Miscellaneous > Fabrication

What do you use for welding

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mab:
I have a little no-gas mig that's served me well for many years. Just occasionally I could do with something bigger - i have welded 5mm plate but it's slow going with a 90a hobby mig - and you end up drinking lots of tea whilst waiting for it to cook down and come back on.

dbcollen:
I use a SAM-400 welder, 2-71 GMC powered, will do up to 550a DC. I also have a 200a mig with gas, and an old miller buzz box.

SparWeb:
I took a course in oxy-acetylene welding a long time ago.  It was hard, and I struggled to do any good welds with it.  Put it aside after a few stored-up projects were done and didn't go back for a while.
I tried TIG but I always seemed to need 3 hands.  Always too much heat or too little.

Then later these wind turbine projects came along, and I decided to get a MIG welder.  Miller 180Amp "hobby" with shielding gas.  First few welds were unsteady but then I picked up the trick quickly.  Now I can get proficient welds at a moment's notice and the unit doesn't go through a lot of material even through I use it fairly often.  Sometimes getting a good tool does make the worker look more skilled than you are.  Also fun to show my son how to use it.

OperaHouse:
I have a big Miller TIG welder, never have turned it on. A small portable MIG welder, turned on maybe 15 years ago. I could come up with the parts to gas weld, hoses have rotted.  I gave away my plasma cutter.

I do repair work for several piping and metal fabricators and I can just walk into their shop and build anything I want. Nice being able to press brake something 12 feet long, shear 3/8 steel, punch holes in metal or use a milling machine.  My MIG welding is passable.  It would look better if I didn't just turn on the machine and use it at whatever the last setting was. It holds together. Most time they just ask me what I want and build it. In return I fix things for them that no one else will touch. I needed a pipe assembly made and it was TIG welded high pressure stainless. Gorgeous, I couldn't have made it and just the scrap metal value was close to $200.

XeonPony:
well sold my car The ev one, sad to see it go but no grid it just wasn't economical, so now time to start buying tools again! looking at a plasma cutter - TIG welder, looking for ward to rebuilding my fabrication tools.

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