that is all.

No gas bottle yet,so we gonna try the flux.

12/22/2005 3:27:30 PM

kick ass. what'd you get? hit up welders supply off of ebenezer church for the cheapest bottles and fills. i like flux core. it allows me to be a lazy ass and just burn through grease/paint/rust rather than prep. good penetration with minimal effort, who cares about how it looks.

12/22/2005 3:39:25 PM

Hobart Handler 140. I don't have 220 in the garage.

I gotta tell you this: this machine has a more stable arc than a lot of big machines that I've used (Miller). The wire feed seems a lot better than some of the older Lincoln mig packs I've used.

Of course, metal deposition isn't as much as a machine running gas, reckon it's because of the reversed polarity that you use with flux core. So far, so good. Arc seems to have good penetration without burn-through, at least on about 18 gauge galv-alum. I haven't tried any structural or fillet welds yet...just ran a couple of beads along a piece of exhaust pipe I had laying around.

Kinda funny...came with a Tweco-style Miller gun. Are Hobart and Miller the same company? They do look awfully similar.

12/22/2005 4:07:43 PM

good machine. you won't want for anything bigger unless you're consistently doing stuff 1/4" or bigger. or laying numerous long beads at a time where duty is an issue. yep, miller did own hobart... they no longer do, but hobart is still made in the same plant. they're nearly identical, just a few small differences like the hobarts have a plastic wire feed roller, they don't have the infinite power/wire speed knobs, etc... basically all parts will interchange between the two though.

12/22/2005 4:18:22 PM

yeah, the wire feed roller bracket assembly is what turned me off about the Lincolns, but this one is a better design than past ones. However, I would have loved to have infinite current adjustability and an all-metal wire feed roller assembly.

But for the price, this will do fine. I hope. Bastard is gonna get a workout.

12/22/2005 4:29:43 PM

yeh i just got a millermatic 175. got it right before finals and everything but my house has different 220 outlets then the one on the welder so had to track down stuff for an extension cord and it all took a back seat to finals. when the extension cord was finally constructed, turned out something on the circuit board wiggled loose or something during shipment so still haven't used the bastard. gonna take it to welding supply when i get back from the holidays.

not sure why i put this in here, but just felt like venting a bit about the damn thing not working when it is brand new out of box

12/22/2005 6:04:28 PM

I would be pissed enough to chew up screws and shit out nails.

Nah...you know stuff like this happens every now and then, but on something so expensive you'd hope it doesn't happen to you.

i hope you get that issue resolved. And with a quickness.

12/22/2005 6:24:36 PM

i get mine in 3 days. i cant fucking wait. It's the only thing I need AT the garage to really get shit done. The shop at state got a mandrel bender from a car shop last semester, so I can dry fit everything there and then bring it over and pop shit on the car.

bout fucking time too

12/22/2005 7:00:40 PM

How's that 140 workin out for you?

I got a Hobart 125, but the gasless one, so we returned it today and low and behold they were sold out of the 140 he was supposed to get.

So now I have a delimma, should I get the 140, or pitch in a few bucks of my christmas money and get a Miller 175 or used Miller 210? I have 220 at the shop space, but I can see a couple years from now probably not having it readily available.

What do you guys think? I really dont know which way to go on this

12/26/2005 7:43:53 PM

I like it so far. Granted, I haven't done any big structural stuff yet, but the beads I ran on a piece of tubing came out nicely. Great penetration on flux core.

I wouldn't mind having gotten the 180 or a Miller 175, but I DON'T have 220 available to me unless I run it (which is just another hassle). That's one of the big determining factors for me getting the 140.

Northern has the best deal I've found so far with the cart and whatnot...500 bones. The cart is kinda cheap, but it's one less thing I have to buy, so it stays.

12/26/2005 8:35:06 PM

^x4 me and southern4x4 are gettin that circuit board (it's some trigger board), fixed under warranty at welders supply. i talked w/ david and he was really cool, said bring it out and he'll fix it! still sux we had to deal w/ that, but, such is life

12/27/2005 10:09:21 AM