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Brad S
01-03-2009, 07:22 PM
Finally picked up my new mig welder last night. I ended up getting a Lincoln Pro Mig 180 - 230v. Should be able to weld up to 1/2" steel with flux core wire. I'm super excited! Haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but am anxious to do so.

Should suit my needs just fine :D

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p6OckanPDetnw0B9ti0cc6CM_pYmyrd9RhPCITHMZVOhWT6y SMgy9S7g5nzRh91gdKGt-4QUUJbI/mig2.jpg

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pv8pF0JKH3XGbAnSlsCGfaN_Whi5HWUI21p5mAno8DD6F695 w0D-bRSWMYjrxkT-B-iTLpZyFMWs/mig1.jpg

Kraqa
01-03-2009, 07:33 PM
good work!!!

time to get to work.

Katesdad
01-03-2009, 09:15 PM
You picked a great machine for the money!

paulkeith
01-03-2009, 09:19 PM
i've been using my sp-175 since 2005 with great success. i have only had to replace the gun and liner. Go ahead and do yourself a favor and buy yourself a tank of shielding gas ASAP.

Art
01-03-2009, 10:43 PM
aww i'm jealous! i'm in the market for a mig... how much did that one run you?

LouisianaZJ
01-03-2009, 10:56 PM
sweet

Kraqa
01-04-2009, 12:23 AM
welding with hard wire and sheilding gas is waaaaay better the flux core for home use

where the flux core really comes in handy if welding the backside of tubes for exo cages.

take the nozzle off and the tip can get it a much smaller area.

Brad S
01-04-2009, 01:58 AM
This model is apparently only sold from Lowe's. (I checked around to get a price match, but no one else is allowed to carry it).
The price tag was $669.00 + tax, but I had a coupon for 10% off an entire purchase up to $5000, so I put that to good use. I also had $240 in Lowe's gift cards for Christmas, so that helped out as well. :)

I have mig welded before, and got fairly good results from it, but it was a good 4-5 years ago so it will be interesting to get the hang of it again. I have been stick welding since then. From what I have been reading, the mig can give you some excellent, clean welds using the gas, is this correct? The flux-core gives you more spatter, true? Does it still work as well welding or does a gas mixture (such as co2/argon) make it smoother welding?

paulkeith
01-04-2009, 02:07 AM
mig is smoother welding and produces clean welds. flux core will require some slag removal after welding.

SirFuego
01-04-2009, 03:44 AM
That is a nice welder. Good night, sir.

rstrucks
01-04-2009, 01:46 PM
From what I have been reading, the mig can give you some excellent, clean welds using the gas, is this correct? The flux-core gives you more spatter, true? Does it still work as well welding or does a gas mixture (such as co2/argon) make it smoother welding?

Go for the gas! You will still get some spatter but you won't have to chip off any slag. There is also anti-spatter spray to keep clean up to a minimum.

Brad S
01-09-2009, 10:02 PM
Alright, I finally got some time to play with the new welder! It is tough because I live in an apartment and the only place I have to work is about 30 minutes away.

Flame suit on - help me figure out my welds. I really have the interest and motivation to get better, just need the practice. Any tips would be appreciated.

The following pics are of scrap 3/16" pieces. I didn't grind them at all, just chipped off some slag. I know, I know, I need to clean my surfaces more. I really didn't realize how bad it was until I look at these pics... :(

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p9t2vIpoOD6U_YW-oP5273O0l20S5E4hZoCkau7gAcV4fogqzPU61Sy71TU6YV3Ip2 wHcIT8E8ebwh-6snVxZSw/Weld4.jpg

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p5h5WBWE7bEtNv_OpwH9UdYay5VpyErjwxhp9-KGc1YNLEY2ieFtIlH4k-djaRJycJANS1DhQvQlHddWbxbLllQ/Weld5.jpg

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1powZCkH-XUr1zPo4Oel5pwUwjTAJP6Xma5ZgFgewi-KHxCTiuz18m7vYIDlSgd6Qhxx7I6HEPY071989fIbvs9w/Weld3.jpg

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1px7rnxmVqSLXEG106vAKQ7PfH7lumBoWIMjmhKM5lt8CYceA Y2WlxE1kd75kgQxCbaiURkSuPwqULx5UeXJtqUQ/Weld2.jpg

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p82OrcwsHUDnG-I2Napyr_f_aaVgVSw7ryVzG3yBYE_s9Ig1QywakW4RDgnjFjMk Ow3PwBkgo6lhYYzd5h-aznw/Weld1.jpg

patrick
01-10-2009, 02:38 AM
Not that I'm a welding expert or anything, but I'll just say this. You are very wise to have ponied up for the 180 amp machine. The 110/120 volt machines are great in that you can plug them in pretty much anywhere, and they're great for what they can handle. But once you get used to melting a couple of pieces of steel together, it won't be long before you run into something that would be beyond the smaller machine's ability.

