welder for thin stuff (tractor fenders)??

Looks like I'll put the oxy/cetyline on the back burner til I loosen up some, or find a set of tanks and a source within a reasonable distance to fill/swap them.
May be able to heist a set from where SWMBO works...
Anyway, while looking today, I ran across a couple welders that were reasonably priced........ and I'd get more out of a welder than the torches... Cut and weld instead of heat and bend........... For the thin stuff, would a wire feed or an inverter welder be the best bet?? Not a pro welder, but can get by with what jobs pop up.... Just not good at arc welding thin stuff with the AC welder..
Both the wire feed and the inverter claim a material range of .5 to 8mm, just don't know which is the most user friendly..

Thanks, Dave

Dave,
I only use my mig when I weld clean metal and want a clean weld, mostly body panels. I use gas. Own my bottle. If you have to rent a bottle that could get expensive. I have an 80 cubic ft bottle and it only lasts about 4 hours.

Flux wire is very expensive and doesn't give you a clean weld. Around here, flux wire is about $20 for 2 pounds. I use a stick welder about 99% of the time. I think I pay about $10 for 5 lb for lincoln rods when I catch them on sale at Lowes.

I'm not a fan of mig welders. I own a mig that a body shop used, 220v.

I won't buy another one.

George

You don't want an oxy/acet for sheet metal....just warps it. Stick welder is hard to strike and maintain an arc on sheet metal. Wire feed shines on sheet metal.

George,I have a 130 Miller mig.I used a borrowed bottle until my friend needed it.I use my stick welder.Mig welding is not easy.Hauling the co2 bottle is not fun.Mig welding gave a chance to sell a lot of little junk welders to fellows who thought mig welding is easy.I had a chance to borrow a mig welder to work on my truck cab with a friends mig that He wasnt using.The mig is useful for some jobs but I like the stick welder for most jobs..

The problem with mig welders is there is such a
wide variation in quality and that is directly
related to how they work. I've got a $1500.00
Miller Vintage and it is nearly the perfect
welder. I use it for everything accept cast iron
and hardened steel, but with flux core you can
even do the hardened stuff. There are many of the
smaller size that you can carry around that run on
either 120 or 220v. Of those I've tried Miller,
Hobart, and Lincoln. Of those only the Lincoln
worked well for me. The 120 volt ones will weld up
to 1/8" well and do 3/16". The 220v will do up to
1/4 well. They do have a short duty cycle, but
that won't be a problem for most farm work. I
would not go with one that doesn't use gas tho,
they are just as hard to use as stick and more
expensive. A small 5# cylinder of 25/75 argon/co2
will last a long time for the amount of welding
most farmers do, I would be surprised if you used
more that 1 tank a year. One thing about mig is
it's MUCH easier to do. Most people learn it
quickly and never look back.

I know you can use propaine for cuting, Don't know if it will work for welding. IF that works all you need is oxygen, which is a little less money. If you are repairing a fender, sometimes brazing will be better. Just a little at a time. You will get some warping though. The ideal thing will be a tig welder. Ylu have more control of the heat. Probably less hassel to take the part and have the welding done. A question for you. Since you live in Germany, do many speak engish, or all German.

We are selling an inverter that runs stick,Mig and Tig(you have to by the tig torch separate) 110V or 220V just change the adapter. The welder sells for less than $1500.00 and you can pack it around if needed. There must be a reason to buy a conventional welder, but I don't know it.

i weld 8hrs a day 5days a week mig is the best way to go miller 251 or equivilant twice as easy as stick

I bought a 251 last year and love it. Really like the auto feed feature. I wasn't sure at first but so far so good. Dave I have had a couple 110 wire feeds and the best ones will have 3 or 4 heat settings. The cheaper ones with just a high low are not the best for dialing in the heat for the job. I have welded 1/4" with one but had to pre heat the metal with a tourch to cherry red so the thing would burn in deep enough.

