[HemiKat]

Dont stick weld on your bike. Dont stick weld anything under 1/2 inch thick! I used to work in a fab shop and I am a self taught welder. Tig is the best, but hard to get right, and is expensive.

MIG is the way to go, not that flux core bullcrap either. Buy a decent welder and spend the money for the gas setup.. I bought a Lincoln 145 MIG welder for $450 from Lowes and its the best money Ive ever spent. I think the tank of gas cost me $160 and its definately paid for itself. Ive built complete car chassis with it before. Its good under to 5/16" thick, and nothing on a car or bike will be that thick.

My grandfather (welder for 50 years) always told me: Anyone can stick two pieces of metal together with heat but it takes a pro to weld something thats worth having.

[Rangerx52]

Dont stick weld on your bike. Dont stick weld anything under 1/2 inch thick!

bah, thats no fun. you can weld anything with stick, but it takes a loooooot of practice to do the thin stuff, you need to be very intimate with your welder, and know exactly the voltage and amperage you need.
when i first learned, my dad tested me by making me stickweld pop cans together at the bases. Doesnt get much thinner than that.

Amusingly enough, if you were to just jab a rod into a block of steel and keep pushing, you would bore a hole into the metal, and pop right through. there's a variant of stick called AirArc, which actually uses compressed air, and blasts solid steel away like a garden hose through loose soil. great for removing old thick welds on thick steel.

consequently, thats why tig has a foot pedal, to control the arc intensity do you can ease up on the power to avoid overheating the workpiece and disturbing your pool.

[HemiKat]

bah, thats no fun. you can weld anything with stick.

Stick welding is for barbarians. You dont see anyone on Orange County Choppers welding with an ac welder.

[Rangerx52]

exactly. you dont because stick mig and tig are all dc.

you can get mig and tig in false AC, through pulsed dc and square wave settings, but they're all DC.

The rule of thumb is that AC is more efficient and has a higher equivalent output, but DC likes to heat up as it hits resistance, which can be very useful.

The guys on OCC use tig because its the most suitable for the job, being hollow bike frames. when you get into stock any thicker than about 10ga, the heat from the arc disperses through the workpiece too fast, and doesnt allow you to produce a fluid pool. Tig is very pretty, but it's basically an aluminum and hobby welder.

if stick is for barbarians, then Tig is for men like freddie mercury.

If it came down to it, my joke was true- and you could stick weld with a handful of car batteries, a rod and a pair of vice grips, people used to do it all the time and it worked. THe only reason i back it up, is because stick is the single most versatile and reliable form of welding there is. It takes no skill to do, but it takes practice to perfect.

[JokerZwild]

I picked up a small Craftsman Mig for about $300 and It serves me juuuust fine for my projects. I Just dont do a whole lotta welding on my bikes. Slider and Spool mounts are about it.

[il_ragazzo]

yup thats what im gonna be doing ... spools and adjusters.

but i can imagine that i will use it alot

[Rangerx52]

You will use it more than any sensible person should. as it should be.


Fabrication's a huge part of my job, but i have my own workshop at my work, and it's fully loaded with all the good stuffl; Stick welder, Tig welder, Mig (gasses and wires for ALL metals) Radial drill press, full milling machine, plasma cutter (my personal favorite), lathe, 100 tonne press, sandblaster, an army of air tools and outfitted with more metal stock than you can shake a stick at. I feel bad if i dont do one thing each day that someone shakes their head at.

First day on the job, i plasma cut a large skull and crossbones out of aluminum and hung it from the doorway as a warning to others.

[md86]

First day on the job, i plasma cut a large skull and crossbones out of aluminum and hung it from the doorway as a warning to others.

Bet something like that would look REALLY keen in the garage ....... You take orders ?

[JokerZwild]

Yeah Id be Dangerous with a set up like that!!! Id wind up trying to fab my own air frame!!

[talonguy450]

knowing how to weld is great.