Flux wire welding

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peejus

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Hey folks.
While I'm fairly proficient at soldering for electronic components, and I'm fairly decent at mechanical work in general, I've never done any actual welding.
I do want to learn however

My main question here is that harbor freight sells a Flux wire welder system for around $100 and I was wondering if this would be a suitable learning tool and if the process would be suitable for working on bikes.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
My .02, spend just a little more on a name brand welder that you can get parts for. A little lincoln welder shouldn't cost you a whole lot more. Even better would be a fcaw/mig ready welder. You can still use flux core wire, but you have the option of adding gas and using it as a mig welder. Flux core is sufficient for some bicycle stuff, it's just a bit messy.
 
It's my understanding that if you use flux core wire, you should heat the metal before welding as flux core apparently makes bicycle tubing brittle and could break outside the weld (not the actual weld itself)

I also agree that a name brand welder is a better choice, it's like learning to play guitar. You're better off buying a Gibson or Fender rather than a First Act.
 
SSG said:
My .02, spend just a little more on a name brand welder that you can get parts for. A little lincoln welder shouldn't cost you a whole lot more. Even better would be a fcaw/mig ready welder. You can still use flux core wire, but you have the option of adding gas and using it as a mig welder. Flux core is sufficient for some bicycle stuff, it's just a bit messy.
Click to expand...
^ What SSG said is spot on in my opinion.

Luke.
 
The big box Lincoln welders are cheaper than the similar Lincoln welders sold at welding supply shops. Check the model numbers and you will see that they are different, even though they look the same. Both Lincoln and Miller have sales going on now and Miller is offering an additional $75 rebait on top of the sale price. I think the Miller deal is good for the year? After trying various welders I settled on the Miller 141. I am using flux core, but I have used a 140 with gas as well. It will cost me an additional $200 for the smallest tank, which I will get sometime this winter. In the meantime I am fixing my trailer and general repair with it using the flux core. Take out a loan and buy a Miller or Lincoln or other quality welder.
 
The biggest issue will be the heat settings. I believe the harbor freight only has go and low. You don't need infinite adjustable voltage settings but you want as many taps as possible. Hobart is good option, and also Eastwood. I have been welding for 20 years, I personally wouldn't buy an Eastwood welder just for principle but it is an option for the DIY guy at home.
 
Years ago I had a cheapo century flux wire welder. Biggest problem was duty cycle was only 10%. 15 seconds on and over 2 min off to cool transformer down!
I did manage to weld some cool lightweight sheetmetal parts with it, stuff I'd burn thru with a stick welder. Ended up giving it to my brother in law.
 
peejus said:
Hey folks.
While I'm fairly proficient at soldering for electronic components, and I'm fairly decent at mechanical work in general, I've never done any actual welding.
I do want to learn however

My main question here is that harbor freight sells a Flux wire welder system for around $100 and I was wondering if this would be a suitable learning tool and if the process would be suitable for working on bikes.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
If you are still considering a better welder Tractor Supply has a black friday special on Hobart welders, up to $70 off.
 
I do often use these small machines in an industrial environment. Pushing them way past what they are designed for, using them hard all day. I have only ran into issues with the duty cycle once or twice.
 
horsefarmer said:
Years ago I had a cheapo century flux wire welder. Biggest problem was duty cycle was only 10%. 15 seconds on and over 2 min off to cool transformer down!
I did manage to weld some cool lightweight sheetmetal parts with it, stuff I'd burn thru with a stick welder.
Click to expand...

Hey, I have one of those red Century wire feed welders. 120v 70amp. Yeah, pretty lousy welder. I've used it to weld pretty tiny stuff. 1/8 thick steel is the max it can handle. It just doesn't have the heat to weld bicycle tubing. IMO, this is the model all those cheap asian models are based on. Copy junk and you get junk. Many have suggested that you get the wire from the name brand places and toss the oem/harbor freight stuff.

For learning I took a bunch of welding classes at my local community college. They have a phenomenal welding facility with about 50 different welders plus all kinds of other machine shop equipment. Lincoln, Miller, etc. The good ones run about $2500 and work great. I took stick, tig, mig classes. I learned a lot. Most of the class welding is on 3/8" plate so it can take anything. Unlike thin wall bicycle tubing.

