is this rod shop guy nuts?

i heard of a new shop in the area and i went to check it out to see what hes got on the go. mostly high dollar stuff but he had a nice truck. out of curiousity i asked what he welded the rear 2x4 frame with. he pointed at a 115 volt lincoln. i had to ask to be sure and he swears by it... now if theres anything ive learned along the way its HES NUTS! i asked a few more questions and after doing this for 15 years hes never had a complaint on the lifetime of his work.

so this brings up the talk thats seems to come up every month or so on here. is it really alright? his only claim was "its not from home depot". i hate to bring it up cause i know there will be at least 10 guys saying this and that but theres just something i dont get about a pro shop having a 115 volt mig as its only welder. for pro street frames!?!?!

 

Are the welds screwed up?

 

Where in the area?
Whats the name of the shop? I'd like to check it out if it's not to far from me.

ThanX

 

most suspension/frame work on cars is within the range of the 110 volt welders. up to 3/16 or so. i've done all mine with a small lincoln...that came from home depot. haven't had a failure yet, knock on wood. one thing is to make sure you have good supply current to the welder, including the garage wiring and extension cord. the frame may be 1/8", no problem for a baby mig. now if the welds look like he slapped some boogers on the joint, i might be concerned.

 

If I were running a shop I'd probobly invest in a bigger machine. But if you know what you're doing a 110 volt mig will do fine on 1/8" steel.

 

Just like bodywork, chrome plating, and everything else, it's ALL about the prep work. Keep in mind, the metal in a car's ch***is is not all that thick. If all the joints are lined up properly, with a V shaped bevel where the weld is going to lay down, you can weld a car ch***is with a smaller welder like that.

If you **** **** together without a groove, or leave a big *** gap to fill in, or don't clean all the rust/paint/slag off of a piece of steel before you weld it, or whatever, I dont' give a **** if you have the biggest, baddest welder in the world, your welds are going to be good for ****.

Even a 120V welder can produce enough power to melt to pieces of steel together, otherwise it wouldn't be a welder. Prep it right and you can weld safely on a ch***is with one of those units. I'd rather use a 120V Miller or Lincoln than some cheap hardware store welder, no matter how "big" it is.

 

I did my first scratch built T-buket frame with a little buzz-box. Never had any issues but I'm not sure I'd go that route again.

I think tough if you really prepared everything, chamfered the edges and layed down perfect beads it might be OK.

 

I love my lil' Lincoln Weldpack 100, I bought, 12 years ago and it rocks.
I would like to buy one of those big boy's toys but in the meantime I'm content.

 

well i guess that answers my question, and judging by the cars he was building he knows his work. i dont know about the quality of the weld though, i would asume its a+, everything was ground though.

58chev. its in the same parking lot as the east parking lot at the streetsville go station. you turn onto old station road off of mississauga road. you get into the parking lot and do an imidiate right and its an old house turned shop. he shares it with a car detialing company. i THINK its number is 11. you'll know it when you see it.

 

Let's see.......The saying in the firearms community goes something like this......"Beware the man that owns only one gun.....He very likely knows how to use it."

Could be the same with this guy and his welder.

Roger

 

i have a 115 wire feed for my body work that i do.. not for my frame because i couldnt see it realy geting the penitration it needed. for that i use my 210 stick.

 

110 (or 115) refers to the input voltage the welder uses. Household 110 is 110 VAC RMS (root mean square) You will actually see about 120 VAC at the outlet.

All 110 welders can plug into the same outlet as your toaster, but range in output from about 80 to 150 amps. The amperage is what does the weldin'. An 80 amp welder is good to about 1/8, while a 140 or 150 amp unit will do damn near 1/4 single p***.

So, if your guy is doing his ch***is with a 90 amp pocket mig, he is pushing it's limits, but if he has say, a 140 amp Millermatic, he should be just fine.

-Abone.

 

I used a Lincoln WeldPak 100 to weld the home built hardtail and neck on my bike's frame. The frame was done in '98, the neck in '99. Both are still holding strong, even with the excessive forces from the sidecar I also built with it in '03.

Proper use of the tools is at least as important, if not more so, than the tools.

 

I believe miller, hobart and lincoln all make 115 volt welders that are nearly 165-170 amp machines, which is plenty to do everything on a car. Wheather or not thats the machine your talking about, I do not know. Dont get me wrong, I personally want a bit more machine, and I have one, but I also have a Miller 115volt, 135 amp machine, and use the **** out of it.

 

Built all kinds of frames with me 125 plus bikes cars ultralight planes if its fitted right no problems 115v good to 3/16-1/4in no problem anything thickers an over kill!

