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Dave,
Welding requirements depends on the job to be done and particularly the thickness of the material. For 16 gauge and thinner the options are mig, tig and gas. in this area preparation is important as impurities will affect the weld and weaken the result. All require experience so have heaps of scrap around to try on first even to just set the heat / amperage. For heavier work I really recommend one of the inverter stick machines as they can be set almost as delicately as a mig. Only trouble with a stick is if it is not a good weld the flux becomes a problem and lots of grinding will be required. Once again a mig is now the preferred choice, but it has more problems than a stick welder as in preparation. A mig takes a lot of setting up with amperage / wire speed. If the heat is incorrect a mig is a vastly inferior weld, may look good, but very weak as it has not bonded to the parent metals. Inverter stick welder are in OZ about $500 for a good one new. Big topic, but suggest you go and try your hand with someone else first. Let them guide and advise. You will save a lot of grief. My $0.10 worth. Neil
-----Original Message----- From: David Leonard
Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2016 6:06 AM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Welding Equipment Recomendations
I have a number of small welding projects around the home and hangar
that are starting to accumulate. I am thinking about getting one of
those $100 welders from Harbor Freight but I have almost no welding
experience. There is plenty of info on the web but I thought I would
put the question to my rotary friends.
Given that I just want to be able to do occasional projects around the
home and airplane, what type of welding equipment would be best for me
and what do you consider the minimum power level that is acceptable?
I will skip the desire to do anythng with aluminum. I am thinking
that Arc or Flux Core would be easiest. I tried to weld with
auto-feed MIG and I just couldnt keep up with the wire. Also, most of
the airplane projects are too difficult to keep any gas bubble in
place.
Thoughts?
David Leonard
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