welder

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Dan

Dan

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May 25, 2008
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I am thinking of getting this welder to teach my self on. Mostly for small projects and the normal stuff. Motorized bicycles, aluminum push trailers and jet engines. Ya know, the normal stuff people build in their garages.

FREE SHIPPING — Northern Industrial MIG Welder — 115 Volt, 22-135 Amp, Model# MIG 135 | Wirefeed Welders | Northern Tool + Equipment

Would enjoy your thoughts O' Masters of the MotorBike. I am a complete novice to welding. Once welded a zink on a barge. Rust busting 300 feet away on the other side of her with a 20 LB sledge, I heard "thunk/clange" It fell off. Just saying feel free to use small words, long explanations and please type slow. I can't read fast.


Kidding aside, thanks guys. What did folks do b4 the internet?
 
C

chrisme

New Member
May 30, 2009
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Flux core welders are great, but are difficult to learn on. But it's doable, I learned on one and it made it that much easier starting to weld with gas.

You can't use just any MIG welder for aluminum though, you need a spoolfeed setup for aluminum wire and gas. Aluminum can't be welded with flux core wire like steel can be. Welding aluminum is harder (at least for me...) and you need a much more expensive setup.
 
scotto-

scotto-

Custom 4-Stroke Bike Builder
Jun 3, 2010
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Ridin' inSane Diego, CA.
Dan said:
I am thinking of getting this welder to teach my self on. Mostly for small projects and the normal stuff. Motorized bicycles, aluminum push trailers and jet engines. Ya know, the normal stuff people build in their garages.

FREE SHIPPING — Northern Industrial MIG Welder — 115 Volt, 22-135 Amp, Model# MIG 135 | Wirefeed Welders | Northern Tool + Equipment

Would enjoy your thoughts O' Masters of the MotorBike. I am a complete novice to welding. Once welded a zink on a barge. Rust busting 300 feet away on the other side of her with a 20 LB sledge, I heard "thunk/clange" It fell off. Just saying feel free to use small words, long explanations and please type slow. I can't read fast.


Kidding aside, thanks guys. What did folks do b4 the internet?
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That's a nice little unit Dan....could I borrow it sometime? Before the internet, I used to practice my welding. Was getting pretty good at it till the internet came along laff
 
Dan

Dan

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May 25, 2008
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Thanks Chrisme. Really appreciate your taking the time.

Scotto, your HF thread was the straw for buying one. Some amazing stuff there.
 
Goat Herder

Goat Herder

Gutter Rider
Apr 28, 2008
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O' Masters of the MotorBike Sounds like a line to the Bud them snork.

I have read everywhere here and every where else the welder that wins my vote is tig . I got a good Lincoln welder . I moded it to switch over to aluminum it is a gas wire feed mig. Had to put toggle switch on it to switch the power feed from the built in wire feed circuit . Then I just switch over to a spool gun for the aluminum.

I have used a tig unit before there are the best for that beautiful well laid stack of dimes..

Wish I had one.. I can make due with my Lincoln though.;)
 
Dan

Dan

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Goat Herder said:
O' Masters of the MotorBike Sounds like a line to the Bud them snork.
Click to expand...
Har GH! lol. I thought the same thing when I typed that! They have yet to write me back. Ah well. was good for a chuckle. I was hoping they would offer us jobs, pay us with base ball caps or at least buy us a beer.
 
KiM

KiM

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May 5, 2010
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Have very similar size flux core welder bought new off ebay no name Chinese brand for $175 bucks, have now welded up 3 full custom trike frames and 2 full custom cruisers (all ground up builds..check my sig for last custom build pics) along with other assorted welding in between these projects, its now ~2 years old and still going as well as the day i unpacked it...I say go for it.

KiM
 
Dan

Dan

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May 25, 2008
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weekend-fun said:
On craigslist they have Arc welders for $100-$200 out here

I wanted one but, you know what my mom said ;)


I say go for it Dan!!


Sam
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Thanks Sam! Keep forgetting to do that. I was checking here and there but clist was big pro welders and sort of forgot to look there. Your right, might have, shoulda kept checking. But went ahead and ordered the one above.
 
Dan

Dan

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May 25, 2008
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WoW Kim! that is awesome. Being a novice I had no idea it could be that versatile. I've followed all of your projects and no sheet, am a fan of your work. Add the extra challenges you work with.. Just very cool and thanks.

Not to be redundant but good to see ya back here.
 
civlized

civlized

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Apr 28, 2009
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Poor bicycles, Dan is getting a welder! lol!

I don't know how familiar you are with welding, so I'm gonna assume you're starting from scratch. Dude, get an auto darkening hood, Harbor Freight $40-$50, and a welding jacket, of course a chipping hammer and a wire brush. I can't tell you how many shirts I've ruined and scars I have from not wearing a jacket. A whole new door opens when you can weld. You'll probably end up making your wife some lamps or something in between bicycles.
 
Venice Motor Bikes

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
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civlized said:
Poor bicycles, Dan is getting a welder! lol!

