Mig flux core welder
 

Getting ready to start welding in some patch panels and filling some in pin holes in my cab . I practiced a few days with a friends TIG welder and just can't get that to work. I'm looking at buying this cheap easy to use welder. Will this work ? Any tips? https://www.harborfreight.com/weldin...der-56355.html

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

Sheet metal work it might work for you. I started with a Lincoln 140 MIG which was a 110v. I was able to get sheet metal down but it was a bit ugly and took a lot of grinding. I could never seem to get the right settings down. when it came to heavy duty welding like frames or mounting brackets, there was no way I was getting good penetration.

I switched to a Hobart 190 which is a 220v welder and have absolutely loved it. Welded everything I needed to cleanly. While it's quite a bit more expensive, you'll only need to buy a welder once :)

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

It will work and people have done it, but I'd step up a bit and get a model with a gas connection so you can weld with solid core wire and shielding gas. The welds are cleaner.

People have reported satisfaction with sheet metal work with flux core, but I'd fear the welds having flux inclusions and being more brittle that regular MIG.

I keep a 220V MIG welder loaded with flux core and use it for most welding other than sheet metal, I find you need a more substantial tack with flux core than solid/gas shielded. Sheet metal work is usually doing many tacks, so flux core does not seem ideal to me.

I keep a 110V MIG loaded with solid core and 75/25 gas, it does all my sheet metal if I don't gas or tig weld the piece.

If either of these welders failed I'd buy a dual voltage welder and keep it loaded with solid core. Once you have a 110V welder you will want to weld something thicker and wish you had 220

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

Do yourself a favor and use gas

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

How does this look? https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-mi...1301b10a82b82d

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

Flux core welding is basically stick welding using wire rather than individual welding rods.

If you know what you are doing you can make good strong welds and it is pretty good for fabricating things outside where the wind will blow your gas around when you are mig welding with gas. I've got a Lincoln 175 that I bought several years ago and the only time I have used flux core in it was when I was out of mig gas but didn't want too drag the big stick welder out. It takes about 15 minutes for me to change the wire feed over to run flux core and is a simple sit on a stool and do the job thing. Still I would rather use the mig with gas as there is way less cleanup.

I have a little Tig for body work that I bought off Amazon a couple of years ago but haven't used it enough to write home about. I have always done body work with a gas welding torch with a small tip and have an aircraft welding torch that I use most of the time for it. It's similar to what I used when I worked in a muffler shop and actually learned how to weld right with a torch.

The bad part of flux core is that just like stick welding the process is hotter than other processes and the weld it self is hard and hard to work to metal finish. It also can cause you to warp the sheet metal a lot easier if you aren't carefull and some of those welded panels that are all warped that you see at the scrap yard suffered that fate. That is why guys don't use it for body work, A hard weld that you can't really body work very well plus a lot of weld splatter to clean up.

Truthfully on a car or truck project the only thing I would use flux core for is to tack pieces together to take over to my Buddy who is the best welder I know of anywhere in the PNW and who still gets called to do critical jobs at 75 years old. This guy can actually hand weld thin stainless steel screen wire to make filter screens and have them be show quality. Outside of home and farm fabricating projects that is what I see flux core welding for. Tack it together so you can have it all lined out the way you want it and square and then take it to someone with proper equipment to do the welding or weld on projects that aren't actually critical.

The only issue I have with HF welders or any off brand welding machine is that you have very little support for the unit. If it needs worked on the guys at the welder repair counter at the welding supply will laugh you out the door and most likely tell you to not even unload it and carry it inside for them to look at. There is just no support for them as there is for Lincoln, Miller or Hobart or a couple of primiarlily industrial use brands. That is the big issue with HF welding equipment. HF does not have a repair shop to fix it. All you can do is buy the extended warranty and if it quits go trade it back for another one.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

The Eastwood link looks like the type of thing I'd look for. Eastwood has an OK rep from what I have seen.
Spool gun for aluminum is handy, but remember you need a straight argon tank for that, so that is an extra cost.

Any sub $1000 welder will not be repairable if it needs parts in 2 years, you just wont be able to find them economically. So get the warranty or roll the dice.

You are in the price range where you might get DC tig capability.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I like .023 wire and gas for sheet metal. I use straight CO2 and have very good luck with my miller 140 and 110 volt. There is a good YouTube video by Fritzy Fabrication on the subject. He has one on shielding gas vs Fluxcore and wire size. He also has many good videos on sheet metal fabrication using basic tools.

