(OT) Electric Welding.

My old Lincoln crackerbox electric welding machine has given up the
ghost.I am looking for another electric welding machine, I need to do
some welding on a metal security door for my house.It is an old security
door, the kind with the square section metal tubes, up and down the
door.The thickness of the metal tubes is pretty thin.I was wondering if
Harbor Freight sells any low cost electric welding machines, something
that would do ok for those rare occasions when I need to use it.
cuhulin

> wrote in message
...
> My old Lincoln crackerbox electric welding machine has given up the
> ghost.I am looking for another electric welding machine, I need to do
> some welding on a metal security door for my house.It is an old security
> door, the kind with the square section metal tubes, up and down the
> door.The thickness of the metal tubes is pretty thin.I was wondering if
> Harbor Freight sells any low cost electric welding machines, something
> that would do ok for those rare occasions when I need to use it.
> cuhulin

I have one of their small wire feed welders, but I cant say that I would
recommend it.

On Sep 14, 12:40*pm, wrote:
> My old Lincoln crackerbox electric welding machine has given up the
> ghost.I am looking for another electric welding machine, I need to do
> some welding on a metal security door for my house.It is an old security
> door, the kind with the square section metal tubes, up and down the
> door.The thickness of the metal tubes is pretty thin.I was wondering if
> Harbor Freight sells any low cost electric welding machines, something
> that would do ok for those rare occasions when I need to use it.
> cuhulin

I have the $100 model from Harbor Freight. It does ok, but it doesn't
feed the wire as smooth as it should, but it works good enough for me.

> wrote:
>My old Lincoln crackerbox electric welding machine has given up the
>ghost.I am looking for another electric welding machine, I need to do
>some welding on a metal security door for my house.It is an old security
>door, the kind with the square section metal tubes, up and down the
>door.The thickness of the metal tubes is pretty thin.I was wondering if
>Harbor Freight sells any low cost electric welding machines, something
>that would do ok for those rare occasions when I need to use it.

1. Take your Lincoln in and have it looked at. There isn't much to go
wrong with the things, they are just big transformers and all of the
fancy stuff is in the design of how the transformer core saturates.
Anything on them is repairable, even bad windings.

2. The cheap TIG welders can be found in the under-$500 range and they
are much easier for light-duty work like thin tubes than a conventional
arc welder. Go find someone who has one and borrow it so you can get a
sense of how they work.

3. Don't buy anything from Harbor Freight.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

wrote:
> My old Lincoln crackerbox electric welding machine has given up the
> ghost.I am looking for another electric welding machine, I need to do
> some welding on a metal security door for my house.It is an old security
> door, the kind with the square section metal tubes, up and down the
> door.The thickness of the metal tubes is pretty thin.I was wondering if
> Harbor Freight sells any low cost electric welding machines, something
> that would do ok for those rare occasions when I need to use it.
> cuhulin
>

Rentals are cheap if you rarely need one.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

wrote:
> My old Lincoln crackerbox electric welding machine has given up the
> ghost.I am looking for another electric welding machine, I need to do
> some welding on a metal security door for my house.It is an old security
> door, the kind with the square section metal tubes, up and down the
> door.The thickness of the metal tubes is pretty thin.I was wondering if
> Harbor Freight sells any low cost electric welding machines, something
> that would do ok for those rare occasions when I need to use it.
> cuhulin
>
Take the door off and take it to a welder.

I have a stick welder (Lincoln 220) and a cheap
mig welder (Kai Kang Fu or something).
IMO, a mig welder is hard to use and takes a lot of practice.

"Paul" > wrote in message
...

>
> I have a stick welder (Lincoln 220) and a cheap
> mig welder (Kai Kang Fu or something).
> IMO, a mig welder is hard to use and takes a lot of practice.

I disagree somewhat. A poor quality MIG welder is a pain. A decent one is,
IMO,
extremely easy to get good welds.

In article >,
"hls" > wrote:

> "Paul" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> >
> > I have a stick welder (Lincoln 220) and a cheap
> > mig welder (Kai Kang Fu or something).
> > IMO, a mig welder is hard to use and takes a lot of practice.
>
> I disagree somewhat. A poor quality MIG welder is a pain. A decent one is,
> IMO,
> extremely easy to get good looking welds.

Fixed it for ya.

"aarcuda69062" > wrote in message
-
>>
>> I disagree somewhat. A poor quality MIG welder is a pain. A decent one
>> is,
>> IMO,
>> extremely easy to get good looking welds.
>
> Fixed it for ya.

After spending half a year in a stick welding course, instructor let me have
a go
at the MIG and TIG units. Easy as falling off a log with a good machine.

Have you ever watched the Orange County Choppers show? I note that they
are welding the fine stuff without any eye protection at all.. Or at least
that
seems to be the case. What do you think of that?

Winter time of 1972 - 1973 I went to night time welding classes on the
G.I.Bill at a local community college.I rarely ever do any welding
anymore.Maybe I will take my door to a welding shop and let them weld it
for me.I have never done any MIG welding before.

It is an old door I bought for $15.00 from a neighbor a few weeks ago.He
had it laying in a big pile of junk in his back yard.I think somebody
had backed a trailer over the door.I managed to straighten out the door,
but a few pieces of the door need to be welded back together.
cuhulin