggest thing I find with them as opposed to stick is that you can clearly see the weld puddle which allows much more control of the size and penetration of the weld itself. In general once you dive in to the wire fed world unless circumstances force you to you won't go back! ;) They are suitable for anthing you can do with stick and there is much less clean up involved.

[kyjman]

Wire feed is a good way to weld if your not very experienced. However if you want a weld to get good penetration on metal thicker than 1/4 inch, I recommend stick it. The wire feed does not penetrate deep and on the thicker metals you need good penetration for it to hold and last. I have used .35 wire feed to weld thicker metals but to do so the machine must be turned up high and that tends to make the weld harder which is not good. Wire should be welded in a certian temp range and when it is exceeded the strenght of the weld becomes a factor. If I were welding shock and spring mounts the you can bet I'd be using 7018(welding rod designation)on it. Good luck

[Earthmonster]

well, I can and have used stick, but they aint' purdy. Making stick welds takes experience and lots of practice. Sooo, I might either have to live with Shi**y looking welds or pay someone $$ to get my mounts done right.

[OBX-AUTOMOTIVE]

Originally posted by kyjman:
Wire feed is a good way to weld if your not very experienced. However if you want a weld to get good penetration on metal thicker than 1/4 inch, I recommend stick it. The wire feed does not penetrate deep and on the thicker metals you need good penetration for it to hold and last. I have used .35 wire feed to weld thicker metals but to do so the machine must be turned up high and that tends to make the weld harder which is not good. Wire should be welded in a certian temp range and when it is exceeded the strenght of the weld becomes a factor. If I were welding shock and spring mounts the you can bet I'd be using 7018(welding rod designation)on it. Good luckI'M WITH YOU KY ON THE STICK WELD,BUT I'M A 6013 PERSON MYSELF...YOU KNOW,RUST AND STUFF!!..LIKE I'VE SAID 9 MILLION TIMES,I LIKE THE 110V MIGS FOR BODY WORK smile.gif

[jeepcreep]

I have a friend who bought one and never welded before and he can do pretty good with it.I was surprised!

[grand350]

Originally posted by GEMOBX/77/401:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by kyjman:
Wire feed is a good way to weld if your not very experienced. However if you want a weld to get good penetration on metal thicker than 1/4 inch, I recommend stick it. The wire feed does not penetrate deep and on the thicker metals you need good penetration for it to hold and last. I have used .35 wire feed to weld thicker metals but to do so the machine must be turned up high and that tends to make the weld harder which is not good. Wire should be welded in a certian temp range and when it is exceeded the strenght of the weld becomes a factor. If I were welding shock and spring mounts the you can bet I'd be using 7018(welding rod designation)on it. Good luckI'M WITH YOU KY ON THE STICK WELD,BUT I'M A 6013 PERSON MYSELF...YOU KNOW,RUST AND STUFF!!..LIKE I'VE SAID 9 MILLION TIMES,I LIKE THE 110V MIGS FOR BODY WORK smile.gif </font>[/QUOTE]Wire feed is GREAT with the gas set up(240v :D /480v).On stick I'm more of a 6011 kind of guy. :rolleyes: :D ;)

[Jeeptruck]

We, as does every other race team in Nascar, use a wire welder. Now with that said, you can not use a 110v electric non-gas to produce strong welds. A good wire welder will handle all the structural welds our jeeps need. Tadsal could proably add more to this....

[kyjman]

Jeeptruck you are right about the wire feed needs to be higher than 110 Volts. If the .45 wire is used then it will penetrate a lot better than .35 does. I've been welding for over 30 years and the 7018 is just a personal choice for me, over any wire feed. The metal on our jeeps and I assume NASCAR cars is not that heavy. I'm guessing on the NASCAR so if wrong I'll bite the bullet on it. For someone not that good at welding I would recommend getting someone good to weld on the axles and such.

[ April 10, 2003, 08:02 PM: Message edited by: kyjman ]

[Tad]

Originally posted by Jeeptruck:
...Now with that said, you can not use a 110v electric non-gas to produce strong welds. A good wire welder will handle all the structural welds our jeeps need. Tadsal could proably add more to this....Yea, I can..
Technically, in a perfect world, side by side comparison, between FCAW and GMAW, same wire size, same wire speed, same output current (input is not important here) and two similar weldments, FCAW will actually have deeper pentration that GMAW.
But...
In reality this does not happen very much. Too much depends on the user's experience, the variables between joint preperation, trailing or leading angle and proper machine settings.
Many folks here get along just fine with a self shielding FCAW 110 volt unit, we have seen them produce some very strong welds too.
Not my weapon of choice mind you but then I'm just a bit paranoid about things falling off.
For me, I have no problem turning down a 220 GMAW machine to weld 18 gauge or bumping it up for some 3/8" work, running 7018 for strength, using some EST to join CI to MS, or firing up some 6013 to burn thru some nasty old stuff.
Just depends on what I need to do that day.

[OBX-AUTOMOTIVE]

Originally posted by tadsal:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jeeptruck:
...Now with that said, you can not use a 110v electric non-gas to produce strong welds. A good wire welder will handle all the structural welds our jeeps need. Tadsal could proably add more to this....Yea, I can..
Technically, in a perfect world, side by side comparison, between FCAW and GMAW, same wire size, same wire speed, same output current (input is not important here) and two similar weldments, FCAW will actually have deeper pentration that GMAW.
But...
In reality this does not happen very much. Too much depends on the user's experience, the variables between joint preperation, trailing or leading angle and proper machine settings.
Many folks here get along just fine with a self shielding FCAW 110 volt unit, we have seen them produce some very strong welds too.
Not my weapon of choice mind you but then I'm just a bit paranoid about things falling off.
For me, I have no problem turning down a 220 GMAW machine to weld 18 gauge or bumping it up for some 3/8" work, running 7018 for strength, using some EST to join CI to MS, or firing up some 6013 to burn thru some nasty old stuff.
Just depends on what I need to do that day.</font>[/QUOTE].......BUT JUST ONE THING!!!.... I CAN ...UNPLUG MY TOASTER AND GO&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; :D