I'v never welded before, but I'd like to learn. Would a little 110 Volt 90 Amp Arc Welder be powerful enough to weld header pipe? Besides filler material and protective gear, what else might I need? Thanks for any help.

 

Grinder, wire brush, how to book, and practice.

That welder should work but would suggest a mig or tig at least a wire feed.

 

How to book? Don't mig and tig welding use a gas? I don't really need a very powerful welder if that arc welder will do the trick. Why do you reccomend wire-feed welding? Thanks for the reply.

 

A wire feed can be a arc welder as well as mig. Also wire feed you don't have to keep changing the rod when it gets short and it is easier to control having it at the same spot all the time. if you plan on doing more stuff down the road it is a good investment. but if this is all your going to do than it is the best for you. imo.

Edit:
how to book just to get the right rods/wire for which metal and techniques the basics.

I am sure the master welders will pipe in and blow everything i said away however.

 

What is wire-feed?

 

It feeds wire threw the handle so you don't have the sticks.
I'd get at least this if i were you.
wire welder

 

Thanks for the help. Would you reccomend any particular arc welders? I'm on a budget, thats why I was looking at the $85 one. Thanks.

 

Lincoln but they are pricey.

 

i just learned to weld using an arc welder that uses sticks and i thought it was the easiest thing to do after i figured it out. then i came home and read a lil about it and now i'm welding much cleaner. it's not hard to learn. i'm not sure how the migs and tigs work yet but i'll learn soon. the good ole arc with the sticks is pretty simple IMO. good luck,
alan

 

Sounds good, thanks for all the help. I appreciate it. If anyone else has any comments or suggestions, please post.

 

Dude, save your milk money, get a paper route, rob a bank, just don't buy that welder. You will regret it in the long run, and by my estimation the second you figured out that it would not weld your headers. The welder you have pictured is NOT something you want to tackle headers with. It only has two heat settings, at a maximum level of 90amps. 90 amps might give you enough penetration on, say 1/8" to maybe, *sigh* maybe 1/4" mild steel, beyond that nothing.

The heat setting will be the major downfall. If you are running to hot at the max setting, you can switch down to the lower level. But what if you’re not getting enough penetration? You are stuck. Switch and flip that scenario around and you are still S.O.L. on a lot of things. Save your money for a good welder, you won't regret it.

Stick welding is also a major PITA, IMO. Every time you stop, you need to break out the grinder or chip slag that you created using the flux as an arc shield. Makes for some time consuming projects. As Red eluded too.

Another thing you have to keep in mind is the Duty cycle. 10% means you can weld one minute out of ten. 30% = three. The bigger the duty cycle the less time you waste standing around.

MIG set-ups use an Argon/CO2 combination as a shielding gas. TIG uses argon helium combination and sometimes nitrogen depending on the application. Both are WAY better IMO to tackle headers. In fact…

I would also say that taking a welding class at a local community college could possibly be the best thing you ever did. I know it was for me, and I say that with sincerity. Especially before you jumped right into fab'ing some headers.

 

Thanks for the reply. What welder would you recomend? Don't you have to constantly get gas refills for the MIG and TIG welders? Thanks for the post - informed me of some important stuff. Thanks.

 

I'm personally saving for a Lincoln 215, but I'm starting a Machine tool technology program in two weeks, and I recently seperated from the military. So, long story short. I have to save for other things right now. I may even try to talk my dad into buying the welder, so I can save for a CNC machine. Its all about priorities.

I have heard great things about Miller Matic 175's and 210's. It's really a choice of what you want to do with it. MM 175 is as good starting point as any. Keep in Mind with the bigger number i.e. 210/215 the bigger the electricity pipes you will need to feed it, as in 230v.

Yes, you will need to change the gas out, but its directly proportional to the use of the welder, do you see my drift?

 

i happen to like stick welders but most people are going to prefer mig on most stuff. mig for the most part is easier, i've just never really liked it. if all you're going to weld is exhaust, you're only going to need a 110v welder. anything more and you'll want to bring out the big guns

if you're going to arc weld exhaust tubing, i'd recommend using low voltage and 3/32" 6013 rod. that setup would work good on a cheapy AC buzzbox. i'm saving my pennies for a miller thunderbolt ac/dc

-kyle
WABO certified structural welder

 

Thanks for the replies guys, you've all been really helpful. I might go with stick welding at first. Someday I'll get a nice welder, someday... Thanks again.

 

i highly recommend learning how to stick weld first, because once you get that down, everything else should come to you easily

 

check out your local Techinal Community College - Dude, they have what looks to be a very, very comprehensive welding program!

http://www.faytechcc.edu/SQLCriteria...rch.asp?ID=WLD

Take the Mig course- you won't regret it. You will know exactly what you need when your done-

_________________

My choice was a Lioncoln 170, a small 220V MIG unit.

It was under $800 out the door, including a 20LB CO2 Cyl, regulator, gloves and picture window welding helmet. I've upgraded to a auto darkening helmet since then, but still use the old helmet if I'm working outdoors.

later

 

Welding? Now that is something I have been doing for many years. These guys all gave you great info but it also depends on what kind of material you want to weld. If you are looking at mild steel or stainless. Either way for header you will want to go with TIG welding and I say this because of the imperfections caused by MIG and ARC. If you jack it up and cause pourosity in the weld you are done. Headers are made from very thin matieral around 1/8" i would imagine. You cant exactly grind that steel down with causing heat trauma to the steel and possibly cracking of the other welds. TIG is not an easy process to learn but due to the cleanliness of the procedure and the depth control on penitration you will have much better results. FYI unless you plan on NOT learning how to weld do not buy those home welders they sale at like walmart. Lincoln and Hobart make great personal welding machines. Also i am certified in cali for 7018 stick in all postions by the AWS and started with MIG welding so dont be scared of the spark. GET SOME!!!!

 

yeah, for a welder you want lincoln, hobart or miller. as for a book:

If you are hellbent on teaching yourself to weld, get a good book: "Welding" by Larry Jeffus is a great book, the 5th edition will run you about $80 used, the 4th will run yo
u about $30 used on amazon or the like.

 

If you don't weld much, a med sized tank of shielding gas will last you for years without refilling.

For a good stick welder try to get a 220 volt AC/DC machine if you can swing the $$$$. A DC stick welder will also let you upgrade to TIG later if you want to. I have a Miller econo-tig and love it.