Confused on which welder to purchase

[halfdome, Danny]

Well I did it, got a welder today. It's not what the salesman started out showing me but he said it will do fine if I have plenty of ventilation, which I do. The primo ones were a $700+ Hobart or a $579 Lincoln but I ended up with the Hobart Handler 125 for $310 plus tax. I also bought a self darkening helmet, gloves, beanie hat, chipping hammer & wire brush. I want to thank everyone for their input even though I was still somewhat confused when I started talking to the salesman at Pacific Welding. He went on & on about all the welders & helmets that I just bought the cheapest self darkening helmet but went for the best gloves since I make my living with my hands. He is very knowledgeable and I took his word that this will be a good welder to weld up a trailer chassis. It was the display model & the price was reduced. I noticed the manual was printed in February 2003, but it's brand new. Now I've got to find the time to play with it.
Wish me luck Danny

[garrynky]

You'll like the Hobart. I've got a Hobart 187 and it's a nice machine. You can visit the Hobart forum for some welding pointers.

[halfdome, Danny]

Yes I saw they have a forum , I'll be checking it out soon, Danny

[kerryd]

Danny , you did good ! I'm so glad you stayed away from Harbor Freight. Hobart is a good , good welder. That machine will last you 20 years . I have the same hood . You won't have any problem learning to weld . Just get comfortable and have a steady hand . It like you would be drawing it on a piece of paper. And if you blow some holes ,thats part of it .
The only thing I see in your picture I wonder about is the spool of aluminum wire . Are you going to run Argon ? It's very , very hard to push aluminum wire . With steel you should runnig .023 or .025 wire . Back to the aluminum . Most mig welders for aluminum are either push pull , pull , or gun type . If you do try . Your lead will have to be as stairght as possible . Like tied to a 2 by 4 .
For your steel wire , acouple of good brands are Filler Metals , Haris ,and Lincoln-SuperGlaze. They may be alittle more but good wire helps .As time goes on you might want to move up to argon,CO2 mix.
I trurly thing you made a good choice . If you use a cord , use the biggest one you can find. And don't go over 100 feet.
Good luk to you . you'll do good Kerry

[halfdome, Danny]

Danny , you did good ! I'm so glad you stayed away from Harbor Freight. Hobart is a good , good welder. That machine will last you 20 years . I have the same hood . You won't have any problem learning to weld . Just get comfortable and have a steady hand . It like you would be drawing it on a piece of paper. And if you blow some holes ,thats part of it .
The only thing I see in your picture I wonder about is the spool of aluminum wire . Are you going to run Argon ? It's very , very hard to push aluminum wire . With steel you should runnig .023 or .025 wire . Back to the aluminum . Most mig welders for aluminum are either push pull , pull , or gun type . If you do try . Your lead will have to be as stairght as possible . Like tied to a 2 by 4 .
For your steel wire , acouple of good brands are Filler Metals , Haris ,and Lincoln-SuperGlaze. They may be alittle more but good wire helps .As time goes on you might want to move up to argon,CO2 mix.
I trurly thing you made a good choice . If you use a cord , use the biggest one you can find. And don't go over 100 feet.
Good luk to you . you'll do good Kerry

Thanks Kerry, The wire in the picture was given to me by the salesman and he was saying these two sizes will work in my machine. One is Lincoln Innershield NR-211MP Self-shielded cored .035mm wire for 5/16" max & the other is Hobart - Weld.it E71T-Gs Fabshield 23 Gasless Flux-cored welding wire .030. The welder isn't argon capable since he got the clue that the "Lincoln 140" plus the gas bottle & other equipment was getting close to the price I paid for my first chassis B.O. BTW you do absolutely beautiful metal work . Is that hand cut with a torch or do you use some other method? Danny

[sdtripper2]

Danny:

I have been following this thread with interest.

Can imagine your creativity will move to the next level of self-sufficiency now.
What are your plans for your next build or should I ask when have you
contemplated moving on to #2

Look forward to watching you breathe life into your new creation.

PS:
What model do you have?
Handler 125 /125 MIG and H-9 Gun
Or
Handler 125 EZ and H-9 Gun

[halfdome, Danny]

Danny:

I have been following this thread with interest.

Can imagine your creativity will move to the next level of self-sufficiency now.
What are your plans for your next build or should I ask when have you
contemplated moving on to #2

Look forward to watching you breathe life into your new creation.

PS:
What model do you have?
Handler 125 /125 MIG and H-9 Gun
Or
Handler 125 EZ and H-9 Gun

Steve, I have the Handler 125/125 MIG and H-9 Gun.
I decided to make another TD back in October at the NWCC car show in Portland. There seemed to be a few interested parties and Jane has been encouraging me to make another. I'll stay with the basic shape as this one but will make some slight modifications and probably some wood on the exterior and some fancy wood on the interior. I wanted to make a Woodie the first time but Jane poo-pooed it but now that she is happy with #1 I'm free to do something different. Time & money will be my only drawbacks. Danny

[doug hodder]

Danny...have fun with the welder..I've had good luck with a previous Hobart....and you are so lucky to have a lady in your life that encourages your projects......now go have some fun and cook up a new tear!!! So when is it going to be done? PS...gotta grinder? doug

[sdtripper2]

Danny:

You say your unit came with a 2003 owners manual?:thinking:
Wonder if there is any difference in the manual from 2003 to this later revision?
Most likely just a printing date.

