MIG Welder

[Lionsfan]

My 140 Hobart had a stud on the drive mechanism and a stud connected to the frame about 2 inches away from it. All you had to do was switch the leads back and forth, takes a 9/16" wrench (I think if memory serves me right) and about 2 minutes of your time. The 210 Miller I had was similar.

 

[catbuster]

Get yourself a TIG torch, a bottle of gas, hoses, and a power block and learn how to run a dry rig. That’ll get you your thin stuff way better than a MIG machine. Run some 3/32” 7018s for the rest of what you’re describing.

For those who‘ll go out and say you can’t TIG weld outside, it’s a bunch of malarky. Build something around you to stop air movement. All you need is a couple of tarps & something to hold them up. Been there, done it on more than one occasion.

If you really want a MIG machine to run off a drop cord, Lincoln has their 140 & 210MP machines, and I’ll personally vouch for the 210MP being a great machine. Miller has their 211 which probably works great too.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

For those who‘ll go out and say you can’t TIG weld outside, it’s a bunch of malarky. Build something around you to stop air movement. All you need is a couple of tarps & something to hold them up. Been there, done it on more than one occasion.

Point I was making is that it's not a typical welding method for outdoors.

I'm not sure on the OPs setup, but I had in mind he was trying to put together something like a service truck to be able to do work out in the field.

Sure you can build a tent around the workpiece to shield it from the wind.

 

[Franny K]

Get yourself a TIG torch, a bottle of gas, hoses, and a power block and learn how to run a dry rig. That’ll get you your thin stuff way better than a MIG machine. Run some 3/32” 7018s for the rest of what you’re describing.

For those who‘ll go out and say you can’t TIG weld outside, it’s a bunch of malarky. Build something around you to stop air movement. All you need is a couple of tarps & something to hold them up. Been there, done it on more than one occasion.

If you really want a MIG machine to run off a drop cord, Lincoln has their 140 & 210MP machines, and I’ll personally vouch for the 210MP being a great machine. Miller has their 211 which probably works great too.

Welding generally needs to be able to see what one is doing. Not sure what sort of eye sight Bill has or what sort of helmet. (actually I do know what he has posted elsewhere) It also takes an amount of skill. 7024 really does not take a lot of skill if positioned properly. Works great if the material is thick enough for the rods. Not for thin stuff. Oxy acetylene seems to be able to tack things without virtually any forces like sticks or wires can induce. Then take inside and tig. I don't know if the engine drive he has is dc but if it is tig should be possible to some degree.

Why dry? get a water cooled torch with a knob for the gas and run total loss off a garden hose.

 

[catbuster]

Why dry? get a water cooled torch with a knob for the gas and run total loss off a garden hose.

A dry rig is interchangeable with scratch start TIG. I guess you could run a water cooled torch, but most people running off an engine drive are just running the stinger set to straight polarity attached to a power block that also acts as the connection for Argon to the torch hose. It’s way easier to run a 17 or 26 with a valve than find water when in the field with a Trailblazer and a bottle of gas.

7024’s little brother 7014 can be run straight polarity and fast and produce an acceptable result on fairly thin material, they are a common option for welding steel decking.

@ChoppyChoppy TIG is a fairly common outdoor process in many industries. Pipefitters & boilermakers run it every day for stainless or other (generally process) piping where the welding procedure calls for it. It’s used in equipment repair on a regular basis, especially brazing with silicon bronze.