New welder!

Got my new welder on Sunday! Harbor Freight had them on sale, a 90 amp flux wire welder for $89.99. It's well worth the price, if you need a welder. Harbor Freight sells cheap Chinese junk, and this is no exception. But it will do the job.



The controls are simple; on/off, wire speed, and max/min heat. That's it. It comes with a reel of wire, a face shield, and a wire brush/slag hammer. I have been welding with it all day in the basement. It plugs in to a standard 110v outlet, which is convenient. They tell me it has a 25% duty cycle, meaning it needs a rest pretty often. It will also thermally reset if it overheats. But it turns out that this is not much of a limitation for me - I weld a little, and grind a little, then weld some more. The fan is very quiet, and I have even left it running to help it cool down.



Under the hood:



Here are some of my welds from today. Remember, this is my first attempt at wire welding, although I have been practicing on a stick welder.



I welded the top of the cyclone, and the intake:



And I welded up a "carburetor" air/gas mixer. Yes I am building my own carburetor. Here is the donor:



Disassembled:



I am using the throttle, and the choke. The choke is only half of this section, so I will saw it in two:







Now to fab some adapter plates:









And then something to connect them:



Dry fit:



And now time to weld. This weld I am proud of:

Bottom plate came out very nice as well:

The slightly off center hole is for a pipe flange, to permit disassembly. I have yet to find a pipe flange made out of steel, and therefore weldable. What I have found is either brass, aluminum, or plastic. I may end up bolting something on instead.

I will be making the cooling racks (a la Wayne Keith) very soon, from gate tubing. We live in the official gate capital of the world, you know. Steel tubing is very easy to find around here. Stay tuned!