Celebrate with me!

tanstaafl72555

This Member's Account Has Been Permanently Banned
Life Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2017
Messages
7,184
Location
Spring Hope NC
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
I just picked up a Lincoln wire welder lnib with an extra 10 lb spool for $175. Looking forward to burning some metal here! I suck at welding, but really need to learn, so I just scouted around till I found a deal I could live with.
I did not steal this, but it is a decent deal, and these little mig welders are supposed to be ok. We will see. First project is going to be putting some ramps on my trailers.
 
Is it a 110 or 220 machine and what kind of ramps are you putting on. I started with a 110 volt Lincoln and it was ok to learn the basics but very limited capability. I picked up a Hobart stick welder and it’s a lot more capable. You can stick weld with a battery and leads in a pinch, not so with any wire feed.
 
110/220 switchable. I considered a few other options, but all the stick units either needed 40 amp circuits or were cheap Chinese junk. I have a 10 gauge 30 amp run to my shop, so got something that had good reliability reviews, low current requirements, and was relatively inexpensive.

I am thinking of cutting some steel tubing, welding some round stock onto the end of some ramps and welding that up to the trailer. I tend to over engineer stuff I know nothing about, so will probably think this one to death first.

Time will tell if I did the right thing. I am admittedly a TOTAL ignoramus here.
 
110/220 switchable. I considered a few other options, but all the stick units either needed 40 amp circuits or were cheap Chinese junk. I have a 10 gauge 30 amp run to my shop, so got something that had good reliability reviews, low current requirements, and was relatively inexpensive.

I am thinking of cutting some steel tubing, welding some round stock onto the end of some ramps and welding that up to the trailer. I tend to over engineer stuff I know nothing about, so will probably think this one to death first.

Time will tell if I did the right thing. I am admittedly a TOTAL ignoramus here.
What welder exactly? Is it gas capable ?


Lincoln are fine welders. If you can add gas and mig wire the welds will be so much better.
 
What welder exactly? Is it gas capable ?


Lincoln are fine welders. If you can add gas and mig wire the welds will be so much better.
Flux core only. Entry level Lincoln. It is called a Handy Mig. Gas welders were more than I wanted to spend..... I understand that this may limit the quality of the weld, but I will happily accept a spatter slop of a weld if it simply holds.

Time will tell

Thanks for the input and don't feel shy about helping me.
 
Flux core only. Entry level Lincoln. It is called a Handy Mig. Gas welders were more than I wanted to spend..... I understand that this may limit the quality of the weld, but I will happily accept a spatter slop of a weld if it simply holds.

Time will tell

Thanks for the input and don't feel shy about helping me.
Well, generally yes. But if you've got the amperage dial cranked to "11" and you're welding some 3/8" or 7/16" plate, then flux core rocks.
Like Brian said turn it as high as you can get away with and itll do fine

If we can get @eddie0225 to put up some pictures of the ramps I built for him to give you an idea of a very viable design
 
There is nothing wrong with running flux core, the spatter is easily cleaned up. Make sure to clean the welds after each pass so you don’t get slag in the next run. The first thing I built for my first welder was a stand to sit it on, it would be excellent practice before trying to add ramps to a trailer that will see high way use. Also if you don’t have a source for affordable metal some scrap yards will sell by the pound. My brother and I would take a walk around a local scrap yard once a week and see what kind of stuff they had. I bought a lot of expanded metal that way for pennies on the dollar, also plate scraps, tubing and pipe was plentiful. Unfortunately that yard is now closed.
 
Tagging this thread for interest.

I've wanted to learn how to weld for years, that and blacksmithing. I just ordered a Hobart Mig 190, my only welding experience is with acetylene and that was many years ago when I was in high school.
 
Along with cleaning before each pass like dman mentioned, I like to start each pass with a fresh cut on the Flux wire. Much cleaner and more consistent to strike the arc. Keep a pair of side cutters handy.
 
Back
Top Bottom