Here is a pdf file of the 2006-8 owners manual for your
Handler 125 /125 MIG and H-9 Gun:
http://www.hobartwelders.com/om/0900/o947d_hob.pdf

Safety Guide:
http://www.hobartwelders.com/pdfs/ms199776b.pdf

Welding 101
(Good picture examples)
http://www.hobartwelders.com/techtips.html

[halfdome, Danny]

Danny...have fun with the welder..I've had good luck with a previous Hobart....and you are so lucky to have a lady in your life that encourages your projects......now go have some fun and cook up a new tear!!! So when is it going to be done? PS...gotta grinder? doug

Doug, Thanks for the encouragement, Jane & I don't tell each other what we can or can't do but we do talk about things beforehand and since we both have an income it seems to work just fine. This build may be somewhat slow depending on how much disposable income I have this year. I'm assuming the grinder you speak of is a hand held one and no not yet but that and a cut off saw are on my list along with safety glasses & something leather to protect my upper body. I saw some very nice leather jackets yesterday but was afraid to ask how much given the amount of mola I had spent. I also am thinking of building a vacuum bag system so that may set me back some too. I would like to incorporate some intarsia or marquetry in the design but I would need to learn that process so it may just be a pipe dream for now. Danny

Danny:

You say your unit came with a 2003 owners manual?:thinking:
Wonder if there is any difference in the manual from 2003 to this later revision?
Most likely just a printing date.

Here is a pdf file of the 2006-8 owners manual for your
Handler 125 /125 MIG and H-9 Gun:
http://www.hobartwelders.com/om/0900/o947d_hob.pdf

Safety Guide:
http://www.hobartwelders.com/pdfs/ms199776b.pdf

Welding 101
(Good picture examples)
http://www.hobartwelders.com/techtips.html

Thanks Steve for the manuals. It seems to be identical including some no savie stuff.
I like the safety manual and saved it along with the other manual. I need to study why you need to change the polarity with different wires so I'll be doing some more grazing in welding stores/departments. The salesman overwhelmed me with so much tecnical stuff yesterday that my head was swimming by the time I walked out the door.
Got to get back to doing what I do best, making things out of wood products, (time to go to work ) Danny

[kerryd]

Danny , thanks .We started out cutting things by hand. Nothing with great detail . Than we bought a plasma table ( Plasma Cam ) about 6 years ago .
I know what you mean about the salesman . If you get a chance to go to the Miller road show , these guys really have it together . Ask your local Miller dealer . Good luck again , Practice , Practice Kerry

[tonyj]

I need to study why you need to change the polarity with different wires so I'll be doing some more grazing in welding stores/departments. The salesman overwhelmed me with so much tecnical stuff yesterday that my head was swimming by the time I walked out the door.
Got to get back to doing what I do best, making things out of wood products, (time to go to work ) Danny[/color][/b]

I just converted my Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 to a MIG welder. In reading all the literature I found that if you are using flux-cored wire (that is what you will be doing), you will be using DC- (the gun is negative, ground is positive). You use DC+ if you are set up to run with shielding gas (MIG). Unless you are able to convert to MIG, you probalby won't be changing the polarity. I am assuming those conventions are fairly standard for wire feed welders, but if not, I am sure the experts will correct me.

Check the instructions on your helmet. You may need to set it in the sun to charge the battery before use. You don't want to do any welding until the autodarkening works. Think of your eyes and that welding torch in the same way you do your fingers and a spinning saw blade.

You will have a blast once you've mastered the basics, and that won't take too long. I, too, am a life long sawdust maker, but being able to glue steel together is a blast. It opens up whole new worlds of fun and fabrication. Have fun.

[halfdome, Danny]

Tony, Yes your correct. I found the information you speak of on the inside of the door to the inner workings. Being able to fabricate internal steel supports for some woodworking projects is quite appealing to me as I have used same in some store fixtures in years past. I'll have the rest of the week off since my current project is completed so I'll be able to give the welder a try out. It will be fun "gluing steel together"I'm sure. Danny

[halfdome, Danny]

Well... I finished my first attempt at welding something with my new welder. The welds aren't textbook perfect by no means but I'm going in the right direction, lots of fun but I could have made 10 of these little welder carts out of wood in the time I made this. Just cutting the angle iron was time consuming, but, I'm still having fun. Got to make lots of practice welds before I build the chassis for my next teardrop build.
Danny

[toypusher]

Danny,

Those welds look pretty good for someone just beginning!!

Just in case you decide to give it up, you can send that pretty welder to me!!!