Welder for Brew Stand

[bhamripper]

I was at Harbor Freight today and saw this welder on sale.

http://www.harborfreight.com/90-amp-flux-wire-welder-98871.html

I was wondering if this would be a good enough welder for a simple brew stand made out of 1 and 1/2" square mild steel tubing? I don't plan on welding many other projects down the road and if I can come out with a welder for less money than what a welder would charge me for labor it would be a steal.

Thanks

 

[Alemaker]

I know this is the DIY forum and all, but if you don't really see yourself doing much welding down the road, maybe just buy a stand. That's what I decided to do. Check out the Vendor Showcase forum. PinupBrewery of BrewersEquipment.com https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/brew-stand-sale-198028/ is having a $100 off special for single tier mild steel brew stands. That's a professionally welded, painted, gas plumbed stand with burners on wheels shipped to you for $450.

They look very well made, and so says everyone who has one. I don't know how he does it for so cheap, but I'm buying one.

 

[bhamripper]

Pinup makes great looking stands at an affordable price, but if I can come away with a new skill and a new tool that would be my choice. Also, I would have the satisfaction of doing it myself, plus if i need to make changes down the road I will be able to.

 

[JonW]

Never used that welder, but the reviews on it seem very positive. Many of the reviews are from people that had Lincoln, Miller and other welders and were completely floored by what the little HF welder could do.

I say for the price, you can't go wrong. It's a learning experience and a new tool in your arsenal.

 

[Sizz]

I say weld your own. I was fortunate to work at a place which has a Mig. Got a 5 minute tutorial. Came in on a weekend and welded up some scrap to get a feel for the system. Couple hours later, I had my stand welded up and an additional skill under my belt.

 

[AiredAle]

Look at the duty cycle - 25% at 80 amps. Max weldible thickness is 3/16". So you will spend a lot of time waiting for the welder to cool down between welds on tubing this thick.

Personally, I would find a used Miller-Hobart-Lincoln Mig welder with 240 volt input that will allow you to actually weld for more than a minute at a time.

 

[swatman260]

For what it's worth, I have this welder and it will be more than sufficient for your needs. I'm not a professional welder, and don't claim to be...but I did graduate from welding school at the local Vo-Tech. At one time, I owned a Miller welder with gas tanks and the such, and it was an awesome welder. However, it was an expensive setup for occasional use and I ended up selling it. I bought the HF welder that you have listed above just for some small projects around the house, including assembling my brew stand. You're going to get a lot of spatter with this welder compared to a gas welder, but the welds quality will be fine. My best advice is to practice a bunch of beads prior to starting your stand so that you can get the feed/power settings right. Go with a fairly slow feed/travel rate and make sure that you have a good puddle before drawing your bead, as this welder is easy to get a cold start with.
For the price, its a decent little welder that will get the job done.

 

[Waunabeer]

Also, even if you get some sloppy looking welds, just take an angle grinder to it to knock them down flat. Then paint it with that truck-bed paint and you won't even notice them (which reminds me of a funny thing I saw last week; a Chevy Monte Carlo completely painted with truck bed paint. I had to do a double-take because it looked like carpet at first). Sorry for the de-rail.

 

[swatman260]

Good point. A little grinding can go a long way towards making things look better. Just remember that grinding will heat up the metal, which can weaken the weld joint if taken to extremes. Also, don't grind the entire weld off, or you've kinda defeated the purpose. lol I often see where guys have ground the entire weld bead back off, which isn't the best practice. Good strength of the weld is much more important than good looks.

 

[Bobby_M]

I picked up this one with a 20% coupon (which by the way you can find and print online).

http://www.harborfreight.com/120-amp-230-volt-mig-and-flux-welder-97503.html

The reason I dropped the extra coin is that it does accept argon if you ever think you want to go with solid core wire. I haven't used it yet though.

Some scrap sheet metal can be used to shield surrounding parts from splatter, from what I read anyway.

 

[swatman260]

That's definitely a lot better welder, especially with the ability to run gas. However, if you don't have 220V service in your garage, the cheaper welder is a decent option.

BTW, Bobby, I got the sight glasses that I ordered from you a few days ago and they look great. I'll be installing them this weekend. Don't mean to derail the thread.