 

We have a big Miller 250 TIG machine, but do 98% of our work at about 120 amps.

 

I agree that bigger is better, if possible. There's nothing like a 220 mig but,I use a 110 mig all the time, in my garage, for lighter stuff and use the 220 arc, at work, for the larger stuff (3/16 up). From my experience, the things you have to watch: 1) are having the joint beveled and as clean as possible. I mean grinder clean, not wire brush clean. 2) use a dedicated circuit for maximum amperage. You can't have the lights on, fan going, radio blaring and the welder on at the same time, on the same circuit. 3)If I'm welding, let's say 3/16, I turn everything in the garage off and turn up the power, turn down the wire feed speed and work the puddle. Works good. If you neglect any of the above items though, it will not want to weld decent.

That's a good line about the guy with one gun.

 

A pro welder has the sense to know when a 110 volt would do. A quality 110 like a Miller will most automotive work no sweat.

 

The little Lincoln and others will do the job [if he had used 1/8" tubing or 3/16" at most] -AND- as others suggest decent PREPARATION......
Also the use of a long[10 feet or more] extension cord will limit the welding capabilities of the 110 unit by quite a lot.....BUT if Plugged directly into a 20 Amp outlet he should be all right....

 

To cut down on warp, you're only going to make small s***ches or even dots anyway on a non-jig job, and then spend the next week connecting all the dots or s***ches. 110 will work fine. For a jig based ***embly, then a hot and fast long bead with a 220 welder is much more speed productive.

 

I haven't got that brave yet for a frame yet (or had need to yet) with my HTP 120, but appreciate the responses here.

 

There is a 115 or 110 lincoln that kicks ***.

I forget what the number designation is.....but its pretty damn tough.

The lincoln I have is straight from lowes (weldpak 100). It will weld 1/4" pretty good with the flux core wire, but on gas, its lucky to weld 1/8".

The lincoln I'm thinking about (the one that kicks ***) will weld 1/4" all day long (on gas) without breaking a sweat. I've seen it in action. I've tested the welds personally.

I bet that shop has one.

 

I've got a 110 Millermatic. Umm, sure it will stick two pieces together and beautifully at that. But frame work? Sure like I said it will stick the two pieces together. I personally do NO structural work with the 110. I have a Miller 251 for all that.

You really are getting into the outer reaches of the small machine trying to use it like that. Duty Cycle and Amps.

You may never have a problem, but I like piece of mind. No doubts, no questions about the structural integrity of a completed weld. I, 150% trust in my welding and have earned good money with that skill. But I like the piece of mind that my weld will not fail before anything else.

 

I have both a Lincoln 110 Mig and a 225 Amp/220 volt Lincoln stick that is gathering dust. Just like painting, PREP IS ALL!!

 

Take him two pieces of 1/8 inch plate, have him weld them, then cut the weld in 2 and inspect the weld, that will give you a look at the penetration.
Only other way to tell is to have it xrayed. If the penetration goes all the way trough with a small bead on the inside, then I would definetly trust his 110 mig. There is no ******** this way, you either have the penetration or you don't, take the guess work out. The cut should be smooth as possible to show grain boundries on penetration. Lets us know the out come?

 

By the way,
Just so you guys don't think I'm welding frame stuff with a weldpak 100....

I also have a Hobart Handler 220 that I use for the big stuff.

The difference is amazing.

 

He grinds his welds,hmmm maybe they're ugly then.

I have a Hobart 110/140 amp that kicks ****in ***.
Been building frames forever and never had a problem,ever!
My old prostreet '67 Cuda convert is still in one peice too,built it in the mid 80s.....Shiny

 

I was hoping I wasn't the only one that caught the "grinds all of his welds"
Reguardless of what he is using to do the welding, or how much penitration he may or may not be getting, if he is grinding 1/2 the weld off what difference will it make? I'm sure he is grinding everything smooth so it looks pretty.

So the big question in my mind is just how much material, base or weld filler rod, is really left after the grinding? Grinding any weld on a structural part scares the hell out of me. How do you know for sure just how much material you are removing?

Maybe I'm the guy that's nuts.
Gene

 

I like looking at the welds, I clean them up but I don't grind them smooth.

 

I've had one of the little lincolns with gas and a large spool conversion for about 10-12. I've personally built 4 ch***is with it without a doubt in their strength. I recognize the limitations that this welder has and meticulously prep everything before welding. No rust, fresh steel, and V-out the welded area. When things are beyond the reach of the 110 such as steering components they were routinely brought to be tigged.

one thing I like about the lincoln is I can bring it places easily and know I can use it anywhere.

my uncle has been using a little hobart that he likes alot and he was an exclusive 220 user until he tried this one.