Buying a MIG

[nallac]

No longer made, you can't even get parts.

The WIA?... If it helps, Auckland welder repairs is run/owned by guys who made WIA welders when they were made on the Shore.
WIA are still getting made.

[Ocean1]

The WIA?... If it helps, Auckland welder repairs is run/owned by guys who made WIA welders when they were made on the Shore.
WIA are still getting made.

WIA's NZ distributors had no idea 5 years ago about that, I sent 2 $5K pulse-plasma MIGs to the tip.

[flyingcrocodile46]

I bought a DC 130 amp Inverter/Arc/Tig/Plasma cutter (in hard plastic casing so it looks a lot like the XM180 PRO Mig welder in one of your links) because it welds a wider range of metals plus is supposed to be better for thin sheet work (AC/DC is better for welding aluminum, though I am told it is possible with DC if you are good at welding) plus a plasma cutter adds the extra benefit of being able to cut as well (the real reason was I scored it for $500 new) . I was also told that it is too easy to get a good looking but weak weld which might fail with a Mig welder (gets hot enough to stick to the metal but maybe not heat the base metal enough for the weld to merge properly with the base metal if you aren't careful). If you are going to get a Mig why not get a 200 amp (or bigger) so you can also weld Aluminum?

BTW I can't weld to save my life and am yet to fire the sucker up and start learning

[bogan]

I bought a DC 130 amp Inverter/Arc/Tig/Plasma cutter (in hard plastic casing so it looks a lot like the XM180 PRO Mig welder in one of your links) because it welds a wider range of metals plus is supposed to be better for thin sheet work (AC/DC is better for welding aluminum, though I am told it is possible with DC if you are good at welding) plus a plasma cutter adds the extra benefit of being able to cut as well (the real reason was I scored it for $500 new) . I was also told that it is too easy to get a good looking but weak weld which might fail with a Mig welder (gets hot enough to stick to the metal but maybe not heat the base metal enough for the weld to merge properly with the base metal if you aren't careful). If you are going to get a Mig why not get a 200 amp (or bigger) so you can also weld Aluminum?

BTW I can't weld to save my life and am yet to fire the sucker up and start learning

Yeh I think its is doable, but you have to swap the ground with the electrode so the ali doesn't oxidise??

Plasma cutting is the only thing that temps me to go with arc/tig over mig; but with the success of my makita 185mm skill saw with a ali blade, I think Ill try out a ferrous blade next.

Not a fan of mig for ali, alright for bigger jobs like boat hulls, but really want a pedal control for the precision ali I would be welding.

I'm thinking the weldtech XM180 looks like the go; I'll give it a heap of work in the year under warranty, so it'll be well tested.

Best thing to do when learning is to do little welds (30-50mm) then brake them open again and check for penetration.

[Madness]

Go & talk to the guys at TradeZone in Tremaine Ave before you buy out of town. XcelArc machines are very good value for money & the guy behind them here in N.Z is a GC.

[Akzle]

I bought a DC 130 amp Inverter/Arc/Tig/Plasma cutter (in hard plastic casing so it looks a lot like the XM180 PRO Mig welder in one of your links) because it welds a wider range of metals plus is supposed to be better for thin sheet work (AC/DC is better for welding aluminum, though I am told it is possible with DC if you are good at welding) plus a plasma cutter adds the extra benefit of being able to cut as well (the real reason was I scored it for $500 new) . I was also told that it is too easy to get a good looking but weak weld which might fail with a Mig welder (gets hot enough to stick to the metal but maybe not heat the base metal enough for the weld to merge properly with the base metal if you aren't careful). If you are going to get a Mig why not get a 200 amp (or bigger) so you can also weld Aluminum?

BTW I can't weld to save my life and am yet to fire the sucker up and start learning

i
ll take that off your hands and put i to use if ya want...

Yeh I think its is doable, but you have to swap the ground with the electrode so the ali doesn't oxidise??

Plasma cutting is the only thing that temps me to go with arc/tig over mig; but with the success of my makita 185mm skill saw with a ali blade, I think Ill try out a ferrous blade next.

arc gouging rods!

yeah swapping the leads over keeps the heat in the table/piece, not sure about the oxidising thing though...

[flyingcrocodile46]

Yeh I think its is doable, but you have to swap the ground with the electrode so the ali doesn't oxidise??

Why can't you TIG weld Aluminium with DC current?

You can TIG weld it beautifully with AC, but if you turn the TIG welder to DC it doesn't work.... You don't get a nice little weld pool, the sample seems to overheat and deform and it goes all black on the outside. The welding rod just leaves circular globules on the top that don't melt to the main body. You can happily do stainless and other steels on DC, but not Aluminium.

Because of the oxide layer on aluminum. The melting point of Aluminum is just 660C while that of aluminum oxide is over 2000C. When you use AC, you actually are constantly breaking off the oxide coating by thermal cycling. Remember, Aluminum Oxide (or alumina is a ceramic, and is very brittle, so it breaks off easily. With DC, you get nowhere because you're heating the oxide but not enough to melt it.

Steels don't oxidize nearly as easily as Aluminum and their oxides are not nearly as nasty. So they can be welded happily using DC.