 

[TimWeber]

Just finished welding up mine. Bout a 110 VAC Flux core from Northern tool. Fun as hell. Looks great. Took me at least 80 hours though. The Flux core is dirty dirty stuff too. Slag and smoke dust everywhere, grinder is even worse

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I was at Harbor Freight today and saw this welder on sale.

http://www.harborfreight.com/90-amp-flux-wire-welder-98871.html

I was wondering if this would be a good enough welder for a simple brew stand made out of 1 and 1/2" square mild steel tubing? I don't plan on welding many other projects down the road and if I can come out with a welder for less money than what a welder would charge me for labor it would be a steal.

Thanks

I've had one of those welders for years. It will stick metal pretty good, but flux wire can cause some UGLY splatter.

To cut down on the cleanup, take a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, fold it a couple of times, and put it around the site of the weld. The splatter will go through the foil, but it will pick up an aluminum coating, so you can just flick it off.

I still need to track down some tubing for my stand, unless I go with the chopped up bedframe idea.

 

[bhamripper]

Well I went and picked it up last night. They let me use the 20% coupon on top of the sale price so I walked out of there only paying 71 bucks plus tax!

Today I am going to CAD my plans and hopefully this weekend I can go pickup some tubing. Anyone know of a good place for tubing in the Seattle area?

Look for a build thread in the near future!

 

[JonW]

Absolutely no way to go wrong with it at that price!

I saw the EXACT same model on CraigsList last night for $200 ... I don't know what people are thinking when they list stuff like that.

 

[brrman]

You can use heavy aluminum foil to protect against splatter.

edit: Ooops... Didn't see that Kirk mentioned that already.

 

[Bobby_M]

You picked up a real welding helmet too right? The auto darkening one is only $35 right now. You also need some long-gauntlet gloves.

 

[bhamripper]

Yeah a got an auto darkening helmet too. I already have welding gloves and welding jacket I picked up a few weeks ago.

 

[JonW]

Yeah a got an auto darkening helmet too. I already have welding gloves and welding jacket I picked up a few weeks ago.

Please keep this thread updated with your progress. I'd like to see some real world feedback on the quality of this unit. Weld away!

 

[Sydwaiz]

Get some anti spatter spray and spray the metal before you weld. It works really well in keeping the surrounding metal clean. Only draw back is you'll have to clean thoroughly before you paint.

 

[TxBigHops]

I'm not a welder, but my son is. He has had the lower priced HF welder for a couple years and wanted to upgrade to MIG. However, he's in a rental and didn't have access to 220 in his garage, so he bought this unit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0526740551&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT

He's an ME and does auto/truck/motorcycle fabrication on the side and feels this unit will do everything he needs it to.

 

[SAMPLER]

Well I went and picked it up last night. They let me use the 20% coupon on top of the sale price so I walked out of there only paying 71 bucks plus tax!

Today I am going to CAD my plans and hopefully this weekend I can go pickup some tubing. Anyone know of a good place for tubing in the Seattle area?

Look for a build thread in the near future!

Awesome price!
I wish I had a HF in the state. The closet one to me is over 125 miles away.

Please post your CAD design if you would. Thanks

 

[Chipster27]

I'm in the same boat. I want to build a flat brew stand. I think to "cheat" the system I'm going to buy some shelving from Home Depot (http://whalenstorage.com/products/industrial_rack_black.html) cut the uprights down to whatever height I want, put the shelving frames at that height and weld some supports across to hold my kettles. I'll probably be able to use the extra shelving frame work for the kettle/burner supports. The shelves run about $150 at Home Depot/Costco. I think by doing this I'll save a ton of time and frustration welding and if done right I might still be able to make it function as a shelf/storage unit when I'm not brewing.

 

[LaCrosseBrewer]

You should do fine with it. I'm just completing my rig with 1.5" steel tubing, and earlier this summer completed a large and complex smoker with a 110v Hobart welder. I've had some long stretches of welding, and never ran into duty cycle problems. Consider how thick 3/8" - or even 1/4" steel is. Chances are unless you're working on a trailer or something big, you won't need anything more powerful.

A few tips when welding (if you haven't done it before):
1. Keep the wire as short as possible. The longer your feed, the more spatter you'll get, and the harder it will be to keep the tip where you want it.
2. Get a wire brush, and always scrub your welds clean before trying to weld in the same area again. I've got a brush with a scraper on one side. That pops the spatter off quite well.
3. Tack the corners in all dimensions before completing a seam. If you do a long seam, it will contract the metal on that side, creating a large gap on the other side.
4. Get comfortable with your hands resting on something, if possible. I find it best to make small crescents while pulling back towards me. Not always possible, but gives me the best consistency.

Good luck! It's addictive. You'll be looking for things to repair and beef up soon.