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General Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: kcombs on September 07, 2021, 04:53:38 PM
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I am looking at a Eastwood MP250i Multi-Process 250 Amp Welder, seems to fit my needs. Anyone have experience with their welding machines? Or, how about a different brand? I plan to weld sheetmetal and up to 1/4" mild steel. Might do some stainless steel, probably not aluminum. I am experienced welder, but it has been forty years since I burned any large amount of rod so I am out of the loop on brand names and quality.
Thanks,
Kurt
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Kurt - It has been a long time since I've bought a new machine and there certainly are ALOT of choices and price ranges now days. I use a Miller EconoTwin (TIG/Stick) from the late 80's and being kinda partial to Miller this is probably the next machine (Maxstar) I would buy. I have welded with one of these before and the LiftArc technology which provides TIG arc initiation without high frequency (or scratch start which I have to do now with my EconoTwin) is awesome.
Dwaine
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Hi ,like Miller myself have two stick and wire feed no problems in 30 years .don't know about the new models. Would say 200 amp min for wire feed don't like the flux core ones.jim
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Dwaine, does the lift start contaminate the electrode? Contamination is the main reason I want a high frequency machine.
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For mig, I'm still using my Hobart Handler 90 I bought in the 1990's. It's been fine.
I recently got an Alpha Tig, about $750. I prefer tig for sheet metal, so much more control for precision welding, unlike the mig that just kinda throws metal onto the surface.
Even the Harbor freight multi-welders are decent.
Lots of reviews on Youtube on various makes/models.
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Walt, does TIG cause more shrinking than MIG on body panels? I am fine with small welds with a TIG, just don’t want to cause extra shrinkage.
Kurt
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I would say it's less. The heat is very concentrated, and it's not necessary to add much filler rod... that makes for a smaller weld bead with less mass..... and less heat. In comparison, MIG adds a lot of metal to make a bead.
Nice thing about the TIG weld is it's less work to finish it off....less metal to grind off, if any. Once it's flat, go over it with hammer/dolly to stretch the metal back to where it should be. Do this constantly during the weld length as you go..... weld a little, grind flat, hammer/dolly, weld some more, etc, etc.
There's a great thread on welding in panels on the Garage Journal board. He uses MIG in this example but the process is the same.... tack, grind flat, planish (hammer/dolly), repeat.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/mp-c-shop-projects.182565/ (https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/mp-c-shop-projects.182565/)
I haven't TIG'd much yet in the way of exterior body panels.... that's coming. Mostly floor, trunk, and rear inner fender repair so far. I did do a long weld to replace the windshield channel. Constant hammer/dolly work during the weld process kept it nice and flat.
Here's an example of one of my better moments next to a more troublesome spot that was thinner and kept burning thru. When it's good, it's just beautiful! When it's bad, there is always the grinder!
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I would say it's less. The heat is very concentrated, and it's not necessary to add much filler rod... that makes for a smaller weld bead with less mass..... and less heat. In comparison, MIG adds a lot of metal to make a bead.
Nice thing about the TIG weld is it's less work to finish it off....less metal to grind off, if any. Once it's flat, go over it with hammer/dolly to stretch the metal back to where it should be. Do this constantly during the weld length as you go..... weld a little, grind flat, hammer/dolly, weld some more, etc, etc.
There's a great thread on welding in panels on the Garage Journal board. He uses MIG in this example but the process is the same.... tack, grind flat, planish (hammer/dolly), repeat.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/mp-c-shop-projects.182565/ (https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/mp-c-shop-projects.182565/)
I haven't TIG'd much yet in the way of exterior body panels.... that's coming. Mostly floor, trunk, and rear inner fender repair so far. I did do a long weld to replace the windshield channel. Constant hammer/dolly work during the weld process kept it nice and flat.
Here's an example of one of my better moments next to a more troublesome spot that was thinner and kept burning thru. When it's good, it's just beautiful! When it's bad, there is always the grinder!
