Mig welder

[BikeBuilders]

New to this site, but already hooked.... I have a Lincoln 140 wire feed mig welder (no tanks). I don't know much about how to weld, just bought it for my garage for miscellaneous stuff... My question is this. Will that work for building some bicycles like the ones found here? Cutting, stretching, raking, etc....

I know everyone here is going to have a opinion on which welder I should buy. Arc, tig, stick, whatever.... But buying another welder is NOT an option right now. Just looking for something to keep me busy in the garage without spending money, and it seems like building a bicycle could be just the thing. As I mentioned, I have no tanks, just use the wire feed.

I know other type welders will work better, make nicer welds, etc, etc, etc..... Just want to know that if I use my wire feed mig welder (without gas), will I be able to do the welding needed to make frames and stuff, and not have the bike fall apart on me as I ride down the road....

Thanks for your replies, tips and suggestions.

Rob

 

[sloar]

what you have should be fine. the only difference is you have a flux welder. little harder to get a nice looking weld, they splatter like crazy and require alot of clean up around the weld. but it should handle bike frames just fine.

 

[BikeBuilders]

Thanks..... My welder has the ability to add tanks but my wallet doesn't... LOL. Will adding tanks later affect what I can do with my welder? Make better welds? Perhaps in the near future I can work my way up.

Thanks again.

 

[Voyager Al]

i explain to guys that the flux wire will work, but leaves sloppy splattered welds.Perfect for welding up a utility trailer that you will slop some rustoleum on it. Bike frames, well, get a good flapper wheel grinder disc and be prepared for alot of grinding to clean up the welds. Do it, it'll work. And if ya upgrade, you will prolly do some real nice looking welds with plain wire and stargon.

 

[sloar]

yeah like al said gas welders do a cleaner job. plus a tank really isnt to bad you rent the tank then swap out once its empty. and if your using it for a hobby, that tank will last a long time. have fun

 

[BikeBuilders]

Kool, that being said, my Lincoln 140 wire feed MIG welder came with hoses and a regulator. What else would I have to get to take advantage of gas welding with the welder I have? Tank full of gas?. What gas? Argon? Anything else? Any particular wire? Spool or rods? Tell me anything and everything I would need. If I find tank on Craigslist, how will I know if it is the right one? Sorry for the kindergarten questions.


Thanks
Rob

 

[Joe_Knesek]

Kool, that being said, my Lincoln 140 wire feed MIG welder came with hoses and a regulator. What else would I have to get to take advantage of gas welding with the welder I have? Tank full of gas?. What gas? Argon? Anything else? Any particular wire? Spool or rods? Tell me anything and everything I would need. If I find tank on Craigslist, how will I know if it is the right one? Sorry for the kindergarten questions.


Thanks
Rob

A small tank of Argon mix and a spool of wire is all you need. The big box stores have them.

 

[BikeBuilders]

Ok, thanks for all you guys help....

 

[sloar]

the wire looks and feeds like what you have now it will say gas shield required. make sure its the same diameter as you tip. check your directions on your welder cause i had to swap the ground and somthing else on mine to switch from flux to gas.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Not to be the one always on the other side of the fence, but I have been using my little miller cricket on 110 for the last 25 or 30 years without gas. I seem to have managed to build several streetrods and lots of bicycle frames. I would imagine I could weld cleaner with gas , but I could probably do better with an $8000 tig too. Never was fond of getting started on a project and running out of gas. I have several spools of wire so I can keep going. I say use what you got. Get a spool of flux core wire and get after it. If you want to upgrade to gas later thats great. Fitment and welding skills make all the difference in the world....gas or no gas. :wink:

 

[BikeBuilders]

Not to be the one always on the other side of the fence, but I have been using my little miller cricket on 110 for the last 25 or 30 years without gas. I seem to have managed to build several streetrods and lots of bicycle frames. I would imagine I could weld cleaner with gas , but I could probably do better with an $8000 tig too. Never was fond of getting started on a project and running out of gas. I have several spools of wire so I can keep going. I say use what you got. Get a spool of flux core wire and get after it. If you want to upgrade to gas later thats great. Fitment and welding skills make all the difference in the world....gas or no gas. :wink:

Thanks.... I agree that learning to use what I have properly would make a BIG difference regardless of what I use. I just need to get to practicing my welding until I get to the point where I can get good welds. Alot of it is in properly adjusting the settings on my welder. I have NO IDEA how to do that. Trial and error I guess......