To TIG welder Aluminum on DC set up the machine just as you would for welding steel... Use straight Helium (you can mix a little Argon to help clean) and use normal 4043 rod (5356 rod will not work). Placement of the rod is key with DC Straight. It will ball up really fast if placed poorly.

I'm thinking maybe the gas mixture reduces the oxidising?

[nallac]

WIA's NZ distributors had no idea 5 years ago about that, I sent 2 $5K pulse-plasma MIGs to the tip.

Damn that sucks........ woulda been about 6 years ago i used em to fix the wire feed on my old WIA. Cheap to fix to. Does help when they actually made my welder.....

[carburator]

WIA 205 bernard gun ( single phase )

ive replaced a couple of the relays with omron ones
and the main power relay ( hence the reason is was on the scrap pile )
its a neat machine from sheet steel to throwing down a 10mm V butt
weld

weldwell 220 bernard gun ( single phase )
admittly i did'nt first feel the love for this machine even brand new

weldwell 165 ...

well the gun it comes with is shit.. and its not a euro connect either
nozzle screws on one way the tip the other so do one up the other comes undone..
does'nt like a long tip ( i whip at least 4mm off the tip before use in the lathe. )

the welder itself, well with .9wire power 4 feed 3 seems to be the only setting it likes
Id do 5mm plate with it, certainly you get the weld pool going and do the mig wiggle
it produces a nice weld pentration is not great but for light fab work in sheet steel its
nice to use.. key with this welder is prep grinding those V's



have a Xcel/arc tig/arc ac/dc machine for tig its good
personally i can't weld alloy with it to save myself at all
either I need to set the foot control up on it and hit the right settings?

and Mate ive personally cut alloy plate upto 100 thick with a BIG skillsaw
and lots of lube being sprayed on works a treat! ( fine tooth carbide tip blade )

[bogan]

Went to BOC and Techweld/tradezone today. Techwelds xcel-arc stuff looks good, but is a bit more than I'm wanting to spend, probably cos it does Tig and Stick as well. BOC seem to have a nice wee 180amp MIG for a bit cheaper than the weldtech one I was looking at, and being local is a plus. Only thing is it doesn't have a wire feed adjustment, I guess that just means it changes the feed speed according to the current setting?

have a Xcel/arc tig/arc ac/dc machine for tig its good
personally i can't weld alloy with it to save myself at all
either I need to set the foot control up on it and hit the right settings?

and Mate ive personally cut alloy plate upto 100 thick with a BIG skillsaw
and lots of lube being sprayed on works a treat! ( fine tooth carbide tip blade )

Foot control makes alloy welding a lot easier, and good prep of course.

Good to know, may need to cut some largeish round bar with it soon.

[carburator]

Went to BOC and Techweld/tradezone today. Techwelds xcel-arc stuff looks good, but is a bit more than I'm wanting to spend, probably cos it does Tig and Stick as well. BOC seem to have a nice wee 180amp MIG for a bit cheaper than the weldtech one I was looking at, and being local is a plus. Only thing is it doesn't have a wire feed adjustment, I guess that just means it changes the feed speed according to the current setting?

Foot control makes alloy welding a lot easier, and good prep of course.

Good to know, may need to cut some largeish round bar with it soon.

Ive got a spool gun for alloy that I have setup on a Plusemig that I can use rather well!

A lot of guys might cringe ( cutting alloy bar we have put a carbide tipped blade into a drop
saw and have the bar clamped Uber tight! ) DON"T even try with a skillsaw mate...

see if you can have a test drive of a demo unit?

reading the blurb for it, the voltage control act's as the wire feed control
probably use the unductance control to fin tune?

[jasonu]

Oh yeah, a replacement simple drive card for my Miller was going to cost more than the machine that replaced it.

Sounds like someone was trying to diddle you.

[Ocean1]

reading the blurb for it, the voltage control act's as the wire feed control
probably use the unductance control to fin tune?

Yes, it's usually labeled wire speed but it also changes the voltage.
There's a trim-pot on the drive card that changes the voltage range relating to the wire feed setting. On any new machine I always play with that to suit whatever wire / work I'll be using the machine for. On two machines I've wired an external pot in series with the trim-pot so I can fuck with it on the fly.

On one machine the volts were so far out I couldn't wind the wirefeed up past about 40%, even though the wire I was using should have allowed full noise. Going down on wire size just to get more volts is silly, that was the first machine that got the above mod.

Oh, and I've routinely cut 20mm 7K series tooling plate with a 10" skillsaw. However, I'd kick the apprentice's arse if he tried it.

[Ocean1]

Sounds like someone was trying to diddle you.

It's a national sport mate.

They don't get to deal with me again.

[The Lone Rider]

Anybody know of a decent deal? Theres heaps of different brands, and I'm wondering if it is the type of tool which manufacturers can build cheaply and properly, or whether a reputable brand is worth a bit extra?

for example, difference between these two?
http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-fa...-479073880.htm
https://machineryhouse.co.nz/W1099

Also, how much is bottle rental?

A cheap gasless one from Trademe (less than $400) was what was mainly used to build this

What I couldn't weld had more to do with my skill than the welder, in my opinion. So I tacked it and got other people to finish weld on their gas rigs.