all about welding

[Phil Waterman]

Over weekend I hosted our MV Club welding seminar on the 23rd of April came off well despite steady snow in the morning with 14 people attending. This year we had something a little different from previous years in that different members of the group brought their own welders with them and we had the chance to compare 5 welding machines. (for simplicity I have used the term Mig for Wire Feed, Flux Core or Shield Gas ) and a plasma cutting torch. Link to time lapse video of the event http://www.canadianmilitarypattern.c...%20Seminar.wmv

• HTP 140 Argon/CO2 Mig http://www.htpweld.com/ 110 Volt machine http://www.htpweld.com/products/mig_...s/mig_140.html machine is about 20 years old, but is still on the market. (Current on-line price $850)
• Hobart Handler 210 Mig running Flux Cored wire (also can run gas shield) http://www.hobartwelders.com/ 230 Volt machine machine is 1-2 years old . This has been replaced in the model line by the Handler 210 MVP. http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/handler210/ new machine is a dual voltage 115 or 230 with auto change over (Current on-line price $1,874)
• Hobart Handler 120/150 Mig running straight CO2 110 Volt machine http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/handler140/ machine was an older one with many years of use and is no longer listed by Hobart,
• Century Welder Mig 125 volt machine, running Flux Core wire (also can run gas shield) typical of hardware/auto part store welder (side note this one was purchased used for $100)
• Montgomery Ward 230 Stick welder 230 Volt machine that is 30+ years old typical of the home, farm utility stick welder.

To begin with, all these machines can and did weld steel with good structural welds so they all meet the primary shop purpose of welding. They all demonstrated that they could be used by experienced welders as well as first time welders. The purpose of the welding seminar was to try different machines to compare the ease of welding, ability to weld 1/8 wall box tubing and heavier gage steel, with a little playing with thin sheet metal.

Following are observations:

• Flux Core wire is simple to use without the necessity of gas bottle and regulators. Leaves more residue on the weld to be cleaned up with a rougher appearance to the weld.
• Argon/CO2 or Straight CO2 share a cleaner smoother weld with no residue to clean from the weld. Argon/CO2 appears to have a slight edge in smoothness of weld but Straight CO2 is less expensive.
• For straight structure welding any of the four machines can get the job done. The voltage 120 vs 230 was not apparent in the welding we did that day, but from (my) experience only starts showing up as you weld heavier steel 3/8 to 1/2 as you use heavier wire or sticks.
• Both of the people with welders running Flux-core wire have the gas regulators and their machines are equipped for shield gas, both agree that before they start doing any real finish type welding they’ll have to go out and get a gas bottle.
• Everyone seemed to agree that wire feed machines with just flux-core wire are probably not worth the small cost savings.

Also discussed and demonstrated were various welding accessories:

• Most important of these was auto darkening welding helmets, those in the group who had not used one of these helmets were surprised what a difference these welding helmets make in the ease of welding. These helmets have a huge range in price from $50-300 with various options as to sensitivity, max shade density, delay. Before you buy go on line and read the spec sheets to get a better idea of what you need or can get http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/welding-helmets/ or http://www.htpweld.com/products/weld.../overview.html
• Carbon arc attachments
• Sheet metal clamps and alignment tools
• Wire brush tools to cleanup before and after welding, including steel brush vs brass brush.
• Online welding forums http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php , http://weldingweb.com/ offer a great deal of information as does YouTube (search phrase - welding tips and tricks)

One of the things we discussed but obviously didn’t test was duty cycle of the various machines and this is a critical issue in price range of machines, the higher the duty cycle rating the more expensive the machine. For the average home shop duty cycle will probably not be an issue unless you are doing a lot of heavy welding. The HTP 140 for example has a listed Duty Cycle 20%@140 amps. – 100%@62 amps the only time this machine has gone off on thermo overload was welding 1/8-3/16 steel on a cargo body running a 12’ continuous weld at full power got through about 10’ before saying it wanted to rest.

A point in passing for those of you who use Oxy Acetylene torches or cutting torches, there is a major shortage of Acetylene developing in the US as a result of fire and explosion at larger of the two plants in the US that produce carbide from which Acetylene is made. Most if not all gas suppliers have already instituted restrictions on who they will sell to so that they can meet their contracts with commercial users. If you use Oxy Acetylene you will have trouble getting refills and should probably start looking at alternative gases. This shortage may be of lengthy duration.

Writers Note-I have had very good luck with HTP welding products, having a Plasma Cutter, Mig Welder, and Pinch or Spot welder, they have an excellent web site, and catalog http://www.htpweld.com/index.htm I will warn you about one thing they don’t have, prices on their website but if you go to http://www.usaweld.com/ they have prices, if you are looking buy in the future get a catalog from http://www.htpweld.com/index.htm as they have sales which from time to time that offer some real savings. The other thing is that I have been pleased with their service when I have needed parts or consumables.