I have been wanting to get a welding rig
but even a starter kit is several hundred dollars
I got a boost today, one of my friends has decided
that he has a couple of extra tanks that he will give me

what guages, torches, hoses and other gear do you recommend

One of a kind Ivory  bands .

Quoted: One of a kind Ivory  bands .

are you on drugs?

You want mig, tig, stick??

I got a lincoln pro mig 135 from lowes for $400ish. Good little welder for my purposes

Quoted: Quoted: One of a kind Ivory  bands . are you on drugs?

No but I can't read for some reason tonight  . I  swear  to goat boy that  said"Shopping around for a wedding ring, what is the "brand to get"   "

Quoted: You want mig, tig, stick?? I got a lincoln pro mig 135 from lowes for $400ish. Good little welder for my purposes

I was planning on starting out with an oxyacetylene rig
I have just cut my startup costs in half
so I wanted to make sure I got a good quaility torch and guages

You still can't go wrong with a Lincoln package. The package deal's that come with everything are really nice. If you plan on doing any heavy cutting then a longer torchhead is nice to have.

Quoted: You still can't go wrong with a Lincoln package. The package deal's that come with everything are really nice. If you plan on doing any heavy cutting then a longer torchhead is nice to have.

Is that "Harris" made by Lincoln?

Quoted: Hate to break it to you, but except for maybe silicon bronze on copper or brass pipe, Oxy-acetylene is way old school .... Check out Lincoln or MIller. Skip the Sears/Home Depot/Lowes route and find a local welding supplier. 1. He rents stuff, might have used equipment to sell you. 2. May have clients that have used stuff to sell you. 3. May have factory financing on new equipment. 4. You'll be going to him for your tools, parts and supplies anyway, may as well get to know him.

What am I supposed to use to cut pieces before welding, if not oxyacetylene?
I cannot start out with TWO rigs(oxyacetylene, arc welder AND a generator)
or a plasma cutter and an arc\tig\mig welder, I need to start somewhere
and I have talked to the local welding supplier, I just wanted suggestions from
Arfcommers as to what brands were the best, because Arfcommers don't have a
vested interest in selling me whatever manufacturer\brand they have in stock

I'm having a hard time reading your post. Could you re-size to larger text, please?

Quoted: I'm having a hard time reading your post. Could you re-size to larger text, please?

I have been wanting to get a welding rig
but even a starter kit is several hundred dollars
I got a boost today, one of my friends has decided
that he has a couple of extra tanks that he will give me

what guages, torches, hoses and other gear do you recommend

harris or victor should serve you well.  I have a victor set up, not high end, but good enough to cut/weld/heat.


when going Mig, go Miller.

Plasma is next on my list.


oh, can't forget to mention a chop saw is a good investment too!

i use victor cutting torches and a miller mig welder for the last 7 years and both have served me well,no complaints with either 1

I use a Smith Airline torch.  Try to find a used set, you won't be sorry.

Quoted: Quoted: Hate to break it to you, but except for maybe silicon bronze on copper or brass pipe, Oxy-acetylene is way old school .... Check out Lincoln or MIller. Skip the Sears/Home Depot/Lowes route and find a local welding supplier. 1. He rents stuff, might have used equipment to sell you. 2. May have clients that have used stuff to sell you. 3. May have factory financing on new equipment. 4. You'll be going to him for your tools, parts and supplies anyway, may as well get to know him. What am I supposed to use to cut pieces before welding, if not oxyacetylene? I cannot start out with TWO rigs(oxyacetylene, arc welder AND a generator) or a plasma cutter and an arc\tig\mig welder, I need to start somewhere and I have talked to the local welding supplier, I just wanted suggestions from Arfcommers as to what brands were the best, because Arfcommers don't have a vested interest in selling me whatever manufacturer\brand they have in stock

Get a plasma cutter.  Oxy-acetylene is so yesterday.

i didn't know there were brands of wedding rings.  buy what you can afford.  if she loves you you can put a cheerio on there and she'll love it.  congratulations

you can cut with a sawz-all or a grinder or the stick welder. the stick or mig is gonna give you stronger welds and alot cleaner. if you must have a unit that you can cut and weld with, go with the stick welder. ideally you would want a plasma cutter and a tig welder but serious scratch is required for those two. either way stay with either lincoln(my suggestion) or miller i wouldn't even consider anything other than those two brands or victor if you must get a torch

I bought the little porta-torch outfit from Lowes. It's great for around the house cutting. I am in the process of making a few target stands. The oxygen bottle needs to be a little bigger.