Thanks
Rob

 

[Voyager Al]

try to NOT run a continuous bead of weld. The tubing is thin,.Nothing wrong with just spotwelding, then filling in the areas not welded.Run a 1/4",move a 1/4, and weld a 1/4. Then go back and fill in. Youll have a better looking weld,less heat distortion or damage. Then grind, and reweld if ya see any cracks,or pits. Take ur time...
I weld at work, all mostly 1/4 inch or thicker. Machinery. At home, its a learning curve, welding thin tubing. I welded my recumbent up, and ued 3/4 EMT conduit for alot. THATS thin stuff. Low heat, slow wire speed. Take ur time.

 

[BikeBuilders]

try to NOT run a continuous bead of weld. The tubing is thin,.Nothing wrong with just spotwelding, then filling in the areas not welded.Run a 1/4",move a 1/4, and weld a 1/4. Then go back and fill in. Youll have a better looking weld,less heat distortion or damage. Then grind, and reweld if ya see any cracks,or pits. Take ur time...
I weld at work, all mostly 1/4 inch or thicker. Machinery. At home, its a learning curve, welding thin tubing. I welded my recumbent up, and ued 3/4 EMT conduit for alot. THATS thin stuff. Low heat, slow wire speed. Take ur time.

Thanks Al...

 

[ozzmonaut]

I have a 110 mig flux core as well. I have welded tons of frames, and thin conduit also. Mine only has low/high heat setting. If you have fully adjustable heat, try it at about 40 amps and see if you burn holes. If you get the right heat setting you won't have to skip around on the beads. I have to skip around with mine, but with thicker stuff, I can run nice clean beads with little splatter. I too would like to switch to gas. Flux doesn't burn evenly enough to protect the weld from oxygen, hence the splatter, but with gas you can protect better and it will keep the weld site cooler to prevent distortion. The fact that you already have the hoses and regulator puts you there really, cost-wise. You can get small bottles of argon, and like stated above , it will be fine just for hobby use.

 

[FatBoy]

I agree with Stretch and Al....Practice makes perfect!! I have also used a 110 volt flux core wire feed and have welded from sheet metal to 1/4" no problem! When I first started I cut a bunch of pieces of pipe and plate and just weld and adjust the welder settings until your comfortable and your on your way 8) :mrgreen: Remember to have fun!!!

 

[Indychus]

Well mig stands for Metal Inert Gas, so without tanks, you just have a flux-core welder as has already been said. Both use a shielding gas, but a flux core burns a flux inside the wire to provide this gas, whereas the mig supplies it through the welding liner around the outside of the wire. The whole point of shielding the electrode is to prevent the molten metal from oxidizing when exposed to air and creating impurities and porosity in the final weld. Just by the very nature of their design, mig is inherently more efficient at shielding the electrode than flux since it surrounds it with gas instead of creating the gas by burning a flux filament. Think of it like a bullet proof vest- it goes on the outside for a reason. Flux creates messier welds due to it's poor shielding capability, and is harder to achieve proper welds for a beginner.

That being said... for a bicycle, flux is probably fine. With some practice, you can get very good welds using a flux, and you don't have to worry about running out of gas. Just be aware that in most cases a flux welder will burn much hotter than mig which takes a toll on equipment and consumables, and also requires you to weld much slower to avoid warping or burning through. You will also have to grind the welds down and check for porosity, rewelding as necessary.

If you already have everything to weld using flux wire, there is no reason not to use it. Just be aware that by leasing a tank and buying a spool of mig wire you can greatly increase both the quality and appearance of your welds with less clean up work and grinding.

 

[gcrank1]

So, does the flux core tend to make 'better beads' than regular old AC stick welding?

 

[BikeBuilders]

Thanks guys.

 

[SKYLARKICIOUS]

I haven't researched this, but I would also suggest going on to YOUTUBE.com and watching videos on proper ways to weld. There must be videos posted regarding welding, why not give it a try?

I wish you well,

Michael

 

[BikeBuilders]

great idea.