At 10:12 PM 6/17/96 -0400, Al DeFazio wrote:
> Looking for info on a MIG welder for hobbyist who races and would
> like to do some of my own welding. Anybody have any experience with
> Daytona MIG (good or bad). They seem to have best pricing. Seems
> like 120 amp is about good enough and want to run on 110 current,
> not 220. Thanks
>
Al,
I went through this about 3 years ago. Many large hardware stores
and discount houses sell a Century welder pretty cheap. However,
do you live in the boon docks? I ended up with a Lincoln SP100. It
has a continuous variable heat and wire speed settings and hold the
large 11 lb spools of wire and runs on 115Vac. I went with the
Lincoln because all the welding supply houses here sell parts and can
fix the unit.
The only problem is it wasn't cheap. The basic box was about $550, then
the gas bottle was $75 (costs about $18 to refill with
argon/co2), then the gas regulator, helmet, gloves and wire brought
the total to $825 delivered. I love it though.
If you don't want to use the gas you can save about $250 just using
flux core wire. But there is a lot more slag and splatter. I can't
say I'm really any good, but I'm getting better.
In fact, last night I welded in patch panels on the windshield frame
from my Spitfire where it has rusted out. It's really nice being
able to do that kind of work.
I'd like to also add that you might also want an oxy-acetylene tourch
also. When you really need heat for bending a piece of metal they
come in very handy, plus the cutting tip for cutting things up.
However, unless you have a shop I'd suggest the small bottles so the
unit is portable. My dad has an oxy-acetylene rig with the tall
(5 - 6 foot) bottles. However, they are almost impossible to transport.
I've been cutting up some cars with some of my friends and could have really
used the tourch, but we couldn't move my dad's
rig.
Another alternative to the cutting tourch is a Saws-all. They are
great. We've cut up about 4 cars with one of them.
John
>
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@nhr.com
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (804) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire
The one with the most toys, wins!
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