Ask your WELDING questions here.

Looks like lack of gas or VERY dirty metal. Oh and one thing I consider necessary is a gas lens, my welds went 10x better after getting one.

sorry if this has been answered already, this thread is getting long...

can you mig weld on a steel bicycle frame? I've seen some high end tig, but that's outta my league.

thanks

yes

thanks

I'm thinking about a Miller 211. any thoughts?

I was looking into this welder as well, with the thoughts of being able to weld aluminum.

Interested in the collective's thoughts on this model too.

Or another comparable model.

-darrell

Is the torch water cooled?
What is the duyt cycle of the machine? what is the max. amperage of the machine & torch?
and finaly what thickness of alum do you intend to weld?

A miller 211 is a mig welder. You CAN weld aluminum with a mig welder, but its a bitch unless you have spool gun or a TON of patients to try and get it to go through the machine. They make a nylon liner they claim will work. All they ever did is piss me off. I use TIG or if needed a spool gun.

Its like trying to push a rope.

Don't bother with the auto set feature, learn to use the machine and settings. Almost all have them inside the cover.

Here it is.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/product.php?model=M00245


I have this one, but the older model that will not take a spool gun. Its an awesome welder, I keep .030 ER70S-6 in it with C/25 or Co2.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/product.php?model=M00197

David

so, as far as mig welders go, you like it?

I would purchase a spool gun with the 211. I'm not even gonna try to push aluminum wire through the regular set-up.

I currently have the Millermatic 130. I want to step up, but I don't know if the 211 is big enough of a step.

I can TIG weld better than I MIG, but the MIG is just so much easier and quicker.

Thickness of aluminum to be welded will probably be from .080 to .125.

-darrell

I love it. I have quite a few RED welders this is the only blue one. A lot of the time its turned all the way up. I have buned up almost 20 lbs wire since I bought it in December. The M10 gun is kind of cheesy and running the machine all the way up the gun cable can get warm. A bernard gun would be a good upgrade, but its not required. I have a OLD SP100 for the smaller stuff. I keep .023 wire in that one. At first I thought the passport would replace the old Lincoln, but only if I used .023 wire. This would limit the MAX output on the miller.

David

no. The chrome will just melt into your weld.

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/equipment/mig-Welders/Pages/mig-welders.aspx
Power MIG 140 or 180 or 216 plus

The least expensive Lincoln Spool gun for aluminum welding using a Lincoln Power Mig is the Magnum 100SG spool gun. It is about $200 (at most)

The Lincoln Power MIG 140C (110Volts)or Power MIG 180C (230Volts) or Power MIG 216 (230Volts) all use the magnum 100SG spoolgun.

I have used all of them with great sucess. The bigger the welder the thicker you can weld.

That is why you need to grind the chrome off for about an inch all around the weld area.
By not grinding, before you weld the joint, you are adding chrome to the metal and changing the composition and grade of the steel.
Probably won't make much difference in the application you are talking about,
But I wouldn't want someone welding on a frame, of mine, with that same disreguard for the intergity of the frame material.

thank you RD post 1995- one of my first stops was to the local welding suppy place. at that point i was starting to complie a very long, "what if" list. i asked and got a light weight fiberglass burn tarp/cloth. only 6 X6', but that was pleanty( along with lots of 4mmplywood (already on hand) to protect wooden stair treads and flooring. turns out that the fiberglass burn cloth was about the same price as the equivalent plywood!!! thanx again!!

Posted by the same guy who removes the copper coating from his filler rod!

OK since you invited.
When using TIG to weld carbon steel The weld puddle is clearly visible but have you ever noticed the little off color puddle that quivers and dances around?
That off color puddle is silicone, and other impurities, When you stop welding that lil puddle wil solidify and be a lil glassy deposit on top of the weld. usually.
If for some reason that lil puddle becomes trapped in the weld, as well as any other foriegn matter, it will be what is called an 'inclusion'. That weld will fail level 1 radiography!
So if you arn't concerned with x-ray testing and don't mind wrestiling with that pesky lil puddle of silicone then you don't need to bother with removing the coating.
Now about adding chrome to the weld.
The steel mill adds pure chrome under controlled conditions to the customers specs for the steel being produced .
Chrome enhances the the ability of the steel to be more tollerent of heat.
ie: boiler tube, steam pipe, steam drum, ect.
But now you add a small amout of chrome or other contaminants, by not not grinding to clean steel, and then weld you have changed the composition of the steel.
What ever is on the steel when it is welded is gonna be IN the weld. Be it paint, grease, what ever, and that will compromise the strenght of the weld If It ain't clean steel the weld is going to be compromised, and subject to failure from the begining!
Luggage racks and other things of that nature are not really as important as a frame or something that may cause serious injury.

I don't want to turn this into an internet argument, but if TIG filler wire has a copper wash on it for a reason, why would I remove it? I would just buy it with out the coating. There are deoxidizers in the wire to make the weld complete and strong. Welding with out the deoxidizers will make a crappy weak weld even if it looks good. The only steel the will have original strength for an autogenus (no filler) weld is stainless.

The chrome thing, If you leave it, I doubt you will see any difference in the weld. The chrome is only a couple thousandths thick.

David

Is argon heavier or lighter than air?

Heavier and dangerous in a confined space.

Bob

What you say is true except it ain't that simple. The autogenus weld is an excellent example. No one argues that the weld area shouldn't be as clean as possible, however chrome plate doesn't cause inclusions in the weld and the silicone that rises from the top of the puddle comes primarily from the base metal not from the copper plate on the filler rod or the filler rod itself. Please explain for the folks out there why when welding 4130 (aka: Chromemoly), 316 stainless steel (Chrome & Nickle) is the rod of choice, rod NOT 4130.

BTW, most chrome plating has a base layer of copper, a layer of nickle and then chrome. Like said, it for the most part it is not enough to make a difference in the weldment, and structural parts (like frames) are rarely chromed anyway. There is much more to welding than being able to make a good looking bead or being clean (both are expected).