Quoted: i use victor cutting torches and a miller mig welder for the last 7 years and both have served me well,no complaints with either 1

+1 myself

 Are these tank customer owned or are they owned by the Welding Supply?

If they are truly his tanks to give then check the dates on them and make sure they are in date.  Most gas suppliers will just trade out on customer owned bottles, some even if they are out of date.  As far as the torch goes I would get a victor.  Victor is easy to get serviced by your local welding shop.  The expendables are easy to get in victor.  

If it was me buying the torch I would go to a few pawn shops and pick one up.  Either the ( journeyman?) or the next smaller size, not the baby victor.  The medium size torch is easy to manuever in unskilled hands and in tight spaces. I prefer the bigger gauges because it is easier to see what they say.  Don't worry if the hose is screwed up, you can get a new hose when the screwed up one starts leaking on you.  Sometimes you can get a complete rig at a pawn shop including cylinders.  I have bought torches and gauges and cylinders on a dolly in the 150.00 dollar range.  If you find a torch that looks in good shape get a friend who knows torches to go with you and look at it.  He will know what to look at besides the general condition of the torch.  

As far as the welding machine, it depends on what you want and how much you have to spend.  Like the poster mentioned above some supplyiers have good used equipment.  There are a lot of WElding machine repair shops that are independent of your basic welding supply shops like airgas and AOC.  This is where I would target my search for a good used rig. Repair shops buy used and refurbish.  Repair shops will stand behind what they repair and sell generally.  I would not buy a welding rig in a pawn shop, you don't know what my be burned up in it there.  In a repair shop you might even be able to try the machine out to see if you like it.

Miller is my brand and it has served me very well.  I have a millermatic 200 mig, a three phase dc stick machine that I bought used from an individual, and a Miller multi purpose that will do stick or tig that has high frequency that I bought through a repair shop.  

All this being said if you have the dough or can finance, the new machines have a lot of creature comforts,  the millermatic 250 has a variable power dial that is the cats ass.  The big miller tigs are also the cats petoot,  they can adjust wave form to  make tig welding so much more fun and easy.  good luck in your purchases.

I thought it said the same thing............. and I had to smacked my head off of the desk
now it read correctly  

Try Elder-Beermans.

Oh, and congratulations!

Quoted:  Are these tank customer owned or are they owned by the Welding Supply? If they are truly his tanks to give then check the dates on them and make sure they are in date.  Most gas suppliers will just trade out on customer owned bottles, some even if they are out of date.

They are his, I will check on the dates, we both have equipment\tools that are 20-30years old

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: One of a kind Ivory  bands . are you on drugs? No but I can't read for some reason tonight  . I  swear  to goat boy that  said"Shopping around for a wedding ring, what is the "brand to get"   "

I thought it said the same thing, so your not going nuts either. unless im nuts too. i might be

Unless you plan on using it everyday the harris or victor will work fine for you.
As for arc welding equipment, consider power requirments.

If you don't have a 200 amp service with a 60amp breaker look into a generator welder.
The major issues with a generator welder is one that will MIG (CV) weld are expensive, so think your usage out befor you rush into it. As for stick and TIG welding any (CC) machine will work.

If you do have the power requirments at home look into the newer inverters as they are lighter and samller then older machines. You can get an inverter that will MIG, TIG, and stick weld (CC/CV)
and only be the size  of a large hand held tool box and weigh about 100lbs.

