charlesplanck

Would appreciate suggestions for type of welder (specs or specs and model) to buy for use on bike frames, trailers. Am experienced only with 220 volt stick welders for farm equipment, but assume there is a more appropriate 110v type machine for lighter work. Thank you.

halfbiked

The pros use TIG. I'm not sure if there are any 110v TIG machines. If you want to braze, get an oxy-acetaline torch.

A3rd.Zero

no real useful 110v tigs out there.

If you want a small welder you need an inverter source. Thermdyne, Miller, and Lincoln all make little inverter welders that run 220v and will do everything you ever need.

OA is cheaper and you can weld with it. In fact if you built a bike by welding it with OA it would likely be better than tig (as long as you knew what you were doing). You could also have the bragging rights of "hey I gas welded this bike!". If all you have done is stick welding tig is going to be a huge jump in training, same with OA welding, or brazing.

I love to weld, and do it often but if you were just wanting to build bikes, I'd go with OA. You can lugg or fillet braze then and both are very cool.

Milo

Crunkologist

How come noone MIGs bikes?

DocF

TIG is easier and is more adapted to production welding. We used to call the TIG machines wire welders.

The units from Daytona Mig do a real good job for non-production work. They are not all that expensive, either.

Doc

A3rd.Zero

MIG has two main problems when it comes to delicate work.

1. It adds a bunch of metal, with TIG you can constantly regulate the bead size to exactly how much you need, the extra grinding you would need with MIG would make it uneconomical.

2. If you are doing a 100% penetration weld over a section of tube in 360 degrees, MIG welding will introduce enough heat for it to "blow through" the tube wall unless you weld the tube in intervals. Just like the excess metal, TIG and constantly regulate heat input to keep from introducing too much heat.

Milo

check out sci.engr.joining.welding for any welding specific questions, those guys know a whole bunch.

mcavana

have to correct you here.... i used to be a profesional welder... and you pretty much have it backwards. mig welding (GMAW) is what is refered to as "wire welders." it has a gun type end to the hose. you pull the trigger, and it automaticly feeds the wire to the joint, along with the shielding gas. This type of welding is the cheapest, easiest, fastest way to weld less critical joints. Mig welding is most used for production type welds. the reason for this is that it is cheap, the people welding are cheap, and the process itself is much faster. If someone really knows what they are doing the quality of these welded joints will be decent. this type of welding is commonly used for lawn furniture, iron fences, iron railings and things like that.

Tig (GTAW) on the other hand requires much much much more know how and skill. it is much more expensive, and much more time comsuming. it also produces the highest quality welds. you hold the torch in one hand... the torch holds the tungsten electrode and provides the shielding gas. the other hand feeds the filler wire. This requires excellent coordination, and lots and lots and lots of practice. So, tig welding is less likely to be used in production type welds because it is way more expensive, the people welding are very expensive, and it is a very slow process. This type of welding is commonly used for air planes, high pressure pipe lines (boilers), high end aluminum / steel bike frames and things along those lines.

Why do you want to weld on bike frames? is it for one or two repairs, or do you plan to do it profesionally? if only for a few frames, or even 10 or 15 it simply would be a HUGE waste of money. the equipment is expensive! plus especially with bike frames, you will have to use different filler metals based on the alloy composition of each frame.. and also different shielding gas mixtures for each different filler! I would only recomend tig welding on bike frames, because they are such critical joints. you want each and every weld to be dead nuts perfect so you don't break into pieces going down that hill!!!

another point is that it took me years to be able to produce excellent quality tig welds with all metals. it will cost you a small fortune in metal, and welding supplies just to learn how to make a quality steel weld (especially on small pipe like bike frame!!!) If you were to spend all that time and fortune learning how to weld that steel frame, you are just starting. welding an aluminum frome is a COMPLETELY different world!!! not only would you have to buy new tungsten, filler wire, and shielding gas... but you would have to learn to weld all over again!!! techniques are totally different for welding aluminum!!

One last thought... sure you can find a cheap tig setup for a reasonable amount of money... but don't forget all the metal, filler wire, shielding gas, shielding gas tank, welding hood, gloves, leathers, glasses, electrician to hook up power supply, and all related tools (like a torch to cut the metal... or a bandsaw to cut aluminum) oh yeah, plus the cheap welder you just bought will NOT do good with aluminum no matter how good you are!!!

hope this helps.. so to shoot down your idea. feel free to ask any more question!