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prowhistler
Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2006
Posts: 43
Location: SilverSpring
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 Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 1:18 pm Post subject: |
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| frame rails at torsion tubes are rotted on my 66 bus...suggestions..? |
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FiveSeven
Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2004
Posts: 174
Location: Rocket City
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AJ Quick
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2006
Posts: 539
Location: Minnetonka, MN
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| Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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| stancey53 wrote: |
The Chicago Welders, all of them, SUCK! Harbor Freight sells a lot of Chicago Electric stuff. Its funny, I don't recall there being a Chicago in China but apparently there is as this is where these welders are made.
I bought a 220v one from Harbor Freight last fall and it didn't work. Flat out didn't work straight from the box. I called HF and they sent me a new one. Took it out of the box and, you guessed it, it didn't work. I talked to a tech support person from HF who said that it was likley a bad circuit board in each welder. They offered to send me a new board to install myself. Needless to say, I got my money back and bought a Hobart. |
Good to know! I will avoid Harbor Freight like its got the plague.
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Hiramhaus
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2006
Posts: 666
Location: IC
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| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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I ended up with a free welder = but I am still interested in the following post:
(I accedently posted twice so I edited this one to avoid redundancy)
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1969 Ghia
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Last edited by Hiramhaus on Tue May 29, 2007 12:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Hiramhaus
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2006
Posts: 666
Location: IC
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| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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I posted elsewhere but have been doing a great deal of research on welders. It turns out that Craftsman brand welders are relabled Clarke brand welders. I contacted the Clarke people directly and they say thats the case. More feedback on the 130en and the 180 would be good, because they are so cheap compared to the others. Have been seen currently on eBay for a lot less than the Lincolns, Millers, Hobarts etc.. They are for sale at - Orschelns - the "Farm" store near here. They said they haven't had complaints. Can anyone with Clarke experience bring us up to date (see post dates)
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1969 Ghia
2016 Audi Q3 |
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AJ Quick
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2006
Posts: 539
Location: Minnetonka, MN
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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I finally got mine.
I was looking at Hobarts at Northern Tool for $300-400. I also found some Hobarts that were reconditioned from "ToolKing" for about $250. I was planning on buying the fluxcore/mig.. then upgrading to gas when I could afford it.
But then I found a heck of a deal!
120V, 155AMP Century Welder (now Lincoln). With a full size tank, regulator, wire, cart, autodark helmet with replacement screens, replacement tips, and a cheapo jacket I can use for welding.
All for $400.
Only used a few times and was tested on some 1/4" plate and drew a really good bead.
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vwairheads
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2007
Posts: 675
Location: chula vista
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:06 am Post subject: |
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hi, i'm planning to buy a welding machine 110 or 120 volts for my proje ct car, should i buy a dual gas or no gas unit? or no gas unit will be fine? by the waywhat would be the amps? thanks  |
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AJ Quick
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2006
Posts: 539
Location: Minnetonka, MN
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vwairheads
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2007
Posts: 675
Location: chula vista
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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| AJ Quick wrote: |
Buy a MIG where Gas is an option.. but not needed.
I would always go with gas.
The tanks aren't that bad you can rent them. |
thanks for the advice man |
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Hiramhaus
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2006
Posts: 666
Location: IC
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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I finally got a Hobart Handler 140 - it seems good althought I have only been welding on scrap. It seemed around here that was the best deal that could be purchased in a REAL STORE. It came with a cart, and I bought a helmet seperate. All total about $475.00 and I stole the tank off of my old one.
Anyone in Iowa looking for a very small "Blackhawk" MIG can PM me to get it at quite the deal. (gas/no gas)
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1969 Ghia
2016 Audi Q3 |
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Zack1978
Samba Member
Joined: June 07, 2006
Posts: 544
Location: NJ
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| Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:18 am Post subject: |
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Can anyone give me a rundown on how to weld in floor pans. This would not be on my Karmann Ghia, however my 79 Toyota 4x4 pick up. So I guess I would cut the rusted metal out, and cut the new piece of metal larger than the hole and overlap the new metal over the old solid metal? Should I weld from the inside of the truck or from the underside? Do I do spot welds or a long bead? I guess for a floor pan it does not matte how it looks. I am using a Millermatic 135.
Thanks,
Zack
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Hiramhaus
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2006
Posts: 666
Location: IC
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| Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:38 am Post subject: |
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I was wondering if CO2 was the way to go or an Argon/CO2 mix? My buddy uses the mix called Stargone and says its the stuff? Right now I have CO2 - what would be the difference?
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1969 Ghia
2016 Audi Q3
Last edited by Hiramhaus on Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:50 am; edited 1 time in total |
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AJ Quick
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2006
Posts: 539
Location: Minnetonka, MN
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Zack1978
Samba Member
Joined: June 07, 2006
Posts: 544
Location: NJ
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| Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| AJ Quick wrote: |
| You should cut it out. Then get a flange tool to flange the existing floor.. and then plug weld the new floor piece. |
Sorry for being dumb, but what is a plug weld? And what do the plug weld pliers do?
Thanks,
Zack
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Bugs'n'Pugs
Samba Member
Joined: July 18, 2004
Posts: 1453
Location: Charleston, South Carolina USA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 9:55 am Post subject: Plug Weld Pliers and Butt-Weld Backers |
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| marklaken wrote: |
while on the topic of helpful tools - a plugweld plier is very nice to have - especially for inexperienced welders (like myself) - harbor freight sell them for $10 and eastwood has them for $20
a link:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=10856&itemType=PRODUCT
my plug welds are much cleaner and stronger because of this little tool |
That looks like an awesome tool.
I didn't believe that if you backed a hole in mild steel with a copper "spoon" that it would prevent your weld from burning through, until I did it myself. It really works!
Has anyone tried the magnetic copper butt-weld backers that Eastwood sells?
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=21231&itemType=PRODUCT
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70 140
Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002
Posts: 8471
Location: Ontario Canada
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| What are you guys paying for tank rentals and re-fills? |
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jackbombay
Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2007
Posts: 2723
Location: Eastern Idaho
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| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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I'll need to do some floor pan work and a couple nickel sized holes on my 82 vanagon, I've welded plenty of 1/8" and thicker stuff with my 110 Lincoln running .030 flux core wire, which seem slike way overkill for the thin sheet metal of my van. What size wire is prefered? With gas I assume.
Flange tool, looks like a cool toy, so you make a recess for your patch to drop into then punch holes in your patch which you then fill with the welder? |
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noexit
Samba Member
Joined: September 18, 2006
Posts: 329
Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:55 am Post subject: |
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It's cheaper for a home user in the long run to buy the tank. When you refill you usually just exchange your tank for a full one. I don't know the prices off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure it ends up cheaper than renting.
There's a point that's been confusing me a bit though. MIG=Metal Inert Gas, so if you're using flux-core wire with no gas, you're not really using MIG. You're basically stick welding with an automatic feed are you not?
I'd like to vouch for TIG though. It's really nice. Really easy to learn, (except when your welds are suddenly really bad and you can't figure out why until you realize your gas isin't on) and you can weld pretty much anything. Aluminum, Magnesium, Titainum, Stainless, Copper. It's really cool. |
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Stuggi
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2007
Posts: 1208
Location: Jakobstad, Finland
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mohbluegrass
Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2004
Posts: 85
Location: St. Louis
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 8:57 am Post subject: CK |
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| I did a rent to own from CK on a Miller Matic 300. Work nicely. |
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1970 Beetle
1969 Panelvan