Hobby welding at home | GTAMotorcycle.com

Hobby welding at home

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rashidme

Well-known member
anyone doing/done hobby welding?

I am thinking of buying a welder for hobby projects. I have looked at inverter based welder rated at 120v for home use. I am afraid it might be tripping the breaker.
i could probably use it in the garage but not sure if the breaker is 20A. I just don't want to burn the house lol.
 
Yes, and you are spinning your wheels with a 120volt stick welder, they lack the voltage control that you need to control penetration rate of your weld. Welding rod does not come in enough different sizes that you can adjust the heat of your weld to suit the type and thickness of the material, by simply using a heavier or lighter rod.
 
Trials said:
Yes, and you are spinning your wheels with a 120volt stick welder, they lack the voltage control that you need to control penetration rate of your weld. Welding rod does not come in enough different sizes that you can adjust the heat of your weld to suit the type and thickness of the material, by simply using a heavier or lighter rod.
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i should have mentioned. I am mostly looking at flux core welder.
 
120v will leave you with a little blob of black bubble gum. Tried it, waste of money. (Wasn't mine)
 
I have a 120v Hobart 140 MIG / flux core, it's great for 24 gauge and up to to 3/16", it will weld thicker in multiple passes. I use mine for motorcycle and car stuff mostly, never needed anything heavier. Lincoln also has a good little MIG.

Stay away from the MasterCraft, PowerFister, Chicago and all other cheapo Chinese welders, the extra $100 you'll pay for a Hobart or Lincoln is peanuts for the difference in performance and quality.
 
Mad Mike said:
I have a 120v Hobart 140 MIG / flux core, it's great for 24 gauge and up to to 3/16", it will weld thicker in multiple passes. I use mine for motorcycle and car stuff mostly, never needed anything heavier. Lincoln also has a good little MIG.

Stay away from the MasterCraft, PowerFister, Chicago and all other cheapo Chinese welders, the extra $100 you'll pay for a Hobart or Lincoln is peanuts for the difference in performance and quality.
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finally something positive.

did you have to plug it into socket with 20amp breaker or 15amp was decent enough? and did the breaker trip on you?
I am looking at kickinghorse and apparently has good reviews on amazon.
 
I have a 120v fluxcore/ gas machine , for sheet metal work, car repair and up to 1/4 it’s ok, I make some table legs , fixed roof racks , made some brackets . As long as you understand it’s a light weight welder it’s just fine. Within the specs for the machine it does what it’s supposed to.


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As far as power goes. You won't light anything on fire inside the wall unless you already have major issues (eg. uprated breakers without uprated wire). Given the intermittent duty cycle of most hobby welding, I would expect a 15A circuit would be adequate. It looks like the Hobart 140 comes with a 15A plug so a 20A circuit is recommended but not mandatory.

If you want more power, most houses have the electrical panel within a short distance of the garage, adding a circuit isn't expensive (and if you are bothering, I would add a 220V circuit as even the small welders can sometimes be powered by 220 to extend their capabilities).
 
rashidme said:
finally something positive.

did you have to plug it into socket with 20amp breaker or 15amp was decent enough? and did the breaker trip on you?
I am looking at kickinghorse and apparently has good reviews on amazon.
Click to expand...
120v 15A works fine.
 
I have a cheap flux-core 120v welder. A 15 amp circuit is ok most of the time but it will trip the breaker if you ask too much of it.

It's not easy to make "pretty" welds with flux-core. Granted, I am no professional welder, but the equipment doesn't help.

Spend some money on an auto-dimming shield. This is another thing I wish I had, but don't.
 
I have a Lincoln 120 volt TIG. Great on TIG for light stuff, sheet metal etc. With flux core I can weld heavier stuff but it isn't pretty and I have serious concerns about penetration. It's fine if I'm doing ornamental work but if it's structural I tack it together and have a pro do the serious work. Rule # 1 is never stand under anything I've welded.

It doesn't help that I'm not a pro.

If you want a deal check out the welder repair shops. They often have deals on used equipment, trade ins etc.
 
I have the Lincoln 140. It can run fluxcore (usually what I run) but it also came with all the equipment to use shielding gas. 120V machine. A spool gun can also be added.

I have tripped 15 amp breakers but it is not all that common. I wired my outdoor outlets to 20 amp for this reason but it will run on 15.

Respect the duty cycle of the machine. Set up the polarity etc. correctly for what you are working on... drag fluxcore push MIG (if there is slag you drag...)...the results will be good. Not setting up correctly and or not using the correct technique is not the machine's fault.

If you want to do anything other than steel, TIG will be a better more flexible option IMO, but way more $$$$s for a hobby set-up last time I checked. As I said the Lincoln can run a spool gun so it can in theory do Aluminum with the right shielding gas.

The Lincoln lower end auto-darkening helmets have left a little to be desired. They work well BUT the batteries are soldered in and they go dead after a couple of years, sucks when you go to do a project and your helmet is dead. I modified mine and they now take removable AAA batteries...

