Welding Upgrades

Currently doing stainless 3A bodywork so I have been upgrading my skills and equipment.
This old Jewels body tub has had lots of holes drilled and all were put in the wrong places. Plus it needs ample tunnel work etc.
Being stainless the repairs will have to be absolute perfect because there will be zero paint. And yes stainless warps more than anything else. So I have to heat shrink everything immediately after welding.

Finally broke my old Fibermetal helmet when trying to clean it. So I decided to replace it with the old fashioned Huntsman flip front hood. I just love it.





As you can see it has a gold lens. For optimum visibility I decided to get the electric ice Wens lens. I got a great deal on them both at less than 1/2 price. The laminate glass Wens lens actually cost more than the hood. Plus I added a glass 2.5 cheater lens for my old eyes.
So now I can see pretty good and to help the vision even more I installed a #10 Furick glass cup on my Lincoln flex head torch.
Seeing is believing !



So my Lincoln 200 squarewave is doing a great job on the 15 gauge body. That said I‘be been looking into upgrading my machine to allow more processes from one machine. I certainly don’t have to have but might like to have a MIG at times. The Lincoln only does AC/DC TIG and SMAW (stick) There are only like 3 machines on the market that are capable of of AC/DC TIG plus SMAW plus MIG.
The ESAB 205 the Everlasting MTS 225 and the Miller Multimatic 220.
I am seriously thinking about buying the Miller Multimatic 220. I have run a lot of Millers over the years and really like them a lot. Besides it’s the only 3 process welding machine that is made in USA !
Anyone have solid experiences or opinions on these multiprocess welders.
Anyone have extensive experience with thin gauge stainless ?

 

People seem to like the Miller Multi process welders. I have a Dynasty 200 DX and the old Millermatic 130 is fine for 18 ga., but lacking for Mig welding heavier stuff.
Love both welders, but considering a Mig with more current for larger projects.
Cataracts have slowed my welding down and I seem to miss the line a lot more now, so probably will just keep the ones I have until insurance will pay for cataract surgery.
I hate having the non-bifocal magnifier glasses to weld with and forgetting they are on, walking back to the house, realizing I have to go back and get my prescription glasses.
Makes me kind of dizzy walking and then I realize I need to change back to the bifocals.

Dave

Dave

 

I didn’t know that you could get that!! I’m in need.

 

The only cheater lenses I have seen are same size as the small 2” x 4-1/4” weld lens.
So if you use something like a large auto darkening lens you may have to tape the cheater onto the inside of your helmet lens ??
IDK cause I use the old school weld helmet.
There is a brand called “Best” brand weld lenses and their glass cheaters come with various magnifications,
I know Lincoln also sells a cheater lens but I believe it is plastic. Myself I opt for the glass to gain increased clarity.

 

been using cheater lens for years

 

Put them in the new helmet, got to try it out.

Dave

 

The high quality Wens lens gives better viewing of the weld area. Not sure if it’s actually better than the old “Cool Weld” lens or not but I like it a lot. The old no longer available American Optical cobalt “cool weld” lenses are touted to have the best clarity ever. “IF” you can even find one know that it will set you way back like $500 . Old eyes can be very expensive.
If by chance you want a Wens lens ? I suggest you call the company in Texas and ask them which color and shade will best help with your welding conditions.
I run the electric ice colored lens in shade 10 for tig work inside my poorly lit garage.

 

I have the Miller Multimatic 220 for 4 year now. It replaced an Airco, (ESAB) MIG welder with a Bernard gun that was huge, but worked really well. In retrospect, if I had room, I might not have gotten rid of it.

The Multimatic also replaced a Miller synchrowave 180 Tig welder.

For light fabrication work the Miller Multimatic is a fantastic machine. The art set features work well, the build quality is good, the size footprint for what you get and all the things you can do with it is amazing.

But it's not a commercial machine. If you are going a lot of TIG, it's not water cooled. I generally just stick to mild steel for TIG and for that it works very well. My skill is the limiting factor.

For MIG, it works fine too, just not a commercial machine. When you want more juice, its fine to 1/4-3/8.. But..

Over all, I have zero complaints. Its a good value, does everything, is simple and parts are available anywhere.

 

So you’re saying Airco sold out to ESAB or saying they have always been one and the same ?
Airco is/was a good brand, But for tig machines I always liked Linde (union carbide).

Yeah I fully agree with ya.
The old transformers will run full amps all day long, day after day.
These days the heaviest thing I’ll ever plan to build is a winch cradle.
So having wimpy duty cycle is not an issue.
I just like that it’s so darn compact and versatile for garage jobs.
By the way Miller supposedly just fixed the newer 220 multimatics so they can run 6010 electrodes now.
Did yours come with a Bernard gun ?
Now they come with a Miller MDX 100 gun.

 

The Airco I had was made by ESAB.. 1980s deal. It was a great machine, but old and large..I have plenty of space now... Wish I had the space to keep that old machine back then.

The footprint of the MIllermatic cant be beat and the duty cycle is just fine for my purposes about 90% of the time.

My millermatic came with the MDX 100 gun and its a light duty unit. Works fine though. I never arc weld anything, so I wouldn't have noticed if 6010 electrodes work.. Maybe I should..

The integration of a capable TIG and MIG machine is amazing. I am sure other brands can and do produce a similar machine... I'm not brand specific. My skill set doesn't know the difference.

 

my school has miller multi process machines, theyre what i learned mig on. i never did a ton with them, but what i did do was thoroughly enjoyable (apart from the expected annoyances of dealing with other kids)

 

Yeah I noticed how tiny those MDX 100 MiG guns are compared to an industrial MiG gun.
Also the Dense plugs are really small.
But since it’s low amperage I expect it should do fine. On the plus side it should get into tight places with ease.
I may get one while the $500 Miller rebate plus other incentives is going on.
I’ll look into the ESAB Rebel a bit more before I pull the trigger (literally) on one. But I think the ESAB will actually cost more. That Everlast 225 is cheaper and has a good reputation but being made in china does not seem like a good idea to me.

 

https://www.everlastgenerators.com/product/mig/hurricane-220-mts-c. 2500$
https://www.millerwelds.com/-/media.../specsheets/file/ad90-multimatic-220-acdc.pdf 4200$

The Miller is not made in USA, but its not chinesium and you can get parts for it off the shelf at most Weld shops.

 

If I’m ever given a choice between ESAB and Miller, I’d go ESAB all the way. Maybe it’s just my welding style, but I always struggle with Miller machines. ESABs have always welded like butter for me.

FWIW, not only does the ESAB have wider setting parameters than the Miller, last I heard, they have a money back guarantee. If you don’t like it, take it back and buy the Miller.

 

Yes the ESAB is definitely more adjustable for ac tig.
And it’s hard to beat the 90 days worth of basically free trial.
However I can get $500 rebate on the Miller plus a free $300 Miller amptrol unit.

According to YouTube the Miller MDX 100 mig gun is superior to the ESAB Tweeco 180 mig gun.

Anyway for now my Lincoln square wave 200 is doing a fine job. Just has no MIG option. But it TIG’s and SMAW’s everything I really need.
I picked it up new for only $1200 a few years ago and it still looks and runs like brand new.

Not sure where the parts come from but the Multimatic 220 is assembled in Appleton Wi