Well I used up the 2# roll that came with my rig, and switched to a 10#. When the spool runs out, I guess you have to throw away the 8 feet that are in the lead and re-thread the whole thing, or am I missing a trick of the trade???
cz
Toss it, itās not worth the hassle. One more reason to use the big spool.
Chris. Thanks for the newbie tips.
My welder just came in. I am anxious to try it.
I have a question about adjusting mig feed rollers. I bought my Matco welder at auction and did not get a manual with it and now I want to change wire size from 023 to 035. I got 035 tips but what is the procedure for adjusting the feed rollers? Do I open it up beyond 035 and then insert the wire while cranking the rollers tighter until it starts feeding and then a tad more or what? Anyone done this or have a manual that says How?
Don Mannes
Don, according to my welding rep, you feed the wire into your cupped hand to try to stall the wire coming out. When the feeding overcomes and coils up and around and past your hand, itās right. Your hand preventing itās feeding means it is not enough. Done it hundreds of times. Quite often the resistance of welding feed interruptions are due to a dirty liner, which at work, I replace about every 3 months. I replace dirty weld tips every week. So dirt might be your gremlin without you realizing it.
Don,
In switching from .023 to .030, usually you will have to switch to an .030 feed roll. Most commercial machines have 2 different slots on one roll.
Hi, I just joined. Iāve read through this but it will take some time to absorb and some hands on experience. Also Iām so new my book is in the mail lol. I donāt know how to weld so that looks like the biggest hurdle for me in the start. Would it be a good idea for me to get a gas welder? If Iām reading this correctly you can do a better job with gas correct?
Good Morning Mr. Vanderstelt,
Welcome to the site sir.
There is a lot of good information on this thread about the welders.
I have built a few gasifiers with a stick welder before I bought a small gas welder. It took a lot longer to build and the welding job look pretty rough.
With the little gas welders one can learn to weld in a short time.
Thanks
Wayne
thank you Wayne! Itās my pleasure to meet you - in my opinion you are a unsung hero - the world needs more people like you!
My 1st goal here is to get welding down before ruining my good material. Also I seen on ebay they had some cheap welders that are not gasā¦ Iām reconsidering or considering getting both gas and electric weld as an experiment. I have welded once before under supervision but it was awhile back and it was electric. I read the 1st thread and some of those welding tips came back to me about the speed of your welding has to be just right and develop a little pattern so to speak. Anyway I know you warn about cheap stuff from China but do you think this unit from ebay would work?
Thanks for your time sir
Neal
Thanks for giving me the big head but you may have me confused with someone else.
I may not be able to give good advise on the welder because I have only owned and or operated one but I am very satisfied with it .
To do good welding there should be a setting for amps and wire speed .
Maybe someone that has used several different brands and models will advise.
Thanks
Wayne
Neal if you plan to build a gasifier it is worth getting gas, gasless wire is more expensive and leaves flux on the weld. If you donāt get the flux off before starting another weld you could get leaks.
Getting you material clean before you weld makes a big difference and will save you a lot of frustration. Look on youtube for how to weld lots of good info there.
Neal, I bought a make that was just a little cheaper than the Hobart sitting beside of it. It welded but I was always fighting to get good welds with it. At first, because it was my first mig welder, I thought it was me, then I ask a couple of friends if I could try theirs. The setting were more sensitive and I could ādialā them in much better. I have put the cheapo in the corner and am using a neighbors ( he thought he would learn to weld but finds it easier to bring the parts to me) Iām not going to tell you what it is because there might be better ones than this, I donāt have that much experience. It is a relatively in expense āknownā brand. I would give my cheapo to anyone that wanted to pick it up.
Hi Neal, Welcome to the semi complex world of: metallurgy, electronics, auto mechanics, photography, wood processing, public speaking, & wood gasification. LOL
You have probably mastered several of these already, and we are here to help with the rest. I used this welder
for everything except the heavy heat sinks, and yesterdays repairs.
http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/carls-gasifier/371/494
A stick welder is handy for those. The main thing I think, for maximum flexability is the ability to vary HEAT & WIRE FEED. You see two knobs that provide variables. The variety of thickness we weld is so diverse I think this option is essential. This is a knock-off of an Eastwood found here on sale!
Most hardwares have replacement consumable parts for this style. I did have to make one electronic repair inside it for a bad connection earlier this year. see here:
thanks for the links. It will take some time to absorb all this lol. Another thing to ponder is the duty cycle. longer / higher amps = better i imagine. Iāll get this down. already looking at the youtube videos. I do quite a bit of research before diving in - even if itās a cheap device lol. I want to be sure that my money is well spent and applicable. yes i know thereās a wide range of knowledge here - I try to stay on topic if possible though. I see Iāve found the right people here in this bunch.
(Unless that is just a forum name) No sir, I meant you! Wayne Keith! folks like you are the real heroes! You are bringing back technology that should have been more evolved. Canāt imagine how the world missed out on the gasifier. They should clone your genetics and make more Wayne Keithās! It is truly my honor to be on your forum and a beneficiary of your research.
Ok that makes a lot of sense. so itās a control factor and not specificationsā¦ Too bad they donāt allow you try them before you buy them. Fortunately there is Amazon which gives reviews on products by users. Iāll spend a few hours researching before I buy.
Thanks everyone for the comments - they are very helpful and I am taking notes / setting goals for this project. I will post my progress as time permits but this isnāt my only task in life so it may take time to get this right (unless i can make money doing this lol). I hope to have my 1st gasifier built by the end of this year - but hopefully sooner. Anything worth while is going to take time to do right.
this link might be helpful to other who run through this thread in the future or even current members:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=welder+mig+gas&rh=n%3A228013%2Ck%3Awelder+mig+gas
Additionally (and sorry for so many post) I am considering this unit (see link) after looking at Carlās links and reading the suggestions. Iāve come to the conclusion to get a good brand (Miller and Lincoln also considered), a welder that is suitable and versatile for the application. It has also come to mind that 220/240 voltage seems to be an advantage and I can get more amps out of my barn.
***also Iāve considered HHO welder but thereās little research on it / information to be practical. If I can get this down (mig welding) I might experiment with HHO but for now I think I better go with something more proven and a crutch to fall back on. HHO does appear to have potential though and seems to be very clean high burning gas. (in case you question my logic) As far as gasifiers basically all of Axis Europe used wood cars so this technology is actually proven - although itās still āexperimentalā but only because the governments of the world have not put enough research into it in my opinion. Perhaps to the efforts of the Wanye Keith movement this could change.
If i missed something please let me know. thanks for your help and i look forward to helping others myself.
220VAC is definitely an advantage on a plasma cutter, and on that Eastlake model, it would allow for some heavy work. The spool gun will also allow AL welding. For some of us it was a matter of $$, but I think you get what you pay for in these rigs.
Hello Neal.
I am not a very good welder, but I do know that welding supply companies are VERY good at letting you try their stuff out. Every one I have ever visited has one or more stations set up for you to use to try anything you want. And most of them rent stuff too. Maybe even loan you one if you seem to be serious. And they also have an expert to help.
I bought the 135 Eastwood and would recommend this welder to anyone. I prefer this machine over my Millermatic even.
The Eastwood is basically a copy of a Lincoln welder and for the money there is nothing out there that can beat it.