I thought I could handle any welding job with a Miller Roughneck so that is what I used in 1980  to build these two trailers.....  Since then some of the thin 14 or 16 guage tin the fenders and the splash guard, inside the fender, has come apart where my great welding wasn't so great...Not long after that I bought a mig welder with an argon and co2 tank. I never opend the boxes it came if for two years  for I didn't know how to operate it.....Wife suggested I go to a body shop to ask my old, use to be, customers to give me some help on operations of the mig. Oh man, you sold us these machines and didn't know how to use them. I said I would just tell a new prospect to call this other body shop and ask Jim or Bob who bought one last month and ask them what to do for they love these machines. And to operate them just put all the knobs setting on medium and go from there. So they told me , that is what we are telling you now.

   So anyway I used this mig on the welds that came apart from using a stick welder....In all the years now since about 82 I have owned and used this mig real often. I own my tank and they might not sell the tanks anymore, they make more money leasing them so all it ever cost me is to refill it.

   Anybody can operate one but I do recommend one that uses the  argon- co2 tank for it does away with using flux covered wire which a person has to chip the flux off and use a grinding brush to make primer and paint stick to the metal. A mig welder don't work so hot it a wind but other wise they are great. Also the flux covered wire is too high priced and probably higher than the tank expense and saves lots of hand labor!!

I was subbing at the local Vocational school recently and had to walk thru the Welding shop. The kids were all doing their "thing" and it was amazing to see some of the welds they were making using the MIG welders. 

 

My only experience with welding is with an old 220v Lincoln stick welder and I haven't done any of that for years. I was never very good at it. I didn't have enough coordination between getting the arc going and flipping down the helmet.

52 minutes ago, lew said:

I was subbing at the local Vocational school recently and had to walk thru the Welding shop. The kids were all doing their "thing" and it was amazing to see some of the welds they were making using the MIG welders. 

 

My only experience with welding is with an old 220v Lincoln stick welder and I haven't done any of that for years. I was never very good at it. I didn't have enough coordination between getting the arc going and flipping down the helmet.

Somewhere along the way, someone invented a self-darkening helmet. Just saying!

John

Just now, HARO50 said:

someone invented a self-darkening helmet

 

When the welding instructor taught me to weld, these weren't available. Haven't welded in years although I do check out Craig's list for these from time to time.

9 minutes ago, lew said:

When the welding instructor taught me to weld, these weren't available.

I learned back in the mid 60's, stick and oxy-acetylene, so I can relate. Worked a little with it over the years, but couldn't afford my own equipment, don't think I could do it anymore.

John

There is lots of coordination going on between your hand holding the long rod a foot or so away from where a person is trying to strike an arc using a stick type welder,,,,,, But a person can use the other hand to steady  both hands since they are just inches away from what is being welded together...using a mig..This is where a first time mig welder turns into a pro almost immediately. Plus being able to adjust the rate of wire feed and the infinite amount of heat a person needs to accomplish the melding of the three metals together, And really it doesn't take that much experience to know when and how to manipulate the knobs. A large cylinder of  gas last many hours of practice.

And like John said with the self darkening helmet you are looking at where to position  you hands to start the process and the lens will darken as you pull the trigger  and the wire touches the metal right where it needs to be.. But if you forgot to clamp the ground  cable stop and do that, As with the stick welder sometimes I would strike an arc 5 or 6  inches away from where I wanted to weld.

MIG is sweet stuff....  When i took my welding class at the evening class at the county tech high school I got to cut a 5/8" brick of steel on a power bandsaw and lay them down and fill in the V.   Put it on the press afterward a couldn't budge it and it was clean as a whistle (unlike my no-so-pretty stick welding).   Just recently picked up a blue wrench so can get in much more trouble now....

Not heard of blue wrench??? Whats

oxy-acetylene

 

 

which reminds me i need to stop at home despot for some brazing rod...

Edited January 27, 20179 yr by p_toad