I had that Eastwood for years until a few months ago. 75 Argon 25 CO2, Aluminum spool gun (never got good with that gun). Used it for bunches of projects-iron fence reclamation, iron trellises, the custom frame I made for current truck. Mine was 220 only. Clean, grind, get good penetration and feed. BUT, frustrating on sheet metal especially the age and rust thinned firewall, floor, upper cowl and cab corners putting patches in. I’m not a great welder, just good enough.
Finally got tired of the Eastwood. It had a much harder start just as arc forms than this Miller 211 I finished cab with. Blew through, harder to make nice welds. Yes, Miller was more, but the time, frustration, extra heat and panel damage-to me, better welder worth every penny. Especially if you figure you’ll do more in future. The Miller made me a LOT better welder. I know a good/great welder can work with most anything. Eastwood was great every time I needed technical help, I still order a lot from them. Would’ve gladly given you the working Eastwood but just gave it away 2 days ago.
Somehow, someway if you could try both on sheet metal for yourself.
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Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I bought the eastwood . It looks like it will work for my needs and is priced right

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

practice on some scrap sheet metal of the same gauge as your truck sheet metal. make sure both sides are clean too, welding draws contaminants from both sides of the metal and can make for a poor weld.
check out a few videos on mig welding before you start. this fella seems do do a decent job of explaining things and has a few videos you could peruse through
https://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com...ng-basics.html
you could google how to set up your mig welder and I'm sure you will find a youtube that will walk you through the set up right from out of the box to actual welding and getting the wire speed/voltage right.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

You will be happier with mig vs fluxcore, that said I welded most of my TRUK with a 120v fluxcore welder. I'd recommend practicing before using it on vintage sheet metal.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I'm going to practice for a couple days then do the parts that dont show first like the floor pan and inner cowl before I do the cab corners.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

Get some random doors from some where.
Doors are great for practice. Low crown shape will show the flaws and the edges of the panel are captured by door frame so shrink/stretch really matters. I first did this when I was 14, gas torch, carpenter hammer and a sledge head as dolly, And bondo, lots of bondo, most of which got laboriously turned into dust.

Cut the inner door panel out for easy access. grind the paint off

do a row of tack welds on the surface and see what happens to the panel. grind them smooth and hammer them to restore the panel
cut a slice (thin zip disk) in the door, tack it, grind it and hammer it, repeat until the slice is closed.
Cut an oval hole in the panel and weld it back in
Cut a square hole, then weld it back in.
Cut an irregular shape hole, fit a patch made from new metal and weld it back in

When you are happy with that go to town on the cab corners. If a perfect butt joint is beyond what you have time to master, do a lap joint, tack inside and out. grind, seal and paint. Keep the project moving forward at all cost. Better to drive a truck that might crack the paint than never finish.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I'm with LG on this one. better to get it driving. if you want a perfet job then hire a body man or a welder who is used to welding thin metal and also doing the finish work to have it look smooth with no oil can affect. practice lots and don't think too much into it. try differen stick out lengths (the amount the wire sticks out past the gas tube). try different gas flow settings, try different gun angles, etc. get a plier so you can cut the wire each time before you weld, this gives the wire a chisel tip that will start the arc cleanly instead of bumping along until it arcs enough to sustain a constant arc. doing that just leaves a mess. if you weld and the wire seems to be burning back to the gun tip then increase the wire speed or decrease the voltage. if the welds seems to build up a small mountain range then move the gun faster or lower the wire speed. if you get a lot of popping and cracking with bubbles in the weld then it usually means the gas isn't cleaning the surface or the metal is dirty so maybe the gas is turned down too low or the gun is too far away from the metal so the gas is blowing away before it can clean the metal.
anyway, practice like LG says and just think about what you are doing. you are short circuiting a thin wire in order to melt it and the parent metal so they melt or fuse together. the gas cleans the metal and shields it. you obviously want the metal to melt almost all the way through so the weld will be as strong as the parent metal was, so it isn't a weak spot. if you hold the wire too far away then it has a chance to heat up and distort or bend away from where you want it to go. it can also spark a bunch and cause more blobs to jump off and stick to nearby areas. a nice short stick out will allow the gas to shield and the arc to be stable as long as you figure out the amperage etc. watch a few youtube videos and get some hints ten spend some time on the end of the gun and change some settings and procedures till you get it figured out.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I showed this on a similar Hamb thread this morning after running out in 15 degree weather to take the photo in my pajamas and slippers.

These plant stands were some of the first required projects that My friend and coworker John Babbich who taught AG at Toppenish High School from the mid 60's until in the 80's had his students make after they got past the weld scrap metal together and have it stay together.

I bought it from Chris Wentz who's step dad and mom are two of our best friends primarily because his mom already had the ones his older brothers had made in years before. We have had it for around 40 years. The point being, get that welder out and after you can stick two pieces of scrap together and hit them with a hammer and the weld stays together and your welds don't look like bubble gum on the bottom side of the local diner's tables make a few things to get some practice in. Make a plant stand for your wife or ?? grab some rebar and make a couple of those hangers for hanging baskets. design and buld the cart for your welder. It won't take long and your welds start looking better and they stay together without an issue.

Hopefully that Eastwood welder can be adapted to use mig gas and plain mig wire because you will be wanting that.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

don't know a thing about this welder, but I did all my sheet work welding with a Hobart unit using .030 flux wire. Clean all welding locations very well to get the penetration necessary. Have a good grinder handy

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I'm using shielded gas 75/25 and 023 wire

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I use 023. it tyakes less heat to weld with it, so less heat affected zone theoretically.
do what works for you.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I watch Fitzys channel also. The old "Cut and Butt" techinique.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

it may be easier to cut a square but, a patch with rounded corners is easier to metalwork after as it doesn't do weird stretches at the corners. there are no corners.

Re: Mig flux core welder
 

I like Fritzee, he does every thing with nothing. I like his cut and butt technique. I have all the fancy tools but his way still looks easier.