Do you flow, melting the filler rod as you go, or do you dip and create ripples (ripples are the way I welded stainless for years, but might require more heat)
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Dwaine, does the lift start contaminate the electrode? Contamination is the main reason I want a high frequency machine.
HF is not required to weld carbon steel and if used it is only during initiation of the arc. The Miller Liftarc will not result in tungsten contamination (I'm pretty sure it's just a short burst of HF to initiate an arc but I would have to do some more research to verify). Scratch starting like I do now also does not leave any tungsten contamination assuming a sharp electrode, correct current setting, and adequate argon flow.
Regardless of the brand and type you decide to go with I would say that the fundamentals are what really matters i.e. clean metal, good fit-up, equipment set-up, and technique.
Dwaine
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I want to thank everyone for responses to my welding questions. The trade has changed since I left it in 1981 to go to college and eventually become a community college counselor. My first gig was as a vocational counselor and I taught welding for a semester full time. Fast forward to 2021 and I have just retired at the age of 73 and what do I do, I created a DBA as Kurt's Custom Welding. So far all I have done is repair an entrance gate and cut out some birds with my old plasma cutter to attach to it. What I really want to do is finish my Bucamino project. This will require non-warping butt welding of body panels, but that is the easy part. Lots of fitting of body parts and that just takes time. The part that I needed help with and have got it here is understanding current welding equipment. Using online videos for techniques, I should be set to go thanks to all of you.
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Wow, I learned welding around that time.... 1978 in high school, oxy-acy gas welding and brazing.
Then MIG welding in the late 90's.
Bought my Alpha Tig 200x in Feb 2018. Techniques are similar to gas welding which I prefer to MIG.
Kurt, I suppose I use more of a 'flow' technique on sheet metal. I lay the tip of the rod on the surface then melt it into the puddle as needed. I haven't mastered the 'dip rod into puddle' since it's a very small puddle on sheetmetal and I often miss!
My techniques certainly need improvement, please share the more helpful video links when you find them.
I'm slowly piecing back together a 66 GS 3 speed convertible. The TIG is the perfect tool for that.
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Now I have to tell a story. In 1967 I went to work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard as a helper. I couldn't be an apprentice because I skipped algebra in high school. So I was a fitters helper. A fitters helper is really a grinder. I ground lots of welds for undercut and dingle berries. Contoured welds on pressure hulls so they could be x-rayed. I hated that job. Next I worked in a fabrication shop on a 12 foot shear and any even long press break. Then I became an apprentice welder building stainless steel food processing equipment. I build a blender that would blend 5,000 lbs of pork sausage in half an hour. None of the other welders seemed to how to read blueprints so I took a drafting class at the local community college. after about seven years there I moved on to a shop that made commercial dishwashers. Now I was back to boring again. Make fifty of these parts and then in two weeks you can make fifty more. The good thing was I learned how to run welding equipment, tig and stick weld aluminum, run a mig at the dishwasher plant, and I learned how to read blue prints. Side story. About 1973 we had a new hire at the fabrication plant, he was just retired from the Air Force as a welder. I was proud of my skills so I asked him how my narrow tig pass on stainless looked, he said "it looks like bird shit". I asked him what it should look like and then I practiced every chance I got for six months to make a pass up to his standards. Welding stainless steel is easy, just dealing with the shrinkage and distortion is a lot harder than mild steel. I can tell that fabricating an old car body is different, but many of the skills I learned will be useful. A nice small pass on stainless steel with a tig is not one of the transferable skills. And this is my story of my time before I went off to college at 31 years of age. I did that because I couldn't stand up all day because of heel pain. So here I am getting ready to get back at welding!
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Cool story and lot of history there. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoy the journey, there's lots of fun yet to be had. :hello2:
:cheers2:
Chuck
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Dear Kurt, Chuck, and mid-60s Buick owners with interesting lives,
Now I have to tell a story.
. . . .