As others pointed out, best bet is to go with the usual name brands but I have seen people do some good stuff with the cheap China ones after a few modifications... Not worth the price savings IMO when you wait to get a decent machine on sale.

EasyMIG® 140 Welder - K2697-1

Wait for a sale!
Lincoln Electric MIG Pak 140 Wire Feed Welder | Canadian Tire
 
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I can echo what has been said above.

I have a 120v Lincoln and a 240v Hobart.

The 120 will weld sheet metal and up to 3/16. It’s definitely possible to use with flux core but you get a much nicer weld if you add a bottle. I think it’s probably good enough for most light hobby work.

The Hobart takes it to a whole other level as it’s a professional unit, but if it was for working on Motorcycles only, I would probably recommend a TIG. You can get a reasonable TIG for the same price, or not much more that a good 220 unit

As already said, get a brand name like Lincoln or Hobart. I would stay away from Mastercraft, Powerfist, etc. Sometimes a good unit comes up on Kijiji.
 
Holler if you need something like,
a bulldozer track welded together.
For your purpose: first project should be to weld up a nice stainless fume hood to weld in.
 
If you've decided to weld, do yourself a favour and start with decent equipment. it is A LOT easier.
A 110v 15A welder is good for gluing together tin foil. you NEED 230V 50A. (Before you start panicking about pulling 6ga. wire through your house, you're allowed to run lighter wire to a welder because the high amperage draw is not constant.You're supposed to label the outlet "WELDER USE ONLY". I think my welder is wired with 10ga.)
If you are just starting, like you've never welded before; get an inverter TIG. Nothing else, and do yourself a favour and get a decent one. Most welding around a motorcycle is better suited to TIG and TIG will weld aluminum. MIG is easier to learn, TIG is MUCH more versatile and will make you a better welder. If you can "GAS" weld, you can TIG weld.
There are lots of home hobbyists that thought welding would be a good idea, and now are selling cheap (you might want to read something into that....). I bought a ESAB fabricator complete setup a couple of years ago for $1350.
Older machines will have copper windings, newer machines, including Esab, Hobart, Miller and Lincoln, all have switched to aluminum windings, which don't last as long.
 
Again , pick your fights. Yes a 240v machine is awesome, Tig would be nice, and inverter is really nice and a bottle of argon makes everything pretty. I grew up in an autobody shop, my daily machine was a Miller 240v gas mig. It was outstanding.
But here at the house I dont need it, I weld table legs , make parts for wood working projects, make the odd sheet metal part and its fine. You dont need a $1500 welder to make some light fittings around the house.
They are better, easier to use , but again within the limitations of the machine 120v is ok. My angle grinder makes welds look ok.....
 
crankcall said:
Again , pick your fights. Yes a 240v machine is awesome, Tig would be nice, and inverter is really nice and a bottle of argon makes everything pretty. I grew up in an autobody shop, my daily machine was a Miller 240v gas mig. It was outstanding.
But here at the house I dont need it, I weld table legs , make parts for wood working projects, make the odd sheet metal part and its fine. You dont need a $1500 welder to make some light fittings around the house.
They are better, easier to use , but again within the limitations of the machine 120v is ok. My angle grinder makes welds look ok.....
Click to expand...
Hahaha, viglink added a link for a $500 turkish coffee machine. Awesome.
 
bitzz said:
If you've decided to weld, do yourself a favour and start with decent equipment. it is A LOT easier.
A 110v 15A welder is good for gluing together tin foil. you NEED 230V 50A. (Before you start panicking about pulling 6ga. wire through your house, you're allowed to run lighter wire to a welder because the high amperage draw is not constant.You're supposed to label the outlet "WELDER USE ONLY". I think my welder is wired with 10ga.)
If you are just starting, like you've never welded before; get an inverter TIG. Nothing else, and do yourself a favour and get a decent one. Most welding around a motorcycle is better suited to TIG and TIG will weld aluminum. MIG is easier to learn, TIG is MUCH more versatile and will make you a better welder. If you can "GAS" weld, you can TIG weld.
There are lots of home hobbyists that thought welding would be a good idea, and now are selling cheap (you might want to read something into that....). I bought a ESAB fabricator complete setup a couple of years ago for $1350.
Older machines will have copper windings, newer machines, including Esab, Hobart, Miller and Lincoln, all have switched to aluminum windings, which don't last as long.
Click to expand...
If your goal is serious fabrication then sure, but for the average Joe, aluminum and 1/4" steel plate welds are largely out of scope for the home garage.
A decent 120v 15A MIG is easy to learn and will weld more than tinfoil, 20 guage to /16" steel in a single pass is the standard operating range. Anyone asking about welding advice here is unlikely to be fabbing monster truck subframes or welding aluminum, a decent MIG and some lessons and practice will get a newbie welding in no time.
 
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