Repair-It

Buddy at work was selling. He described it as a 120V small Lincoln with a MIG/gas conversion kit. He is selling to step up to a 240V. He has done up to 3/16" on flux core with full penetration (these terms are filthy but it's welding so I'm not surprised). 120V is nice because you can plug it in anywhere though 20A circuits are best for the higher amperage settings. I have a 20A circuit available in my basement and a 12ga extension cord so for garage work I am covered. My generator can also do 20A on each 120V plug so that is an interesting combo should the need to be mobile ever arise. Plus it is light and portable itself. In fact the cart and welder fit in my STS trunk which is not the most generously sized. If a gas cylinder can lay down, that would fit, too. I don't think it would fit standing up. But it would fit behind the front seats. And before Bill gets too excited, all welding gas is inert by definition....CO2, argon, etc.

Anyway, he described it but didn't yet say it was already on CL or what he wanted. I interrupted with "well I'm interested I guess but you probably want more than $100." He goes, well, I'd take $125. Oh. Turns out he was asking $225 which is I think essentially market value or a little under. So $125 is good.

https://newlondon.craigslist.org/tls/d/ ... 08651.html (attached as PDF because this will surely disappear soon)
As far as I can tell this is a quality entry level unit (obviously from a reputable brand). 20% duty cycle which I assume is typical for this type of machine.

I will need to obtain the following things (list for later):
- Welding mask
- Slag hammer
- Gloves
- Gas cylinder with a fill of something...not sure what yet
- Comes with a spool of flux core so I would need a spool of something else for MIG
- Flapper wheels for my angle grinder

Maybe Adam will chime in if I am missing anything important. I assume Harbor Freight for a lot of this, and then Airgas in Warwick for the wire and gas.

Wondering if I should just buy some stainless wire and use that for all general purpose steel welding. More expensive but corrosion resistant welds which is interesting.

And before Adam says "you are grinding and sanding the native/nearby mild steel surface anyway, which is not protected by using stainless wire so you need to prime/paint/protect all nearby surfaces anyway" I would reply with a theory that welds are the first to rust. If that is actually true or potentially true, I think a reason why could be imperfect welds (i.e. porosity and maybe some trapped oxygen which sort of rusts from the inside out and which stainless would be much more immune to).

In other words, not going by the book, but sort of an amateur approach given that A) I don't care about the extra cost of the spool given the incredibly low volume I'll be doing and B) probably shouldn't assume that all of my welds are going to be perfect (which offsets any concern that stainless wire on mild steel may technically result in a slightly less strong joint). None of this seems incredibly off base to me...

Mike give me some tips.

- Don't buy a helmet/mask at Harbor Freight. He said a Hobart one at TSC may be a good mid-grade. He may not be familiar with HF's "better" offering.
- Look at the puddle, not the arc

There is some good common sense here.

https://forum.millerwelds.com/forum/wel ... s-mig-wire

309 stainless wire is used for welding stainless steels to mild steels, for best results. Depending on the job, you may not need best results, however. Even standard wire already in your machine will make the joint; it just won't be the best. Not all jobs need the best.

Here, here!

And

Use 309L
It works on tons of stuff. Very handy wire.
Use straight CO2 with it whether it is flux or plain wire. I prefer plain wire.

And maybe more confirmation on this 309L thing:
https://www.hobartbrothers.com/product- ... 309%2F309L

Used for joining similar 309L alloys or for joining 300-series stainless steels to carbon or low alloy steels.

Which would suggest that it could also be used for joining two pieces of mild steel. So 309L I guess is my current target....

Still not sure on the gas. Sounds like C25 (25% CO2, 75% argon) is the way to go.

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/s ... etail.aspx

When should I use 308L, 309L or 316L filler metal?
308L (including ER308LSi) is predominately used on austenitic stainless steels, such as types 301, 302, 304, 305 and cast alloys CF-8 and CF-3. For high temperature applications such as in the electrical power industry, the high carbon 308H electrode provides better creep resistance than does 308L.

316L (including ER316LSi) filler metal should be used with 316L and 316 base metals. CF-8M and CF-3M are the cast equivalents of 316 and 316L, respectively.

Use 309L (including ER309LSi) when joining mild steel or low alloy steel to stainless steels, for joining dissimilar stainless steels such as 409 to itself or to 304L stainless, as well as for joining 309 base metal. CG-12 is the cast equivalent of 309. Some 308L applications may be substituted with 309L filler metal, but 316L or 316 applications generally require molybdenum and 309L contains no molybdenum.

Type 347 stainless steel filler metal is ideal for 347 and 321 base materials because it matches these stabilized grades. CF-8C is the cast equivalent of 347. Type 347 filler metal is also suitable most 308L filler metal applications.

Still think 309L must be OK for a mild steel weld. It's just that no one would normally do this since it is unnecessary. And again, may technically be slightly less strong? But it's listed for mild steel, 409 and 304 which seem like most of the steels I will encounter.

I ordered a very nice helmet, some very nice gloves and a slag hammer from Cyber Weld. Pretty cool place. Good deals.

Hobart Welding Helmet - PRO Black 770753, on clearance for $90. Normally $210. The lens is huge!! Multi-tint levels, too.
https://m.cyberweld.com/hohoweheblxv1.html

Tillman Welding Gloves - Super Premium Elkskin 850
Size : L. On sale for $25, normally $33.
https://m.cyberweld.com/tisuprelwegl.html

Atlas Chipping Hammer - Straight Head, Spring Handle AT-H. $8.25.
https://m.cyberweld.com/chipping.html

Plus $15 off for signing up for the text advertising. Will cancel if annoying...

Grand total $116 w tax. I think that is really good.

Can Ed borrow it?

Finally got a sanding disc. 60 grit.

https://youtu.be/qScAlxb34UA

This guy recommends straight CO2 for sheet metal work.

Also, this is an awesome tip:
https://youtu.be/_u31t13QO6A

I may actually have an old CO2 bottle to trade in at Airgas.