/diy/ - Do It Yourself

i wouldn't touch a machine under 200 amp. you're better off biting the bullet and running 220v

>>1355973
welding body panels is hard. you are going to want mig or tig. likely mig. 120V will be fine if its all just sheet metal. just go watch reviews. the cheap shit isnt too bad these days but you wont get things like fine controls and large duty cycle from the cheap stuff so if thats something you need, spend more. i paid like $500 CDN for my everlast tig and its been great

>>1355973
you need mig with gas for auto body. the metal's too dirty for tig, and too thin for stick. i repeat, you can't use stick on sheetmetal.
fluxcore mig isn't always bad, it's great for long, hot welds on thick metal. but it's the worst choice for a beginner joining up short runs on thin material. pic related is what you get.

you'll only need ~90 amps for body panels and exhaust tube. a lot of the time you'll be using it on the lowest setting which is about 30 amps.
thing is, 90A max is pretty limiting and struggles to join 1/8" steel.
if you bite the bullet rewire the garage and buy a 250A mig it'd be the only welder you'd ever need to buy. you'll still have that low power setting, but you can also turn it right up and lay a decent bead on 3/8 steel or 1/4 aluminum.

If will be welding sheetmetal, you can forget stick, because it will burn through.

Oxy-Acetylene is bar-none the best choice.
MIG will get the job done and requires less skill, but lots of grinding.

In Europe the entry level welder is a single facce A/C 190a TELWIN that goes for €150. Every household in Italy seems to have one.
I'm assuming other cheap welders act about the same. They will melt steel together if that's all you need.

It won't run for long at 190a. Less than a minute probably. If you're welding at high amperage for long periods you probably want a bigger welder.

If you only care about doing good work efficiently get a MIG machine with gas, not flux core. 120v is fine for anything on a passenger car, including frame if you do multiple pass (not ideal but possible, as long as it's not a full box pickup frame or anything like that). Best would be getting a Miller/Lincoln machine that can do both 120 and 240, then if you end up doing heavier work later you can worry about adding a dedicated line to your garage. If you want to actually learn to be good at welding you can start with oxy acetylene, but it's not great to store in a garage and it's going to be much more difficult. You can absolutely TIG on auto body, IDK what that other poster is talking about, it's just not very efficient. TIG is the best of both worlds for versatility and actually learning to be good at welding, but it's expensive. Any of the 3 options are fine, but most people will just go MIG because it's very easy and fairly cheap.

>>1356139

>>1356140
>>1356139

That's clean!!
Yea I'll probably get a mig, and the car is from New England USA so there will be some rust, but it's not any where near as bad as some I've seen. I already did some welding on it; fuel tank strap Mounts to rear sub frame, it was dirty but has held for over 10,000 miles.
Basically I'll be replacing that whole rear subframe with a front end sub frame holding in place a FF motor and transmission (thus the aforementioned torsion stress) the thickest welds will be the steering end links, also probably the most stressed components, where the front rack used to turn will need to be held straight forever.

>>1356105
you can stick sheetmetal just fine. sure it's more of a pain in the ass and i wouldn't want to do it for a large project but i wouldn't go buy a MIG or TIG just to do a couple body panels either.

>>1355983
Nonsense you can do a ton of welding with 90amps of stick available. That's the running range of pretty much all 3/32 rods.

>>1355973
Don't you have a 17 year old to be fucking Bob?

>>1356617
>you can stick sheetmetal just fine
How? I've never been able to do it. Either the weld is to cold and sits on the surface or it burns through.

Most of the time, before the puddle even starts it will have burned through.

I have tried striking away, then long arc to maybe prevent heating up the metal too much.

Using 6010. Maybe I should try 7018?

>>1356703
proper setting + proper electrode + long arc. just like MIG(usually) you can't do a continuous bead and will have to do several short runs. pain in the ass with stick but not impossible. like i said for large jobs you're better off with a MIG but for small jobs it's not worth going to buy a MIG. i suppose if you just bought a cheap flux core machine it'd be worth it but really if you're gonna buy one you might as well buy something good and a gas cylinder

>>1356703
>6010
yep there's your problem. 6010 is deep penetration. try 1/16 6013 or 7018. i've heard some guys like 7014 but i've never tried it on sheet metal

>>1355973
That welder came with a 220 to 110 adapter.

From a little bit of looking these chinese inverter welders
15A 115 circuits will put the welder at about 110A, and a 20A 115 circuit can put it to about 140A.
To get the whole 160A you need the 220plugged in.
And they cost about $150
He used a coupon
Your 200A machines are about $220

Im going to buy a 110 only, 140A max stick welder that is similar in specs with the same 60% Rated Duty Cycle at 110A, because they can be had for $100. I too dont have 220V

I Figure if im going to cheap out on a welder, im going to actually cheap out. 140A vs 160A isnt very much. If im going to take the plunge and install 220 its not going to be for one of these cheap machines.

>>1355973
If you want to get things done, get a MIG but not the gay gasless flux one.

Weld both alu and steel easily

>>1356717
You never need anything other than 7018

>>1356724
i work on farm equipment which of course generally involves thicker material so use a lot of 6010

anyone have an Everlast stick welder? looking at the PowerArc200 which is pretty cheap and has good reviews but i don't know anything about the brand.

>>1356756
Everlast is just your typical chinkshit inverter welders, except they spent a ton of money advertising in the USA

>>1356059
Yup...

>>1356865
That was done with MIG. A shit welder is a shit welder no matter what process you use.

Need to weld some 2-3mm thick square and round hollow section tubing.

Will this stick welder be okay?

160 amp @60% duty cycle
123 amp @100% duty cycle

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stick-welder-MMA-welder-160a-CWS-With-digital-display-FREE-UPS-Delivery-/152888167261?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c1