I'll echo the others' comments that you should pick up some shielding gas when you can. Since you live in an apartment, maybe for now flux core is the best way to go. But it's really nice not to have to chip away slag, and to see nice clean welds right off the bat. There are really only two welding supply dealers near me, one of them I like and picked up an 80 cf bottle of C25 from. I dial the CFM to 15-20 and things are pretty happy.

There's no Lowe's near me, just a Home Depot. Their Lincoln L-56 welding wire is priced about half way between one local welding shop's ER70S-6 wire and the other's.

Whatever. Now that you have a good welder, all kinds of things you once looked at as unsolvable are now solvable. I very strongly suggest picking up a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder if you don't already have one. If you don't want to throw down a lot of dough, I have one of these and it does the trick. On the advice of someone I can't recall at the moment on some forum somewhere, I pulled it apart before ever spinning it up for the first time, cleaned out all the "grease" that was in there, and packed the gear case with decent grease. I haven't hammered on it for too long, but it's been going well so far.

http://http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43471 (http://http//www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43471)

Also, I picked up an inexpensive auto-darkening helmet for about $30 on eBay and it's been working out great. Much better than the face shield that came with the welding machine.

Two great places to read up on welding are:

http://http://weldingweb.com (http://http//weldingweb.com/)

and

http://http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk (http://http//www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk)

Good luck.

rstrucks
01-10-2009, 02:24 PM
It looks like you have a little too much heat dialed in. I see some undercut and cratering in a few of the welds.

What kind of pattern are you using to lay down the weld? Looks like you need to work on a more consistent pattern to get a more uniform bead.

The heat/wire speed guide that comes with the welder is spot on 95% of the time. I usually don't stray too far from the recommended setting unless I'm welding over head or something.

Did the welder come with a how-to video or dvd?

Good luck, keep at it.

paulkeith
01-10-2009, 05:42 PM
you already said it, but clean your surfaces better. not just a wire wheel, use a flap disk to remove milling scale and rust and get very clean metal. I'll usually wipe it down to get any remaining oil or residue off before i weld too.

also as ryan said maybe a little more consistent torch movement

Brad S
01-10-2009, 07:35 PM
Here is the pattern I was using...

http://wdz20a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p11toXrr2Hz5lpvR6RhsgTQ6Vi3Ua2F68jYFV07IJig7ahCw dyA7t17QV3IEFT0rEr8j-C-gBzx0-lqWt9EoDzA/weld-pattern.JPG

The welder has a chart on it that tells you what to set the welder to for specific thickness, wire size, gas/flux core, etc. I just followed that.

What do you mean when you say undercut? I noticed the cratering myself but just thought it was from the lack of metal cleaning. Also, if there is a better torch pattern to use, please advise. I will work on getting more consistent movement - practice needed.

chadjans
01-12-2009, 08:07 PM
Pushing or pulling?

Brad S
01-12-2009, 10:33 PM
Pulling

Brad S
05-20-2009, 04:04 PM
A little update - I was welding about 2 weeks ago and all of a sudden in the middle of my weld everything started going to crap. There was a ton of popping and sparking and I couldn't get a stable arc at all.

I stopped, a bit confused because a few seconds before it was working perfectly. After a few more tries I pulled off the mask and squeezed the trigger. I was shocked when about 3 feet of wire shot out of the gun in a matter of like a second!! It was insanely fast! Well, I hadn't changed any settings, but adjusting the wire speed control didn't change a thing.

Ended up taking the unit to a local shop that does warranty work for Lincoln and apparently the board inside was bad. Lincoln replaced for free - no hassle, which was nice and everything is apparently back to normal. I haven't tried it yet, but the guy at shop said it was feeding at a normal rate again.

Just thought I'd give an update of the equipment. I'm a little concerned that this gave out only after about 4 months of ownership. Hopefully it was just a fluke thing and won't happen again....

Derek33
05-20-2009, 04:36 PM
When using flux core try some Z patters instead of the C patters you were using.

I read it on a welding site and found it works for me.

Brad S
05-20-2009, 05:14 PM
Perhaps a little better?
http://lapvww.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pUF3fYjtOPffTkipTuMKdglpxJttJumte1YBmyFo4n_Y5WCo Dpi0Id4F7-GNnbSTtfAgdWvcoKXopbQQCvg3LdA/crossmember-01.jpg

LouisianaZJ
05-20-2009, 10:42 PM
lookin good, but probably needs some better weld prep

chadjans
05-21-2009, 12:17 AM
Pulling

Pull flux
Push gas

"No slag no drag"

chadjans
05-21-2009, 12:18 AM
Perhaps a little better?
http://lapvww.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pUF3fYjtOPffTkipTuMKdglpxJttJumte1YBmyFo4n_Y5WCo Dpi0Id4F7-GNnbSTtfAgdWvcoKXopbQQCvg3LdA/crossmember-01.jpg

Very small beads and they look cold to me.