Welding

[reynoldston]

I have mower decks that come into my shop with either broken or rusted off brackets. I have a stick welder but find its just too hot to weld the thin metal that the decks are made of. I find that my best luck is to braze them back on with a gas torch. I have been looking at the electric gasless MIG welders on eBay and thinking of buying one for this job. Has anybody used one of these welders and if so how well do they work on the thin metal that the mower decks are made of ? Seeing I have never used one I do think it will take some practice if I do buy one.

 

[ILENGINE]

I have been using a Hobart 140 for several years, and seems to do a good job of welding thin material. The thing with mower decks is they can get thin spots which can still burn through even on the lowest settings, I have had to switch over to Mig, .024 wire with shielding gas on some jobs. The other problem with mower decks is the rust, You need clean metal to get good welds. Sometimes my welds will look sloppy because you can't maintain a stable arc, but seem to work OK after you clean them up with a grinder.

 

[primerbulb120]

I have mower decks that come into my shop with either broken or rusted off brackets. I have a stick welder but find its just too hot to weld the thin metal that the decks are made of. I find that my best luck is to braze them back on with a gas torch. I have been looking at the electric gasless MIG welders on eBay and thinking of buying one for this job. Has anybody used one of these welders and if so how well do they work on the thin metal that the mower decks are made of ? Seeing I have never used one I do think it will take some practice if I do buy one.

Bert was just talking about this: http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showthread.php/39996-MTD-Yardman-Transaxle-Rebuild/page7

 

[bertsmobile1]

I bought a Dillion torch back when the iventor came to the scrap yard, cut two aluminium cans in 1/2 with the torch then welded then back together again using ring pull for a filler stick.
He did the same with a couple of steel cans followed by making a comb out of a lump of RSJ, welding tin plate to an RSJ and welding some 2" thick plate.
Bought one the next week, nothing works on thin steel like this low pressure torch .
Now sold as the DHC 2000.
I can almost weld rust to rust using old rusty fence wire, bailing wire, tie wire.
The pistol grip takes a little while to get used to but an excellent gun, fluxless welding of all steels and almost fluxless welding of aluminium.
Best still for deck work, run the scabbling gun over the weld area to knock off the loose rust & dirt and you are away, no need to clean.

Of all the welding methods, gassless arc is the hardest to get a good weld with and the reason why most home handy man welders don't weld

If you only want to do thin metals Kent ( the tin man) has a line of low pressure guns as well.
Not as good as the DHC but a lot less expensive and if you are used to a standard rod shaped torch a tad easier to get to grips with.
https://www.tinmantech.com/products/welding/meco-torch-accessories/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q7UyYKkX7M

 

[jekjr]

I have one of the 110 volt gases wire feed welders that I bought from Tractor Supply two or three years ago that has served me well. it welds pretty thin stuff and i have used it to weld some pretty heavy stuff.

 

[reynoldston]

I more I look into it the more I think don't want to invest. It looks like to buy something that will work I will need a gas style MIG welder. I know nothing about using such a welder and the investment can run over 500 dollars with buying and filling a gas tank. At my age anymore I will never get my return on that much money spent on something I don't even know how to operate. I find that its just best to back off on some of these jobs in my retirement years.

 

[Mad Mackie]

I more I look into it the more I think don't want to invest. It looks like to buy something that will work I will need a gas style MIG welder. I know nothing about using such a welder and the investment can run over 500 dollars with buying and filling a gas tank. At my age anymore I will never get my return on that much money spent on something I don't even know how to operate. I find that its just best to back off on some of these jobs in my retirement years.

I'm going thru the same thing. I so seldom weld with my stick AC/DC machine that I have to get out scrap pieces to practice on before I do the actual weld repairs.
I used to buy one pound packages of rods but now I buy the small packages and they get damp over time and weld poorly.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I'm going thru the same thing. I so seldom weld with my stick AC/DC machine that I have to get out scrap pieces to practice on before I do the actual weld repairs.
I used to buy one pound packages of rods but now I buy the small packages and they get damp over time and weld poorly.

Put them in a slow oven for around 2 hours to dry out the flux.
Don't use a hot oven or the flux will flake off but a slow oven ( 80 C ) will dry them out slow enough to keep the flux intact.

Another reason why I gas weld , no flux needed , can use old rusty fence wire if I want but generally I use scrap short lengths, coat hangers , or bailing wire.
A friend has a box with a glass lid that he keeps his rods in.
He slides the lid back a little at the top, lays the rods, gun end up in the box and leaves it in the sun for a day or so before he does any welding, seems to work for him.

A club member has his wrapped in vacuum sealed plastic.
it appears SWMBO caught him in HER kitchen baking some rods so she got out the food bagger then bagged his rods in lots of 6.
HE had to clean out the oven plus take her to dinner Sat & Sun

 

[reynoldston]

Been looking at a Norstar 140 Mig welder at the local welding supply store. Its a Miller want to be made in China at a 1/4 of the price. I comes with a 3 year warranty. They tell me that the gun parts are inner changeable with Miller. The store that is selling it tells me they have parts and service for the Norstar. Has anybody have any experience with this brand mig welder? I don't like the China part of it but then the Lincoln welder is made in Mexico for another 200 dollars.