I have a small HF wire welder that I use for small projects - would probably do for what you are working on but I have used stick welders that do very well also - my dad had one of those Lincoln boxes that worked very good
I concur
You are working on 1/4" metal and magnetic stem, stick will give better penetration.
Son likes his mig, for thinner metals, but car frame, trailers, heavier metal around the farm, get the Hobart and 7018 stick.
It is pretty easy, with a little practice. I gave 12 yo grandson a stack of angle iron, plow pieces and a truck bumper. He has been welding them together and cutting apart, since school let out. He is getting pretty handy.
A lot of people like the migs because they are easy to learn and they are handy for the right projects but need to remember the metal has to be clean to get sufficient penetration. I have had people bring me stuff to weld and they say they can’t get it to hold and 90 percent of the time the material being welded was rusty, oily and not cleaned before mig welding and the weld just lays on top
I don't claim to be a welder but, everything said about which welder to use I'd go with Mig. The metal doesn't have to be super clean like Tig welding but if done right the Mig welds will hold. I've been welding since 1972 stick than Mig and now have a high frequency square wave Tig and stick welder. I'm still trying to learn to Tig aluminum. Mig is easiest and fastest and will hold if done right.
If you were down here in Yukon area I would let you try different welders and see what fits you best.
Bring some steel pieces of the same thickness you plan to weld on so you get a good impression of each welder.
There might be someone closer who has an AC225 lincoln and a mig strong enough to weld 1/4".
I would test those 2.
Now if you do not have 220 power then some welders will be out of the question.
Bring some steel pieces of the same thickness you plan to weld on so you get a good impression of each welder.
There might be someone closer who has an AC225 lincoln and a mig strong enough to weld 1/4".
I would test those 2.
Now if you do not have 220 power then some welders will be out of the question.
The OP needs to take this advice. Kwaynem has been a professional welder for many years.
I got a relatively inexpensive AHP alpha tig. I have welder buddy that help teach me. Started out only using it to stick weld and once I was decent at that I learned to Tig. Being an A&P I focused on stainless and aluminum. Now I'm working at a 145 repair station repairing parts with a Lincoln square wave. I think the ahp alpha was less than 300. For me it was a good machine to start on. Plus also being able to tig later on once you get it figured out was great.
Just looked up the ahp alpha tig and it's about doubled in price like just about everything in the last few years...
Just looked up the ahp alpha tig and it's about doubled in price like just about everything in the last few years...
I have a Lincoln cracker box I want to sell. Some rods, gloves, helmet(needs strap). Message me if interested. $150
My dad welded a heck of a lot of quarter inch plate and bar stock with an old Lincoln stick welder. He made the insert in my fireplace out of quarter inch plate, pipe, square and rectangular tubing, and angle iron, all welded together with that old Lincoln. After 30 years, it still looks good and is structurally sound.
The old Lincon cracker boxes were pretty good machines for an AC welder. They had copper coils making the duty cycle much longer than the current crop with aluminum coils. The duty cycle is about half of the old models.
