Cant wait for my new......

I cant wait for my new welder. I have only welded one time. it was about 15 years ago and i went blind for three days afterwards but i am ready to give it a more educated attempt. I ordered a factory refurbished Lincoln 125 mig welder
i am gonna start slow with some floor patches then move to some exterior panels. should be fun.

Thats a good easy to use welder. Get a self darkening mask, they make it a little easier too. Good luck and have fun!!

Joel

Joel, oh i ordered one of those to

Have a 125 in the shop, use it for all the sheetmetal stuff. Good machines.

just be careful not to get the tip too close. it melts the wire to the tip and you have to pull all the wire threw and replace tip. took me a while to get it right, always welded with a stick welder and couldnt adapt, almost had another to get refurbished. it did take a boot ride across shop a couple times.

I recommend to get some .025 wire and make sure your using gas for clean welds. Especially sheet metal. It really helps!

Wheelie wrote:I recommend to get some .025 wire and make sure your using gas for clean welds. Especially sheet metal. It really helps!

Yep , What Wheelie says, it's a good way to go for sheet metal.

i didnt get a tank i was planning on using it with flux core. should i get a tank to learn?

the gas will make a lot nicer job of it. I also have a slightly larger one I keep stocked with flux core. I use that in a pinch and on thicker stuff where you can run more heat. You can use flux core, but you have to spend more time cleaning up the welds when you are done. If you might be chasing pin holes/thin spots or small gaps , the gas works best.

I agree, I would definitely get the gas. If you wanted just practice on scrap use the flux wire but any bodywork on the van should get the gas and solid core wire. You'll save time and money in the long run.

We also found that the flux core wire was a little harder on the lungs. The smoke it gives off while welding seems to be a lot more harsh, Even in a ventilated shop. I agree on using the bottle. My little lincoln mig loves it and so do my lungs...lol.

thanks i will look into getting a bottle. i got the welder in the mail on thursday but i have not had time to even open the box. we have had flooding in our basement so i have been tied up with that.

Gas for sure.
Also, grab an old fender or hood and learn on it first.
Gap, heat, speed and 'sizzle bacon'! THEN work on the van...

All super good info.. and dont forget to jump around to different areas, as to not get too much heat into one area at a time. Even just a bunch of tacks welds at a time keeps the heat down that can cause warping.. I remember in my rookie welding years welding my first sheetmetal up and warping the heck out of a door, welding long continuous beads...

I would suggest going here and reading information direct from Miller. Its good stuff.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/mig/

thanks to everyone for fantastic info and resources. i tend to get into the reading aspect of learning and go overboard. My neighbor just stopped over tonight, I had completely forgotten he is a welder at a fabrication shop here in town. he has promised me tons of scrap to practice on and offered to help me learn hands on also. Awesome!!! as for gas i found 3 local sources. a friend told me that one of them has a "lease a bottle" program that lets you exchange as many bottles as you can go through the first year for less than the cost of purchasing a gas setup(unconfirmed)

Congrats n8, nice to have helpful neighbors like that.