I don't know how familiar you are with welding, so I'm gonna assume you're starting from scratch. Dude, get an auto darkening hood, Harbor Freight $40-$50, and a welding jacket, of course a chipping hammer and a wire brush. I can't tell you how many shirts I've ruined and scars I have from not wearing a jacket. A whole new door opens when you can weld. You'll probably end up making your wife some lamps or something in between bicycles.
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That's good advice!! & take a few welding classes!
It really helps to have someone show you the cool little tricks, rather than wasting months of trial & error learning them on your own. ;)
 
Bike Monster

Bike Monster

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Jun 4, 2010
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I was thinking about getting a welder too... but my budget is small $100-
$150 or so i would love to do custom jobs and be more creative. im looking for a good used mig welder for under $200, it might wait till spring though??? thats a nice welder Dan!!! wish i had the money to get one too.
.xx.
 
cory151

cory151

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Oct 19, 2010
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A TIG is the only way to go, youll outgrow 115v mig fast, I know I did. Not to mention Aluminum MIG welding was pretty much a joke.

I have the Max Star 200 Miller now but, should have gotten the Diversion 180 Series instead. Heres what I have and its way more welder than I need.

Miller - TIG Welders - Maxstar 200 Series
 
Dan

Dan

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May 25, 2008
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civlized said:
Poor bicycles, Dan is getting a welder! lol!
Click to expand...
LOL! Thats going in the snork thread

I don't know how familiar you are with welding, so I'm gonna assume you're starting from scratch. Dude, get an auto darkening hood, Harbor Freight $40-$50, and a welding jacket, of course a chipping hammer and a wire brush. I can't tell you how many shirts I've ruined and scars I have from not wearing a jacket. A whole new door opens when you can weld. You'll probably end up making your wife some lamps or something in between bicycles.[/QUOTE]

Big time thank you. I was going to ask about helmets. sadly, was gonna skip the jacket. Saved me some scar tissue. I'm sure. At least some shirts. Hello 2 Mrs. C. an' the lil one.

Venice Motor Bikes said:
That's good advice!! & take a few welding classes!
It really helps to have someone show you the cool little tricks, rather than wasting months of trial & error learning them on your own. ;)
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I had not thought of that! Been watching vids youbtube. Not the same and after a few of this one guy, came to realize he's really bad. Will look up some courses. You guys have no idea how glad I am to know yaz. I mean it.

Bike Monster, have you checked clist like Sam was suggesting? Every time I brought up getting a HF cheapie, folks who know welding kinda cringed. But they do have some around the $. Dunno, just typing out loud.

Cory That looks awesome. Could weld a truck from scratch wit' dat thing.

.flg.




I can't wait to play with this thing. I wasn't kidding. Gonna make small jets. hehe, what could go wrong? (wut did buba say right b4 being rushed to the ER?)
 
weekend-fun

weekend-fun

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Jun 21, 2009
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Dan said:
Thanks Sam! Keep forgetting to do that. I was checking here and there but clist was big pro welders and sort of forgot to look there. Your right, might have, shoulda kept checking. But went ahead and ordered the one above.
Click to expand...
A welder is still a welder, and the one you ordered is going to be pretty sweet!

Let me know how it works out!

Sam
 
Elmo

Elmo

New Member
Sep 3, 2009
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Dan the welding lessons will help but you can start as soon as you get the welder. The book that comes with will give you settings for various scenarios. Using a mig you only need a heavy long sleeved shirt, cotton not polyester and a good pair of leather gloves. Get a can of mig tip spray and use it, it will keep your tip from gunking up too much. You will still have to clean the tip regularly but not as much and it will be easier to clean. Keep a pair of wire cutters handy because you will need to cut off excess wire sometimes especially when you are just starting out. Be careful when you are loading the spool as if it unwinds it it will be almost impossible to rewind. The welder will make a noise like frying bacon, a steady sound without variation. It will be easy to recognize after you get a little practice. Then get some scrap metal and have fun sticking it together and tearing it apart to see if you made a good weld. If it comes apart easily more practice. This will make good use of your BFH. Just have fun.
 
Bike Monster

Bike Monster

New Member
Jun 4, 2010
377
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Conneticut
Elmo said:
Dan the welding lessons will help but you can start as soon as you get the welder. The book that comes with will give you settings for various scenarios. Using a mig you only need a heavy long sleeved shirt, cotton not polyester and a good pair of leather gloves. Get a can of mig tip spray and use it, it will keep your tip from gunking up too much. You will still have to clean the tip regularly but not as much and it will be easier to clean. Keep a pair of wire cutters handy because you will need to cut off excess wire sometimes especially when you are just starting out. Be careful when you are loading the spool as if it unwinds it it will be almost impossible to rewind. The welder will make a noise like frying bacon, a steady sound without variation. It will be easy to recognize after you get a little practice. Then get some scrap metal and have fun sticking it together and tearing it apart to see if you made a good weld. If it comes apart easily more practice. This will make good use of your BFH. Just have fun.
Click to expand...
That sounds like fun!!!
 
Dan

Dan

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May 25, 2008
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Moosylvania
Thanks Elmo. All your sage advice has been spot on. I really wish I got into this yrs ago. Gonna die before I get to try half of all the stuff I want to. ("too" or "to"? which of the 2 is correct? lol, English drives me crazy)

It shipped! Yeha!

"Your item(s) below shipped on 11/10/10.

Shipment 1 contains:

Item#

Description

Qty

164611 NIT MIG 135 WELDER 1"

What is "BFH"? Sure I should know, but ya know. (Thats another one! who thought it was a good idea to spell "know" with a K!?)
 
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