CC - constant current     CV - consant voltage

Quoted: Unless you plan on using it everyday the harris or victor will work fine for you. As for arc welding equipment, consider power requirments. If you don't have a 200 amp service with a 60amp breaker look into a generator welder. The major issues with a generator welder is one that will MIG (CV) weld are expensive, so think your usage out befor you rush into it. As for stick and TIG welding any (CC) machine will work. If you do have the power requirments at home look into the newer inverters as they are lighter and samller then older machines. You can get an inverter that will MIG, TIG, and stick weld (CC/CV) and only be the size  of a large hand held tool box and weigh about 100lbs. CC - constant current     CV - consant voltage

Are the multi-process rigs any good(mig, tig, arc, stick) or should you get each one separately?
(and it looks like you HAVE to get a plasma cutter seperately)
Can a welding power supply double as a backup power supply for the home(or shtf)?

Keep it simple and cheap to start out. I f you already know what your doing then look to the more expensive machines. I know alot of people who just decided to "Start Welding". They spent a considerable amount of money and decided that it wasn't as easy as it looks. I am certified in MIG, Stick And TIG but don't weld much anymore. Too damn hot, and Boilermaking will make you old quick.

Quoted: Keep it simple and cheap to start out. I f you already know what your doing then look to the more expensive machines. I know alot of people who just decided to "Start Welding". They spent a considerable amount of money and decided that it wasn't as easy as it looks. I am certified in MIG, Stick And TIG but don't weld much anymore. Too damn hot, and Boilermaking will make you old quick.

I have done a couple of exhaust pipes with a coathanger, my bead wasn't the worst I have ever seen

muti process are good if you are going to use them.

most hobby/auto  welders will only use MIG or stick with a few trying TIG and finding it to be a lot harder than the other two.

The generator welders can be used as a power soruce. In fact there are some larger units from miller that have two seperate generators  one for welding and one for power.
Thew bonus of a generator is they come in all sizes but the aux power should only be used when you are not welding (it changes the current to the welding process).

eta: Sharpknife  I know what you mean I was in shipbuilding then moved into inspection but now spend my time in refineries

Quoted: 22Bad: Sorry, I misunderstood that you were looking for cutting equipment as well.

I know almost nothing about welding........no, lets go ahead and say NOTHING

so I am not quite sure what I am going to have to get

but, I might HAVE to go with an electric welder
(as you suggested)

I'm not sure what your planning on building, but a Hobart 135 MIG might be a really good intro rig...
Runs on 110V, and is rated at 3/16" steel.

Grab a sawzall and a 4.5" angle grinder and you'd be surpised what you can get done!

The project that has the most immediacy is a framework for a van\camper conversion
I have helped several people build theirs in wood(in full-sized vans)
since I will most likely be using a mini-van, I want to use an alloy framework to save on weight
and give me more options on placement of appliances\cabinets

I can do the mechanical work myself
and I don't see any way that I can have someone
else do the welding, it will take so much time
and will probably have to be redone\refit\repaired more than once
it should just be some simple square tubing welds, maybe some shaping
I have some other fabrication projects and a couple of inventions I want to do also

hold on a sec........

welding aluminum or alloys other than steels will require either MIG or TIG welding. And considerably more prep time prior to welding. Tubing is a bit thin for a first project but if you feel confident go for it.

IF not ......
Try to think if you can fabrcate your framing with gussets(brackets) on th corners and use sheet metal screws to connect it all.

just some friendly advice

Quoted: hold on a sec........ welding aluminum or alloys other than steels will require either MIG or TIG welding. And considerably more prep time prior to welding. Tubing is a bit thin for a first project but if you feel confident go for it. IF not ...... Try to think if you can fabricate your framing with gussets(brackets) on th corners and use sheet metal screws to connect it all. just some friendly advice

I cannot see any way that it can be done without welding(already considered that)
I have no problem cutting some small pieces and practicing my technique

are you saying that oxycetelyn welding on steel tubing
will be easier than arc\mig\tig\stick on aluminum?

Is oxycetelyn welding on square steel tubing easier than arc\mig\tig\stick on aluminum tubing?

Quoted: Is oxycetelyn welding on square steel tubing easier than arc\mig\tig\stick on aluminum tubing?

Absolutely.

Quoted: Is oxycetelyn welding on square steel tubing easier than arc\mig\tig\stick on aluminum tubing?

No, What I think he was saying was that, Welding steel (with stick/MIG/TIG) takes a TOTALLY DIFFERENT skill level (it is easier), than Welding aluminum(That usually is welded with TIG).

