Stick / Mig / Inverter ?

[Muz]

(Split from Druids build thread) Cool stuff .. some accurate work there and pleased to see another stick user .. everyone around me is mig this and mig that .. but I find a stick very easy , effective and adaptable

[v8druid]

Cool stuff .. some accurate work there and pleased to see another stick user .. everyone around me is mig this and mig that .. but I find a stick very easy , effective and adaptable

Learnt to stick when I was 5 Muz and been doin' it a long time!
Hobson's choice ATM and would be at it with the MIG in a flash mate (pardon the pun).
Soooo much quicker and the the penetration with the right set is just awesome.

Stick is OK, easier to use outdoors, which is where I currently have to work (no toy shed still) and will do the job, as long as yer's careful how you go about it. Very satisfying to lay down though

Spent many years stick welding, before eventually going over to MIGs for daily work and only resorted to stick when pushed/necessary.
As you say though, very adaptable and use it anywhere.

Using a lil' Esab Caddy inverter currently, as a source and it has to be said it's amazing.

caddy.jpg

Have had it years - bloody expensive in the days when I bought it, but can get 'em for around 200 quid now - got one for the BIL last year and he's chuffed to beans with it
The Caddy'll run a 3.25 all day and 4mm at about 60% duty cycle - from a 13 amp socket!!
It puts down a lovely weld too, being DC.

Kept a couple of MIGs from my shop, but 3 ph and haven't found a decent enough genny, at the right price yet to run 'em, yet.
Got a lil' 1 ph, 180 A mig which is ok for lil' bits 'n bobs but is hard pushed on full chat, to give adequate juice for bigger stuff.

Been considering one of these for a while ..............

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2512516263...84.m1436.l2649



......... and got to try one at a mate's fab shop a few weeks ago - bloody good it was too - he's slowly replacing all his rectifier units with 'em!

Inverter tech is the way to go, without doubt and cheap to run

Biggest thing with the MIG is knowing how to set it up, for what you want to do - once you have the drop on set up, they're a fab tool to use, for just about anything, from car wings to cutting edges and bucket repairs, but do not like drafts!!



Better go find a bit more for Jim an ' you then eh

[Muz]

Another gas bottle to have and rent is a cost draw back for me with the MIG though .. then its thickness of wire .. what to have ? .. they go through tips too dont they ?

[Stock]

I'm a stick user ......................

[v8druid]

Another gas bottle to have and rent is a cost draw back for me with the MIG though .. then its thickness of wire .. what to have ? .. they go through tips too dont they ?

The gas bottle is a bit of a downer Muz - they ain't cheap, unless they're in use regularly.

I was an agent for BOC for donkey's years and the cost of the rental was something I used to constantly have a go at 'em about, especially for occasional/hobby users.
If they took the rental off and increased the product cost a bit, they'd have hundreds, if not thousands more cylinders out in use and new customers using 'em!!

As for wire, there's very little you can't do with 0.8mm - car chassis to cutting edge/bucket repairs. Rarely bothered to, load 1mm or 1.2mm unless there was lots of work to warrant the faff.

You also need a good set to run 1mm/1.2mm, where as 0.8 well juiced will put down some bloody impressive welds and achieve serious penetration with circa 180-200 amps.
Multi layer runs is a POP with the MIG - root, with 3 or 4 over lays and then even more caps if you really want a big fillet, in a 1/4 to 1/3rd of the time it'd take with the stick and wire is seriously cheaper than rods - 15kgs of wire is just that - 15kgs of rods is probably only 11kgs of metal!

Tips are purely down to the user, most of the time and are buttons anyway !
Keep the shroud clean and not drowning in the melt to keep yer tips in one piece.
They come in different sizes of mount/adaptors, depending on what you're doing - lots of heavy use, use M8 / 8mm adaptors/mounts/tips to stick the heat. General work is perfectly ok with M6 / 6mm mounts, if using screw in tips.

Used to use Bernard torches for heavy lay down - parallel 10mm dia tips - twist to grip - about 2" long and very robust. Hardly ever replaced 'em, unless you hard a burn back at the end of a roll and welded itself inside the tip

I'll take some pix of the various bits and put 'em up.

A tip used carefully/properly should last many hours continuous use - a week 'praps, as in 40-50 hrs continuous use - tip dip also helps to improve longevity.

If considering buying a MIG - do not buy cheap.
it's a must have that it has a Euroconnector for the torch.
Fixed torches are a complete PITA and usually impossible to get spares for, or maintain.

Unless you're going to be doing loads of piddly stuff, put a good size torch on it. Binzel/Parweld MB36 will last forever on a 250A set and allows bigger tips/adapters to be used.
MB25 Ergo's a nice torch too, for general bench work, but does get hot with 200A going down it regularly.
Bucket repairs - MB36 - end of!

An MB150 torch for fiddly work's not huge money - say 40ish quid and the 36 about 60 quid. two minutes to swap over.

Liners, which do give issues and get clogged with copper dust off the CCMS (copper coated mild steel) wire are peanuts and five minutes to change.
Copper free wire negates this, but unless you're getting through a roll every other day, forget it - goes rusty PDQ!
(the liner is the bit the wire travels through, from the Euroconnector to the torch neck - looks like a stretchy spring curtain wire!)

If anyone wants any help/advice or has Q.s on this subject, it's what I've done for over 35 years and am only too happy to help, with any welding/cutting/fabrication related issues.

[ianoz]

Graham , My Uncle builds Aluminium Plate boats,and uses a 3 phase mig .
He moved into the bush a while back and now only has single wire {SWR]mains 240 volt power .
He was going to go the 3 phase gennerator way . But got onto a phase converter
I have no understanding to the black magic it creates .All i know is he uses his same 3 phase mig though it .
So may be worth seeing if it suits your aplication .

[v8druid]

Graham , My Uncle builds Aluminium Plate boats,and uses a 3 phase mig .
He moved into the bush a while back and now only has single wire {SWR]mains 240 volt power .
He was going to go the 3 phase gennerator way . But got onto a phase converter
I have no understanding to the black magic it creates .All i know is he uses his same 3 phase mig though it .
So may be worth seeing if it suits your aplication .

Do you know if it's a rotary or solid state inverter Ian?

The rotaries have 'issues' - 'kin noisy and very power hungry - basically a motor run genny - lots in to get less out.

The solid states also eat leccy!!! If no alternative though, it's a solution to a problem

Must be a big 'un if solid too!

Inverter MIGs are very frugal, even compared to 3 ph power source MIGs and give a lovely weld.
It's the main reason I'm considering one. Ease of use and sensible running costs - once you've shelled out for it!!

[v8druid]

I'm a stick user ......................

Nothing wrong with that Stock we all have our crosses to bear

Have you ever used/tried a MIG?

[ianoz]

I have no idea which type it is .