I would have a nicer welder but I'd have to pay $3000 to have my electrical service upgraded on my older home. Running a welder thru fuses isn't good. I usually schlep my welder somewhere else for the juice.

rick
 
I know what you mean about school welders - nice machines, and I remember the DC welders making it easy to get nice looking welds. My $60 farm auction Forney
forney275ampwelder007_zpsb34aec68.jpg

Is a heavy ol' monster but I can get some pretty good work out of it if I'm welding heavy stock.
P.S. Juice ain't a prob here - homestead was wired for electric baseboard heat in the seventies - way to expensive to run anymore, but we got a 600 Amp entrance!:grin:
 
Falstaff said:
It's my understanding that if you use flux core wire, you should heat the metal before welding as flux core apparently makes bicycle tubing brittle and could break outside the weld (not the actual weld itself)
Click to expand...

That's true of all welding, getting brittle just beyond the weld.
That's why aluminum frames are heat treated after the welding is complete.
And most old school lugged steel frames are brass brazed, not welded to avoid the high heat.
Welded steel frames are usually made with modern special weld specific steels like Reynolds 853 or cheap steel with extra thick walls.

rick
 
Another recommendation for at least a Miller or Hobart. Have a Hobart 110 and 220 in use at our body shop at work. Both are very nice. I can lay down some ...... welds for being a young inexperienced welder.

Have a couple 110 Lincoln and Millers at home that don't get used very much.

Jon
 
I started out battery welding last summer. I used 2 batteries, 2 sets of heavy duty jumper cables from the thrift store and a vice grip to hold the electrode. I bought a $40 auto darkening helmet that was really not dark enough, but it worked. I used old grill gloves. The jumper cables kept burning through the wire at the clamp so I removed the clamp and used old 110 volt house wiring. I spliced all 3 wires in the house wiring together. I now have a Miller 141 wire feed welder and welding with it is similar in concept to the stick welding, but a lot easier. My welding class came from the net. I made a lot of mistakes, welding through chrome, welding over slag etc. I feel like I could now use a class. I feel that battery stick welding is the cheapest way to start and have a reliable powerful system. If you have 2 cars or a car and a marine battery, vice grips, work gloves, Romex type home wire scraps and a helmet you are set to go. You can even use several vice grips, one to hold the electrode, one for the ground and the rest to hold the wire to the battery cables.

Frame made with battery welding. It broke after many sessions of hard single track but that was because a gusset kept the seatpost between the two top tubes and flex broke the weld.


This is the spot it broke at, mostly from poor engineering, not the battery welds.
 
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I bought some harbor freight welding wire and had nothing but problems. Thought all wire would be the same, guess I was wrong. Went to NAPA and bought Firewire and although I'm not a welder, I was able to get a more consistan puddle.
 
I have the Eastwood Mig 135 and a cheap Century from Walmart that I bought maybe 7 years ago . The Eastwood is nice because of heat control, it ranges 25A-135A I think. I like it, but the ground clamp and a few other components seem a bit cheap. Also, it can be used with gas, and comes set up for it. If you run flux wire, you will need to do a few things to set up the welder: 1)change the tip, but both sizes are included 2)flip the drive wheel 3) flick a polarity switch inside the welder and swap wire terminals.The Century never gave me any issues, but you have to be very careful using it on bicycle frames. It gets the job done, but the heat settings are low/high ; 60A/90A respectively. 60A is too hot for bicycle tubing, and you will shoot holes if you try to maintain a continuous bead. ~40A works better for bicycle tubing , give or take. If you cut a piece of tubing to stint into the joint,you can get by with more heat, and the weld will be stronger. Technically you can use higher heat at any time, but you will have to skip around more and the welds will be less consistent. As far as duty cycles, I have never really pushed the Eastwood. The Century cut off on me once, in 98dgr heat, during a long stretch of welding at 90A on thicker metals. In my opinion both are good to have around and are useful, but the Eastwood works better for bikes.
 
Lincoln, Miller, Hobart you can't go wrong. get gas setup no flux core.
I have a 240 v Lincoln thats 25yrs old works great it has made a lot of stuff.
 
I do a bit of welding at work with a flux core machine, and it's quite difficult to get a decent looking weld. You'll be amazed how much better you are when you use the shielding gas!
 

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