If you are just learning to weld, starting off trying to weld/work aluminum, is going to present you with a very steep learning curve.

If you want to learn welding, I think that we would all suggest trying to learn steel welding first!

I understand that you'd like to use aluminum for the framework you're planning, but aluminum welding is a Whole different animal!

Good Luck! & Keep Us Posted!

Tall Shadow

Quoted: I obviously need to wake up more.  I could have sworn that said 'wedding ring' in the title. <smacks head> Sorry about that.

See it wasn't just me .

Quoted: Quoted: Is oxycetelyn welding on square steel tubing easier than arc\mig\tig\stick on aluminum tubing? No, What I think he was saying was that, Welding steel (with stick/MIG/TIG) takes a TOTALLY DIFFERENT skill level (it is easier), than Welding aluminum(That usually is welded with TIG). If you are just learning to weld, starting off trying to weld/work aluminum, is going to present you with a very steep learning curve. If you want to learn welding, I think that we would all suggest trying to learn steel welding first! I understand that you'd like to use aluminum for the framework you're planning, but aluminum welding is a Whole different animal! Good Luck! & Keep Us Posted! Tall Shadow

Yeah, I think I am just going to have to eat the weight difference and start out with steel
I had heard that aluminum was tough even for people that knew what they were doing

I'll start shopping around for the guages and torches that have been suggested
gonna go call right now about the dates on the cylinders..........

Quoted: No but I can't read for some reason tonight  . I  swear  to goat boy that  said"Shopping around for a wedding ring, what is the "brand to get"

add me to that list. definitely strange. and i must have read it three or four times that way.



as for the welding, im really not convinced the torch is the way to go for you. it can be especially nice for making rough cuts on thicker metal quietly, but for general use, youd probably be better served with a small mig with gas option.

Quoted: gonna go call right now about the dates on the cylinders..........

He said that he does have some old tanks but the ones he is going to give me have good dates

Quoted: as for the welding, im really not convinced the torch is the way to go for you. it can be especially nice for making rough cuts on thicker metal quietly, but for general use, youd probably be better served with a small mig with gas option.

so........mig for welding steel, that means I will also need a generator

how much better will the job go than with the gas rig I am about to have
for just the cost of the guages\torch\hose\rods\goggles\striker?(is that everything?)

if I understand correctly, the beads should be easier\better with the mig
but I have to feed and maintain the machine and the generator after I buy them both

Quoted: Quoted: I obviously need to wake up more.  I could have sworn that said 'wedding ring' in the title. <smacks head> Sorry about that. See it wasn't just me .

Okay, I am almost buying it

look here for arc

and here for gas welding


try these links for a better understanding of the processes involved.

if you are only going to be working with steel square tubing you should be able to get away with a sawsall/grinder/chop saw for your cutting and a small 110 volt welding machine using flux core (no gas ) which will only require a 20amp 110 outlet and cost about $200-300. If you are going to stick with the aluminum you can still use the MIG machine but it will require a sheilding gas and a larger machine, which inturn will cost more. The larger machine will be able to weld steel also.

If you can get a oxy-fuel cutting rig go for it but I wouldn't plan on welding with it from the start but you could braze the steel peices together. Just another option.

Quoted: Quoted: gonna go call right now about the dates on the cylinders.......... He said that he does have some old tanks but the ones he is going to give me have good dates

He said he would try to deliver the tanks to me this week at the shop
they will be full, and if I don't use too much he says he will refill them(we'll see)

Using too much won't be a problem with no guages\torch\hose\rods\goggles\striker
(got some bills to pay before I buy that stuff)

Thanks for the help guys, and if I ever need a wedding ring I know where to come for suggestions

I'll do some research about torch welding with steel and get back with some questions

Got the tanks, they're full.....they're tiny
(they don't even come up to my knees)

looks like they WILL be good for learning
and maybe some quick cutting and small projects
I will get bigger tanks after I have the other stuff

I am trying to locate the exact building material that I will be using
for the van project(square metal tubing, about 1 inch)to determine the
BEST method to use to weld it up, from what I am reading so far, and
what I have seen here the best method might be a small MIG or TIG