Thanks for sharing! Indeed you got a very interesting on-the-job education!
And this is my story of my time before I went off to college at 31 years of age.
. . . .
So after all that mechanical experience what did you end up studying in college?
A curious mind would like to know! :idea1:
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Okay Eduardo, you asked for it. :sunny:
Fall 1981 I went off to the local community college wanting to be an architect, subsequently I changed to psychology as a major. After two years I applied to UC Santa Cruz and was accepted, but after applying I decided to change my major to economics. They would not accept me in that major because I had not taken calculus. I waited and changed my transfer school to CSU Sacramento who accepted me in econ. In two years I finished my major and graduated. Not having calculus I could not do a masters or doctorate in economics. A BA in Economics gives you a lot of theory, but few skills you can apply to a new career unless you start at the ground floor and I was 36 years old. I went back to the community college I had graduated from looking for a job teaching welding. The instructor I met with told me good luck as the jobs are really hard to find. Then he asked me if I had a counseling credential because they had look for a counselor with a vocational background and could not find one. So off to Sonoma State University to get a masters in Psychology which at that time was adequate for counseling students. I got a part-time job at the community college and started applying for a full-time positions. I also taught welding for one semester in 1987 and passed the certified welding inspector test with the AWS so I could certify welders. But the full time job was lost when the tenured instructor came back from sick leave. When applying for a counseling position it was common to be competing with 70+ applicants. I also landed a part-time counseling job at Mendocino College about 70 minutes away. I was what is called a freeway-flier for ten years with two part-time jobs before I landed a full time job at Mendocino College. I started full time in the spring of 2000. Looking back what do I wish I had done? I should have done more math and became an engineer. They do what I love to do, solve problems and design things. Counseling was a good career because each student had a different problem to solve, but engineering would have been better. No real regrets though......
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Dear Kurt and mid-60s Buick owners with 20/20 hindsight,
Fall 1981 I went off to the local community college wanting to be an architect,
. . . .
Looking back what do I wish I had done? I should have done more math and became an engineer. They do what I love to do, solve problems and design things. Counseling was a good career because each student had a different problem to solve, but engineering would have been better. No real regrets though......
What a story! Your life has had a lot of twist and turns hasn't it!
Not to bore you, but I also have had something of regrets when it comes to a technical discipline. My father was a mechanical engineer working on the design of electrical generating stations. I too couldn't easily decide on what I wanted to make of my life, but I did manage to enter U.C. Berkeley directly from high school. It was much easier to do back then. My dad suggested that I get a degree in Physics and use that to wet my feet for possible career choices. Everyone was required to minor in something and I decided to minor in Philosophy. I liked it so much that I ended up turning that into a double major: Physics and Philosophy!
During that time, I ended up getting a lot of exposure to computer technology and decided I would try to make a career out of that. I took a back door by getting into a department in Cal's School of Education: Education on Math, Science, and Technology. There I hit on an idea for teaching tool based on rule-based artificial intelligence which I called an: Educational Apprentice. Describing the concept and building a prototype was enough for a Master's degree. It seemed silly not to test the concept and proved it worked so I decided to get a PhD and (I hoped) secure myself a lucrative career in artificial intelligence. Alas, during the pilot study the concept completely failed to teach anything! :BangHead:
Forced to make something of my failed PhD attempt, I became involved with a very different approach to learning from the Cognitive Science ideas that I was attempting to emulate in my educational apprentice. Ultimately, my love of Philosophy resurfaced and my PhD became an exploration of a novel theory of learning based on the existential thinking of Martin Heidegger! In the ultimate irony, my new views on learning offered a very simple explanation for the failure of my educational apprentice system. I had made a bad choice of learning material in my pilot study. With a slight change, I probably could have gotten my system to work as intended. Alas at that point it was too late!
In the end I would have been better off to have taken my degree in Physics and moved into some sort of engineering. Alas, hindsight is 20/20, but revising that past isn't an option!
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14: