Welding...?

Question

My hubby wants to weld something to his motorcycle frame(steel), what would be the best mig welder for this? Also, is there a welder that works well, and is not totally expensive? Thanks for your help.

Thanks to everyone who answered my question. Your answers were very helpful. Those of you who said he should take it to a shop to get done, maybe you should have read my question a little more carefully. I wasnt asking if he should take it to a shop. Thanks a bunch!

Answer 1

hobart or miller has some good welders suitable for this job. u dont need a machine that costs thousands. maybe a 2 or 300 dollar machine that's used will do the job, and if u look around, some places rent mig welding rigs. the easiest way is bare-wire mig that's .035 in size. this wire will run warm enough to put in a good weld, but 'cold' enough not to overheating the frame and causing burn-thru. typical gas setup for bare wire mig is 75/25....75% argon, 25% carbon dioxide. the wire size is important. the larger the diameter, the more heat u'll need to burn it properly. .045 or .062 wire size is overkill...those wires need alot of amps to properly run, and if it gets too hot, u could easily punch a hole thru the frame.

Answer 2

i read the question very carefully and after that and reading the answers this what i've come up with. there are many different brands that are inexspensive. hobart, red-d-arc, the cheap one's that you can gt from tractor supply and your local hardware. wich would probably work ok for what your "hubby" wants to do. the best would be a solid core .035 or flux core .035 with a sheild gas (75-25 gold gas at welding supply) 75%argon 25%co2. after all the reserch and the $200 for a machine $75 for gas,$40 for a welding hood $50 for wire the 2-3 hours of time he spends on doing the project it would not be cost efficient. he will more than likely have to take it somewhere to have his work repaired and the original item put onto the frame. my suggestion is if he has the experience to mig weld to tig weld there is a higher quality involved and you could rent the equipment. if this is not an option check with the local technical college to find a welding program the teachers would most likely help you out to give the students some real world experience (highly supervised of course).

Answer 3

Not like your welding 1/4" steel. Go to a tractor supply and buy a flux core wire welder. Less than 200 bucks and handy to have around. They will weld up to 3/16" single pass no problem and are more than enough to attach some gadget to a motorcycle frame.

Answer 4

Hobart makes some decent MIG welders. You may also try www.northerntool.com If he is only welding one time you may just want to zip over to a local machine shop and have them do it.

Answer 5

Have a shop do it.
If he doesn't know what to use, he shouldn't be doing any frame welding. There's a lot more to it than just making metal stick together. You could get a cheap machine for a hundred or two, and make a mess that would have to be done over. Or pay less to have it done right the first time.

Answer 6

If your welding on a frame have a expert do it.that is someones life your dealing with.You don't want that to break when yor going down the road at 50.

Answer 7

what is the meaning of welding could someone answer that for me .

Answer 8

welding is not something that is picked up overnight the cost of a good welder will be a couple of grand when welding to a frame you want to keep a minimal amount of heat at the area thats being welded so you do not change the temper of the steel I would spend the money to have someone tig weld whatever it is for you

Answer 9

Especially as a proper MIG rig will cost thousands of dollars, and I'll bet hubby doesn't have much experience, I'd leave any welding job on a bike to the pro's, seeing it wouldn't cost THAT much to have the job done RIGHT.