Hobart handler 135 mig

1/4".

If you go to straight CO2..you can go up to 3/8', but may have to make

2-3 passes.

Gunner, who has a Weldpak 100 as a judge

I've never even turned a MIG rig on but can't you do the same as stick welding and make several passes? Or does it have to be a single pass sort of operation? Or, one pass is perfect, more is maybe?

Cheers,

John D. Slocomb (jdslocombatgmail)

Can you use flux core and no gas and do a little thicker than that?

Steve

1/4" is a reach. I know a guy who can make very sound multipass welds in 1/2" stock with one of these little boxes, as in welding door hinges on a big truck, but he's a very skilled weldor and it took him a while.

Even with consummate skill, it takes freakin' forever with 20% duty cycle. If you don't smoke, you're likely to start just to have something to do while the box cools. That's after the first three waits when whatever you did during those times quit working for a while.

The practical limits for sound welds are 3/16" with fluxcore, 1/8" mit gaz with ordinary skill and some patience.

I have .035 cored wire in mine (no gas). Most metal has been 1/8" with some 3/16" singel pass.

1/4 would probably need another pass. Anything beyond that would for sure need multiple passes.

Ayup.. you can indeed do multiples..but....the more layers you put on..the more likely you are to get bad fusion of one or more welds. Its of course best to do 1 base, where you are fusing the two base metals with one single bead. Two more is pushing it..when you cant get enough heat to fuse all 3 beads AND the base metals to fuze together. Its not like glue, where you are sticking the surfaces together..welding is intended to actually merge deep into the base metals. Oil field pipe welding for example...they generally fuse the bottom of the groove with

6010 for deep penetration of both pieces of pipe, and then finish with 7010 for a clean, neat finish bead that doesnt hang on stuff, is smooth and penetrates all three surfaces..both pipes and the top of the 6010 bead. Layers are ok..if you can get good fusion of the whole thing..but with a smaller welder..they simply cant get hot enough to get fusion of more and more metal as you add it. Chuckle..its a bit different than using Silicone to fill in a groove or a crack. Which is what the issue is when you are welding thick metals with a small welder. You are sooner or later, going to simply be putting in a layer that might be pretty..but really hasnt penetrated anything.

I learned that the hard way...with a spare tire carrier and a 110vt mig, once upon a time. Its been mentioned here before a time or two....cringe.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid. Gunner Asch

Id have to say....no. Unless you simply want to do a pretty job that has no strength. They simply cant put out enough heat to merge your weldments.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid. Gunner Asch

Oddly enough..Ive seldom run into the duty cycle issue with the Weldpak. But then, I dont use it ALL that much for pushing the edge. Ive been using it recently to weld UniStrut to beams, end on, to hang conduit from. Works fine. And its small enough to stand with it, on a pallet, on a forklift, 15' above the floor.

The new to me Hobart 175 would work better..but..shrug..there isnt any

220 in the building yet. And if I really needed it..Id simply bring over the Ranger 9. and run the Unistrut with stick.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid. Gunner Asch

On Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:27:59 -0700, Gunner Asch wrote the following:

Izzat a CAL OSHA-approved pallet, sir?

I put 3 runs of 240V in my shop when I moved in, so I could swing by in July and pick that ugly, old, useless, little Hobart to get it out of your way if you like, Gunner. Say the word!

-- Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst. -- Lin Yutang

I would think that for a similar price, one could get a Lincoln tombstone and make great welds with 7018AC, welding any thickness and getting great fusion every time. Plus a tombstone has better duty cycle. I really do not see the point of those weldpaks.

i who used a tombstone welder once and was impressed.

Oh but of course! Genuine Solid Oak too!!

Ill certainly ponder on it. You need some welding gear? Whatcha need?

Its sorta a drug on the market at the moment in So. Cal. I can find you something nice if you want.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid. Gunner Asch

Try welding something nice and thin with a stick. Oh..it can be done..but most folks simply cant do it worth a shit.

Mig has its place. And its fast and easy for the average guy who hasnt burned a few hundred pounds of rod or more.

And it has a short learning curve, and its not something you lose the "touch" with easily.

And hauling a 400lb stick welder around tends to be a far different problem than hauling a 50lb mig.

Oh dont get me wrong..stick certainly has its place, but so does MIG an TIG

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid. Gunner Asch

A tombstone is more like 140 lbs. Can be easily moved with a hand truck.

I weld thin things from time to time with 1/16" 6013. Works pretty good though not aerospace quality.

i

"Gunner Asch" wrote

Layers are ok..if you can get good fusion of the whole thing..but

Your episode with the spare is a classic in the annals of penetration and fusion. I love to see all these guys who swear by MIG, and that they can get proper fusion and penetration, or at least they have a buddy who can.

Then you go out to the weldment and put some torque on it, and bink! it pops off. Or, as in your case, comes chasing you down the freeway.

Don't even need the hand truck. If the $20 wheel kit is too rich for your blood, a piece of rod stock and a couple of old mower wheels will work. That's what the hole on bottom back corner of both sides is for, running the rod through that holds the wheels. The loop handles on the corner are good enough to run it around. If you need a foot on the front, a chunk of 2x and a bolt will work... --Glenn Lyford

On Jun 23, 9:56=A0am, Ignoramus8716

Little Mig welders are useful. With inert gas they produce low hydrogen welds and one does not have to chip any flux off. Some of the the same advantages of a TIG welder , but much faster and one has a free hand to hold parts in place .

I thought Ernie might comment on using one to weld thick metal. IIRC he welded some 1 inch plate with a 120 volt mig just to prove that he could. But certainly not what one would use unless it was the only welder available.

Dan

The little 110-volt MIG boxes are excellent for thin metal. In particular, they are invaluable for autobody work and rust work. At a local shop where they restore antique automobiles, there's a Lincoln SP125+ at every single work station.

I bumped up and got the 175+, and besides a cranky trigger, I love it. I did finally buy a good doorbell pad to make a new trigger, but have yet to put it on.

Steve

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A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

You are wrong if you are saying that second and third layers on a pipe penetrate completely through any existing beads. they don't. They do melt the bead directly below the one being done sufficiently to fuse with it but they do not penetrate, or liquefy, the entire previous weld. And yes, I've welded enough pipe and had enough welds x-rayed to know what I'm talking about here.

I've seen them welding the 2 inch thick flame shields, hanging over the side of a cliff, at Edwards AFB and they were certainly not achieving complete penetration through the entire two inches of weld when they made the top pass.

You seem to be saying that you can do multi-pass welding with MIG but you have to be careful to get fusion, just as you do stick welding??

Cheers,

John D. Slocomb (jdslocombatgmail)