Get your hands on some 1/16 inch diameter rod. With
a little practice you should be able to do fairly
well on sheet metal. I find people tend to try to
use a rod that is way to big for what they are
trying to weld.

My Lincoln 225 cost 93 bucks new.I dont need gas bottles to use it, wind doesnt bother it.I am not bothered by a short welding gun.There are very few parts in the stick welder, no 800 buck circuit boards to fail.No spool gun to weld on top of wagons.I would need a 200 buck gas bottle to use my mig or pay endless rental charges The hazmat fee on refills is a ripoff.It would take 2 grand to buy a mig that would do the work of my stick welder.An inverter break down would cost a lot to fix.My 130 mig is full of parts that can fail.The Lincoln needs a few drops of oil in the fan motor once a year.Some times the old ways are better.I started welding stick in the mid 50s, mig 5 years ago.I find stick easier by far.

(quoted from post at 15:52:40 10/30/12)A question for you. Since you live in Germany, do many speak engish, or all German.

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Hard to say........ Around Military communities, some speak English but the language is German... A lot of sharks play on that and soak the soldiers for some goods and services (cell phones (and landlines), internet, cable, car sales, and travel...............

I throw my best Deutschlish (German words with American grammar) at em and get by OK.....

tbish,
I realize people who weld all the time love their migs. People like me, who may drag the welder out 8 times a year to make a fast repair on dirty, rusty, poo covered, painted metal will find it takes too much time to adjust the heat, speed, wire size to make the repair. I weld outside, don't like the idea of starting a fire in the shop or collectiong the smoke when I weld. When it comes to using a mig on a windy day it's next to impossible.

I will agree, migs are the only way to weld sheet metal. That's why I have a mig with 8 heat settings, 8 speed settings, spot welding, width and duration settings too.

I'm sure if you weld 8 hours a day, you are using nice clean metals. Using nice welders and the cost of operating them isn't an issue.

Dave are you going to put out a pant load to get a nice mig welder and tank? How much welding are you going to do with a mig? Do you own a stick welder?

George

(quoted from post at 04:56:50 10/31/12) Dave are you going to put out a pant load to get a nice mig welder and tank? How much welding are you going to do with a mig? Do you own a stick welder?

George

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Got a stick welder that has done all I want so far. Anything (jobs) bigger I won't have and if so, won't feel safe doing them. Just the thinner stuff which is gonna be the steel fenders, footboards, and hood (patching) on the tractor and some good idea grenade fabricating.... Just gonna box up the torch set neat and wait til I run across a set of tanks at a can't refuse price (if SWMBO can't get them thru where she works)... and play some with the 1/16th inch rods and prolly get me an inverter welder when one goes on sale again. Just looked at one that should cover all I'll ever need and am waiting on a sale. Maybe slip the info to MS Santa Claus :roll:
Cutting I don't really need (have disc grinders and cutoff wheels ), never liked to braze, and if I can't get enough heat out of a propane torch, I'll twist/chisel it off and start over....... With the money those tanks would cost up front then the rent, I can upgrade on my existing welder, get me an inverter welder, and buy a bunch of rods..... AND, not take up extra space in the shop......... Neighbor kid has a little inverter welder that I'll prolly borrow to try out... As far as that goes, he also has a plasma cutter that is pretty portable....

Dave,
When I was a kid I experimented with body work. I would cut out the rust with tin snips, take a piece of sheet metal and used aluminum pop rivits to patch the holes. Then bondo over them. A torch will warp things and cause rust on the back side.

I like to use a 4 1/2 inch cutoff wheels 1/16 inch on a right angle grinder to cut the rust out with. It makes a nice clean cut, better than tin snips.

A few years ago I spent about 10 days welding the tin on my Jubilee, fabbing tool box, fenders, and repairing a lots of holes in the tin. That's where a good mig comes in handy. If you use a mig with flux wire, you have a lot of splatter to clean up after each weld, no thank you.

Try pop rivits. It's like spot welding.

George