And.. away.. we.. go! (Or, I'm not a mig welding virgin anymore!)

[RSie]

Finally got a gas bottle for my little Hobart 140. The local Fleet Farm had the small Hobart bottles on sale for $119, 30 bucks off. Got it set up today, and set up an old aquarium stand as a makeshift welding table. Cut a chunk out of a Dart roof skin, cleaned it up, and gave it a shot. Had the gap too wide! I started messing with it, too see what happens with the wire out too far, holding too long (burn through), different angles, etc.
Welder, helmet, gloves all work good.
I'm surprised, for how crappy that weld is, at how strong it is. I thought it'd break apart easy, but it holds pretty well (not that I'd ever actually use a weld like that!)

 

[67Dart273]

Some 40 years ago I could arc and spark and burn and mess with a stick. I was never all that good. I did manage to do a few overhead welds on a trailer hitch receiver that never fell off LOL

Anyhow, after I got a MIG it was a whole different deal. I don't do much sheet metal, mostly medium sized fab. I rarely use anything except straight CO2. It is liquid, therefore a bottle lasts a LONG time. I'm told it spatters more, and likely not great on sheet metal. But it works for what I do. My first MIG was a little Lincoln 140, 110V. Then I got a 240V 180 Lincoln. At the time, dual voltage ones were fairly new and pretty exensive.

I've also got a huge old Lincoln transformer stick/ TIG but have never had or taken the time to learn much about TIG SOB is gigantic, I think I read once it weighs near 400

 

[RSie]

Some 40 years ago I could arc and spark and burn and mess with a stick. I was never all that good. I did manage to do a few overhead welds on a trailer hitch receiver that never fell off LOL

Anyhow, after I got a MIG it was a whole different deal. I don't do much sheet metal, mostly medium sized fab. I rarely use anything except straight CO2. It is liquid, therefore a bottle lasts a LONG time. I'm told it spatters more, and likely not great on sheet metal. But it works for what I do. My first MIG was a little Lincoln 140, 110V. Then I got a 240V 180 Lincoln. At the time, dual voltage ones were fairly new and pretty exensive.

I've also got a huge old Lincoln transformer stick/ TIG but have never had or taken the time to learn much about TIG SOB is gigantic, I think I read once it weighs near 400

View attachment 1715420931

Yeah, I haven't touched a welder since I was in high school 40 years ago. This seems much easier than I remember the stick welders being... although I remember it being fun striking the rod on the metal divider between booths to mess with the guy next door, lol.

 

[kgip2k]

Does your fleet farm store exchange or refill the bottles? Them little ones don't last long.

 

[RSie]

Does your fleet farm store exchange or refill the bottles? Them little ones don't last long.

I'm not sure if they do or not. I know Tractor Supply in the next town over will exchange empty for full. I need to check too if any of the local welding places will refill them.
I know it probably won't last long.. if it gets to be a pain I'll look into getting a bigger bottle, but it seems all the local welding places want to rope you into a contract type deal.

 

[kgip2k]

Some places aren't too bad on the lease prices. I know one place local is around $40 a year or flat $250 deposit for cylinder. I opted for one from eBay, just under $100 I got an 80 cu/ft bottle I own. One place ships out to have filled, kinda a pain, other has owner bottles and they just swap out.

 

[moparmat2000]

Yep, got my 80cu ft bottle off evilbay from praxair.

 

[sireland67]

I bought my bottle from Airgas, it was $135 one time deal.
You just exchange the bottle when empty, its like a lifetime contract with a one time charge for the bottle.

 

[skidmark]

Fit up can make a big difference. Take your time and get the cuts and fit up the best you can. Small diameter wire .023-.025 helps. We used 75% argon/25% carbon dioxide mix for sheet metal. Argon doesn’t have as much penetration heat.