Does anyone have a stick welder in their rig? If so what do you think about it. I have a wire feed that I never really liked. I got a stick welder but don't think it does any better that than the wire. I dont want to carry ox/ac anymore so does anyone have thoughts on welders?

I personally prefer a wire feed. It's harder to get a nice even bead with a stick. Although I would rather use the oxy / acytelene set than either. I use my wire feed to weld clips to shoes after they are shaped so I don't mess up the clips. (also carry a lot less shoes)

What does your box run on 220 or 110. I use a 110 and have a generator for when clients don't have power.

Just Shoe It wrote:

Why don't you want to carry ac/ox anymore?


Ronald Aalders

Ronald Aalders wrote:
Risk management and the big bang theory?

I have a little 70 amp stick that I make alot of bar shoes with. It is a little tricky to get the hang of, but I learned to put the shoe and bar in the forge to get them hot before welding. Also make sure the sticks are always dry and don't use to long of a extension cord. I did use a friends wire feed for awhile but it didn't seem like it got good enough penetration into the shoe. I like making bar shoes with it becuase of placement of the bar and time. A flapper wheel sanding disc on a grinder cleans it up really nice.

JB

As a welder in my prior life I can see pro and con of each type of weilder.

With the Ox/Ac you have the storage of two bulky bottles. However Ox/Ac is a lot more portable then the others. If you add a hose reel then you can keep your hoses rolled up easier for storage. As far as safety as long as your bottles are securely fastened so they can't fall over they are pretty safe, you can add more safety by removing your valves and caping the bottles durning transportation.

With the stick you have the storage of a machine and cable. You have to have a power source so they are not as portable. Of course you can by portable welders that are run my an engine. However thay are more expensive and take up more room. If you don't have a portable generator or self contained power unit weilder. You then need a power source. 220v weilder are best but most barns you work in will only have 110v, and then most will only be 15 amp outlets and you need at least a 30amp outlet to stop from tripping breakers. When you weild with a stick you have alot more sparks than you do with a OX/AC.

With wire feed/mig you usually have some kind of inert gas that forms a OX free barrier around you weld. Then you also have all the other problems as you do with a stick weilder.

In my opion the OX/AC rig would be the best for a farriers. They are more portable take up less room on the rig and you can do alot more with them than any of the other types. Cut, Weld, and heat. You can make just as strong as weld that looks nice in the same amout of time. If run out of weilding rod an you need is a piece of wire fence. Bailing wire works best but try and find that around a barn now days.

Gary

The welder I have uses a flux core wire and dosen't need a bottle. really it is a stick welder its just a wire feed, and alot easier to control.

I carry a Craftsman 100 amp 110v stick welder. It is very practical and easy to store. For just a basic job of modifying a keg shoe it is all I ever needed. I don't look for pretty I look for practical. My welding ability isn't great but it is functional.

tbloomer wrote:

Hmmm I'm considering packing an ac/ox welder in my van. That would be an extra to the arc (stick) welder I've been using forever now. But the ac/ox welder could be a help in welding aluminum.

Is the risk any bigger than propane bottles?


Ronald Aalders

I was told that a capped ox / act bottle can be dropped off a building. (so yeah a little safer than the rpopane actually)

btw, isn't everything out there 220/240v? I have an old euro TV that runs 110/220. do you use the aluminum rods for your stick welder?

I didn't want to carry ox/ax anymore for three reasons...

1-saftey concerns (maybe that shouldnt be a reason)
2-space the bottles take up
3-I am on the road over 30 weeks a year and the bottles always ran out when I wasn't at home.

I agree that wire never got the penatration thats why iwas looking into the little stick, but by the time I got the bar weld with the stick I could have made one up in the forge.

As far as welding clips on unless your doing long footed horses that makes no sense to me???

I guess Ill be going with thte little bottles (they can be filled anywhere correct?)

I have a new Arc one 100 amp stick welder, 20 pounds of rod, and a auto darking helmet for sale if any one is interested ... Maybe theyll takeit back.

Tuff lesson!

Head 2 Toe wrote:

Yes it's 220 here. So? I mean for welding it's great. I did some welding in the US and I didn't notice any difference.

The arc welder I use for bars and stuff in steel shoes. I would like to be able to do the same thing with aluminum shoes too. That's where the ac/ox deal comes in. A lot smaller and more versatile than a AC/DC welder. Now I need to master the welding aluminum with ac/ox


Ronald Aalders

Just Shoe It wrote:
I didn't follow the rest of the thread, but I have a comment on this remark.

I have the small Ox/Ac bottle set in my rig (the really small Ac bottle). I have fouind that no one actually refills them, they simply swap them.

Also, I find places to swap them are few and far between and for many of the places, you must have an account. Lsatly, the really small Ac bottle (like the ones that come with the torch kit they sell in retailers (Sears, Home Depot, Lowes etc...) sometimes need to be special ordered unless you are going to the larger welding supply/gas depots.

YMMV

Ron, just curious about the 220, I think it runs a little better.

E4043 rods are made for use in a stick welder while welding aluminum

heres a link
http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/weldingdepot/190x1.html