Scott Hightower

It takes some practice but you can weld aluminum with a mig. I welded tons of racecar parts and never broke a weld, even in a hard crash. You need 100% argon though for the sheilding gas. If you don't have a pull gun make sure you keep your lead as straight as possible.

Scott
welders360

the 110V is certainly undersized for this application

but if you must proceed, grind a deep bevel and weld multiple passes with the heat set at 100%

not a long term solution but may get you by

Scott
welders360

for novice welders make sure you keep an eye on the puddle and be sure that both components are melting. You can lay down a pretty bead that has no strength if one side is not fused.

Also, be sure the sheilding gas is not blown away by a fan or the wind if welding outside. Set up a curtain to stop the wind.

Scott
welders360

TIG will produce a more aesthetic weld.
MIG is OK but you should use a spool gun and you must use 100% argon as the shielding gas.

Both will take some practice.

Scott
Welders360

To prevent glazing I added a cheater bar to my handle. With a little more leverage you can apply more pressure to each cut.

Scott
Welders360

You should be very competitive at $30 per hour. Estimate the time with a little fluff, mark up any material costs by 30% add labor and material together and you should be OK.

Worst case if it takes twice as long you still make $15 an hour.

If a customer wants to supply his own material this is OK too. It takes some of the risk out of the equation and you usually end up with some drop material.

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360.com

Add a ground strap from the nozzle to the cabinet.
Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360.com

Lincoln has a pretty good reputation in particular they are somewhat famous for the buzzbox that you are considering. I know allot of people that use that machine for repair work on the farm and similar work.

If you are doing any serious welding though you may want to consider a small MIG machine. A little more money but I find them easier to use and faster (no chipping).

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360.com

If you were repairing a forklift tine I would use 10018 although I would prefer not to fix it at all. In your case, since you are not putting the tines back on a forklift 7018 will suffice.

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360.com

6010 would be the easiest and provide good penetration but you may get allot of weld spatter. Use the 6010 for a root pass, knock off all the spatter, then do a final cap pass with 7018 for a nice looking weld.

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360

I find that TIG is more art than science meaning practice, practice and practice. Of the people I have taught welding to, for some reason they find TIG more difficult than most forms of welding.

As mentioned earlier in the thread though, I agree with turning the machine down a bit and be sure to shield the back side of thin gauge material.

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360

Since I don't have a 220 plug in my garage (and probably won't put one in any time soon), I'm wondering if it's worth looking into 110v welders.
I don't have a very big budget, any recommendations for decent brands/models that won't cost me an arm and a leg?
Most of my limited experience is with DC arc welding, would you recommend that I pick up a mig welder instead? Would one work better than the other on 110v?

Justin

AC/DC for versatility.

Personally I like MIG for rookies it seems easier although that would rule out your gouging.

BIGGER is better so go 220 volt if you can. You should be able to do this without adding a sub panel. You can add a double breaker to the existing panel to get the 220. These fit into the standard panels.

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360

Spend the extra money and purchase a MIG machine. As a novice you will appreciate how easy it is to learn MIG and lay down a decent bead.

Scott
welders360.com

Roofers use a long giant rosebud to heat up rolled roofing material. Visit your local roofing supply house.

Of course welding supply stores will have these as well, but I like the roofing tool better because of the long handle. It is about 3 ft long so it keeps you away from the heat for both comfort and safety.

Scott
Fab Manager
welders360.com

Welding on the bolt would anneal it making it useless for future use. Is the castle head a nut or a bolt. If it is a nut you can purchase a nut splitting tool. It acts like a guillotine and will cut the nut in half without any damage to the threads.

Scott
 

One of my welders in the shop had the same problem. As it turns out he had a fan pointing at himself all day to keep himself cool. The problem is it also disrupted the shielding gas. We took his fan away and his welds were fine.

Scott
Welders360