Im a tig welder but i want to get a stick welder because it was my last favorite subject but i dont want to be a one trick poney. Pic related is on sale for like 317 new on clearance at my lowes. Would it be better to save up for a AC/DC? i know you can still weld with ac but dc is a better option for most stick applications.
Guess it depends on what you wanna do with it.
Tombstones are fine garage/home shop machines but you're gonna hate your life if you have to haul it around if you're gonna repair your parents' staircases and what have you.
It's like twice the price but I got an esab rogue 130 and it's been a practical little champ so far
Mostly just make stuff here and there.
Make sure i can do stick
317 is cheap and you can add a rectifier later to get DC out. Youtube videos show how. You can also add panel fittings to use Dinse quick disconnects. You can't get hurt buying that AC225 so do it if want. It's a lifetime machine.
Noobs fear AC but there is nothing wrong with the process and it exists for good reason. I bought a few boxes of 6011 cheap from a company that had to run AC to repair a very magnetized quarry setup (AC means no arc blow).
Then practice systematically on clean scrap or new steel (often quite reasonable). Stick does what wire welding cannot and goes where MIG guns cannot reach.
Example rectifier mod video. Watch them all tho.
Ideally you'd need a choke after the rectifier, as you'd have just 120Hz pulsating DC without it. So I've doubts this conversion is useful. But then all electrodes have enough stabilizers to run on AC anyway, except 6010 maybe (which can be substituted with 6011 which does more-less the same thing, but with a bit less penetration and a bit more slag).
That said, I've no idea why would you want a transformer welder, because a small chinese box does the same, and if you pay more, you can get the chinese box that does AC too.
Thank you for all that. Ive looked at harbhor frieghts titanium line and ive hears good things about it. The warranty is just ass and lincoln is a reputable brand
Brands mean jack shit bro. Lincoln is a multinational publicly traded corporation and Its all made in China. You're really trying to talk yourself into dropping almost $400 with tax on an obsolete device dating back to the 60s. Time has moved on from Lincoln tombstones. Get something using Inverter technology for the same price.
Im pretty sure Lincoln tombstone is mexican.
Cheap inverters merely weigh less but they're unlikely to be lifetime machines. The fascination with them is a bit odd.
Used transformer machines are usually available but if not it's cheap enough. Chasing the absolute bottom dollar vs. a machine in hand for a few bucks more is questionable.
>That said, I've no idea why would you want a transformer welder, because a small chinese box does the same, and if you pay more, you can get the chinese box that does AC too.
That transformer welder will still be happily humming along in 100 years and the chinkshit inverter technology will be dead in less than 10 years of easy use.
At least get an inverter based one... DC capable.
Why would you buy new when there are a ton of really good used ones out there.
Look into everlast welders. They are a pretty reputable welding company outside of your standard red, blue, yellow. Pretty sure their machines come from the same factories. I picked up a ac/dc air cooled tig/stick a few years back for like $4-500. I have only used it for a couple jobs but it has run smooth. They have a good lineup of machines too. You could probably get a stick/plasma machine or a cheap stick only or stick/flux. I might be adding a flux or plasma from them to my toolset soon. Overall though stick is pretty shit as a welding process. Lots of stop starts with the rods, they arent cheap, theres lots of slag, rods pick up moisture etc etc. Could really only see it being useful outdoors but shielded flux with a windscreen probably has just enough shielding.
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