110V Welders

[Anonymous]

Can these welders do a respectable job on 1/8" steel tubing and strap? The cost of having a professional at 60 bucks an hour or so really makes buying a welder a good option if you want something fabricated. I usually go to Metal Supermarket because they will cut the steel you buy at any angle and length you want for free so that part of the job is taken care of.

Oh yeah, does the typical clothes dryer plug have the correct current rating for one of those rotary dial 220V Lincolns?

Thanks, Steve

[SqDancerLynn1]

Depending on the welder some of the 110 versions will weld up to 3/16, There are several different 220 plugs The dryer is probably a 20 amp circuit, you need a least a 30 amp circuit for most home welders

[Anonymous]

welder

I'm talking about wire feeders here, not stick machines.
As far as the 110V welders, about all they're good for is body work and they do a good job at that, they'll get you out of a pinch in something heavier but just barely. The maximum output is probably in the range of 100-120A, not enough to do a respectable weld on anything you plan on keeping. I used one about 2 years ago to fix the quartepanels on my wifes wagon, worked great, bodywork was the s**ts but the welding was good, :-) since that's my trade.
Another thing to watch out for is the amp draw, a lot of them are rated at 20 where normal residential is only110V/15A.
One more word of advice, do not plan on using the gassless flux core wire, the weld looks terrible, it's not strong and it's just plain ugly. Put up some bucks an get the gas kit that most wire feeders offer as an option.
You can get a contract for the gas or, as I did, a fried of mine works for a pop distributor, you know the kind that uses the CO2 tanks. I geared up an adaptor to connect the regulator to the tank, voila...no contract needed.
The Lincoln 225 ( a stick machine)I think is rated at 50A, a dryer I believe is 30A and a stove is 50A so take it from there. You could use the dryer outlet but you would have to monkey up a plug and at anything above 1/3 of the range you'd be pushing it, not a good or safe idea.,.....Mike

[Planecrazy]

I have a Hobart 125 (wire feed type) and while I'm by no means a good welder, I have been impressed with what it seems capable of. It's rated up to 3/16 thickness. I know Hobart sells 110V welders up to at least 135 Amps.

The Chicago GS boys got together over the winter several times, and on one occasion I brought the welder over to Joe Nardy's place, where Ryan (First Timer) gave us a short welding primer. We were practicing welding 3/16 plate to 1/4 inch stock, and I have to say the unit seemed more than up to the task. The welds look strong and pretty clean considering we're using flux core wire (not gas). I plan to upgrade the unit someday with the gas kit, but for now I wouldn't hesitate to use it to weld up light duty frames for any number of applications.

Ryan, care to share your opinion on this? (he has far more experience than me).

Regards,
Steve 8)

[Anonymous]

Find a local community college that has a welding shop or welder in the art department. Sign up for one credit of "special topics in welding" and go for it. It's what I do. Of course, being an actual sculptor means that I take the sculpture class anyway.

Welding rocks.

Michael