Thread: Which welder?

Originally Posted by Robflocar

I did some professional welding with oxy and stick back in the 1960's and have welded at home and farm ever since. But years ago bought an $800 Italian MIG. Couldn't get it to work. One of my workers had a lot of MIG experience couldn't get it to work properly either. So took it to the tip. Bought a UNIMIG 200 for $1200 in 2006. Have welded very little with it and had it to the repairers 3 times for a total cost of $800. In the end they suggested a new control board at $300. I got them to set it for thin body sheet and used it about twice and now it won't work again. I have realed more rustry wire off the first and only big spool than I have used over 12 years. So it will also go to the dump. Cheap Bunning bottles are the way to go for home use. Now I want a TIG to weld cast. Yes I can weld it with my 44 year old stick welder still going strong with no expense other than a new cables and hand piece years ago. Yes I can bronze weld the cast with my oxy set. But thought a TIG/MIG would be a good replacement for the MIG. I have been told that AC/DC machine is best if I want to weld aluminium as well as cast. The Unimig Viper does look ok but it is the Unimig part that has me worried.

You can use your 44 year old stick welder for your cast iron jobs
3.2mm Cast Iron Welding Rods from The Welders Warehouse

Originally Posted by ozscott

I am not a welder but I have welded a tractor that was cast iron with an inverter DC MMAW and rods to suit. The trick seems to be to thoroughly heat the area first.

Cheers

Yep me to, but this is a 100 year old tractor that end up in a river 70 years ago, when hot. Cracked and broken all over the place. It is rarish and is to be displayed in a museum. Running probably not. Just cleaned a heap of silt out of the sump.

Originally Posted by ozscott

I am not a welder but I have welded a tractor that was cast iron with an inverter DC MMAW and rods to suit. The trick seems to be to thoroughly heat the area first.

Cheers

Originally Posted by trout1105

You can use your 44 year old stick welder for your cast iron jobs
3.2mm Cast Iron Welding Rods from The Welders Warehouse

Yeah, nickel rids ain't cheap.
I've had the "pleasure" of using some NiFe rods, they burn fast as heck, leave a pornographic smooth rippled bead, and the weld deposit has plenty of ductility to weather the movements of a hot, cooling cast iron... but $500+ for a 3kg can... You'd really want to justify the repair.

I've heard of plenty of prep on the crack, lots of preheat and a low hydrogen E7016 with a slow cool down also being used. But you wont find that in any welding procedure.

Originally Posted by Robflocar

100 year old iron. And a lot of it.

Yeow.

Originally Posted by Toxic_Avenger

Yeah, nickel rids ain't cheap.
I've had the "pleasure" of using some NiFe rods, they burn fast as heck, leave a pornographic smooth rippled bead, and the weld deposit has plenty of ductility to weather the movements of a hot, cooling cast iron... but $500+ for a 3kg can... You'd really want to justify the repair.

I've heard of plenty of prep on the crack, lots of preheat and a low hydrogen E7016 with a slow cool down also being used. But you wont find that in any welding procedure.

Had a nice chunk of those given to me a few years back. Still have some left - didn’t realise they were so expensive or I would have charged for the repairs I did for people with them. Used most of them at work some time back repairing an old tractor

Also was given a full box of stainless rods too which are just gorgeous to weld with.

Originally Posted by Toxic_Avenger

Yeah, nickel rids ain't cheap.
I've had the "pleasure" of using some NiFe rods, they burn fast as heck, leave a pornographic smooth rippled bead, and the weld deposit has plenty of ductility to weather the movements of a hot, cooling cast iron... but $500+ for a 3kg can... You'd really want to justify the repair.

I've heard of plenty of prep on the crack, lots of preheat and a low hydrogen E7016 with a slow cool down also being used. But you wont find that in any welding procedure.

this is how i was told how to weld certain types of cast iron in my apprentiship but to also pein the weld with a needle gun and put in a container of lime to cool slowly. i have also tried to weld some cast with 7016's and NiFe rods and wouldn't weld and had to braze weld with an oxy. I have never welded cast with a tig.
As for welder choice for home use each process has its place and the average person won't be able to do everything with one machine.
Tig will take a lot of practice to get proficient at especially if welding into or around corners or on thin used steel as with landy door frames but would be fine on chassis repairs but will be slow while learning and difficult to tack things up with needing 2 hands to weld with. Also i would not worry to much about the pulse function it is more of a specialized process.
Stick welding will be hard to do on that sort of work or anything under 1.6-2mm unless fit up is perfect and electrode control is spot on with speed and arc gap needing to be constant welding these thinner thicknesses. All possible but lots of practice needed. Would also be fine for chassis repairs and quicker but a lot comes down to electrode choice as well.
Mig would be my choice for work at home as you can weld panel steel and up to probably 8mm with a 180-200 amp machine. Get a gasless wire if your concerned about the cost of gas, cylinder rental or welding in the wind. But with a mig you will need more spare parts such as tips, gas difusers, gas shrouds, gun liners, wire guides and feed rollers.
For this reason if you buy a mig i would avoid ebay no name brands and buy through a local distributor to get spare parts. The same goes with a tig torch, you need to be able to get collets, shrouds, etc to suit your torch. The stick shouldn't need spare parts other than earth clamps,leads and electrode holder. Also you will need a different gas for mig and tig.
As you can see it is not just as simple as going out and buying any welder and welding everything you want. If you can use your mates gear give all the process a go and see what you think. Tig will require the most skill and coordination and give great satisfaction if you master it, stick takes practice as well and when the slag peels off by itself from a weld for the first time you will be doing a fist pump for sure. Mig will be the easiest to get a handle on but still needs practice.
Its a tough choice with a limited budget and while it would be nice to get a machine with all the bells and whistles they cost a lot of money. Most migs worth buying are probably out of your price range of $500 but that viper unimig machine you posted earlier would be good value and reasonable quality for a tig/stick machine

Hello All,

Instead of starting a new thread I will piggyback on this one. Two of the well known brands back in the 1980s when I first learnt to weld were CIG & Lincoln. Just wondering if they still have a good reputation?

The work the welder will do will range from sheet metal for floor panel rust repairs, chequer plate for floor of the tray back ute, tray sheet metal side repairs, and hollow section of different shapes to make the frame of a trailer. Price range I am thinking of is from $1000 to $1800.

A preliminary dip of a toe into the market on eBay found two examples that I can remember the company's name...

Cigweld Weldskill 250Amp Mig Welder - W1004500 1,199.00 The WeldSkill 250 is a single phase compact power source designed specifically for the handy-person or tradesmen that requires high quality welding performance

or

Lincoln Electric PowerMig 180C Mig Welder 180amp - POWERMIG180C $1,095.00. Described as The compact and reliable Power MIG 180C by Lincoln Electric is a portable welding machine with superior arc performance. It is designed for light industrial applications, it may be utilised in the workshop, site maintenance work, vehicle repairs and in agricultural applications. Recommended for use in both MIG/MAG applications for Gas or Innershield gasless flux cored welding.

I do not mind going out an buying my own gas cylinder. Apart from the CIG and the Lincoln are there any other reputable brands with good after-sales parts service within my price range that anyone would recommend?

Kind Regards
Lionel

IMO Lincoln yes, CIG no.