whats the best

[Bert]

I was thinking of an xmt, but am so afraid of having 1 power souce go out, then all your welding machines are down. That's why I bought all seperate units...

[r90s]

i would have to say a inverter type like a xmt series is the best for a shop it will give the most options in a shop welder

Yes they are great and you can save on electrons too with an inverter, but they cost more.

One day I'll post a picture expo of my dream shop inventory, and It will be one of them.

But since there is a miller tig dream machine that I want, that will be hard to afford, I'll have to stick with my esab MIG choice, as bang for $.
This looks good to me: 260 amps at 50% duty cycle.



Why did I say all that, I don't know.
That one is surly the best for your situation, and maybe my ideas are probably best for me. Maybe not!
But I think thats what the guy wants, our ideas....

[arc]

i would have to say a inverter type like a xmt series is the best for a shop it will give the most options in a shop welder

[r90s]

I perfer Blue migs ,although i got a red 1 , Red sticks, blue tigs, but ain`t never used a Esab

For Mig:
I like the Esab 260 multimaster. For about 2500 bucks you can get one. It does tig dc, also.

Comes with dual cylinder rack, 4 roll drive system, 15 foot mig gun, ground clamp and cable, stick electrode holder and dinse connector, regulator.flowmeter and hose, 10 lb. sample spool of .035 wire and 5 lb sample of stick electrode. Drive rolls for .035-.045 wire.
Then add Arc control optional Module - $47.75, if you don't like the Miller 251's soft arc.
Add the Output Control Front Panel Optional Remote Module - $54.80.
Add the spoolgun Optional Module - $89.30 and your set.
The fact that dual tank running gear, being standard pays for all these options is something to think about.
If you want pulse you can add that module later.

I don't think anyone can say that it isn't well built.
P.S.______I KNOW, it's made in Sweden. Lets don't start.

r90s

[fun4now]

thats a purty good plan if ya ask me. MM251 W/Spool gun, Dyn200, and hyp. 1000 should take care of just about anything to wander in the front door.
i just have to upgrade my plasma and MIG and i'll be good to go... ...well i supose a buisness with a door would be a good idea too.

ruff fab in a shop will most likely be done in MIG, as its fast. the XMT is a great option for versitility but it also has a few drawbacks. its verry expensive to outfit it to do several things, if it brakes one welder takes out your ability to MIG, TIG, and stick all in one quick burnt circuit board. it is also limited to DC TIG only, no AC on the XMT's.
if its about getting the most options out of one thing at the least expense, O/A has got to be the one to go with. cut any metal, weld any metal, and heat for bending or altering the metals structure, ie. making it strong and brital or weak and bendable, relieveing stress. but again it takes some real time to lern to do all the above with an O/A setup. however the hole thing can be in the shop for under $400.00 and thats with good quality equipment not the cheepo stuff off the flea-pay market.
dont be suckerd into the great $69 deals on flea-pay, spend the $$get a good setup like a Victor or Smith and you will have it for a life time. trust me i know i picked up a flea-pay special. all i can say is im lucky to still be alive to tell you not to do the same. there flash-backs dont work at all. i had one flash back all the way into my reg. and never knew it till i went to hit the cut handle and got nothing ??? shut it down realized the torch was hot as all heck. opened it up to a burnt out shell with melted o-rings. and it didnt stop there. pulled off the torch at the hose conections, yep blackend there too, pulled the hose at the acet. reg.........WOW!!! black all the way into the reg. needless to say i didnt get another one. i now have a small Victor. its a nicer size and works 1,000% better and no flashback problems. it also has quality flash-backs built in. i would also recomend a good set of add on's as well. there are 2 types, getting both would be best but be shore to get atleast a torch with built in flashbacks or add them, did i mention quality here would be good.

[Bert]

Overall fab, I go with my MM251. I plan to get more into aluminum, so I'll go with TIG with my Dyn200 (once I buy the contractor's kit ). For thicker aluminum, plan on using the mig/spoolgun. MIG is so much faster for steel, but at work we use all stick...O/A at work to cut steel, home is my plasma Hypertherm G3 1000

[wireburner]

I perfer Blue migs ,although i got a red 1 , Red sticks, blue tigs, but ain`t never used a Esab

[weld_13]

I'd say a good multi-process machine.Oh and my choice would be blue baby
Multi-process because you never know when it will (and it will)come in handy If I'm strapped for cash a nice little mig(0.23-0.35) WOULD STILL TRY AND GO BLUE but red will be okay till have enough to go BLUE

sadly im kinda the exact opposite no offense to all the miller fans i still like em just prefer lincoln.

[weldone]

I'd say a good multi-process machine.Oh and my choice would be blue baby
Multi-process because you never know when it will (and it will)come in handy If I'm strapped for cash a nice little mig(0.23-0.35) WOULD STILL TRY AND GO BLUE but red will be okay till have enough to go BLUE

[aametalmaster]

If i was to have only one it would be a Miller XMT304, that way i could do it all.

Hey Aaron, I bought an old Oxweld welding torch at a flea market and its stamped for 1" Boiler Plate, thought that was interesting...Bob

[Aerometalworker]

Depends on application

Hmmm, if going for versatility id have to say the OA setup

If welding stainless TIG

If general cob job on carbon steel MIG

4130 tubing OA

Cast Iron OA

Aluminum >.125 TIG

Aluminum < .125 OA

Heavy Steel Work Stick

Brazing, Soldering OA

Each has its home, I wouldnt try gas welding 1" plate, or using a mig welder on my 1932 great lakes nose bowl.

-Aaron

[weld_13]

yeh the a/o does pretty well as long as uve got a beefy enuff torch but i still have some mastering to do on a/o. like what u brought up a/o cutts and arc does to but what i like about the arc is all u have to do is crank up the amps and cut

[fun4now]

it realy comes down to what you are welding and how fast you need to do it. with a good AC/DC tig you can weld anything within its amp rateings. mig is king for blasting out metal fab but you need a special feeded like a push pull or spool gun for aluminum and some SS will need puls, but MIG is much faster than TIG. in most general fab shops the MIG will get the bulk of the work but in other more specilized shops , like boldfabrication's TIG is king.
so your question is still unanswerable.
TIG is the most versital but not always the best choice for the job.
O/A is realy the all out most useable as it not only dose what the TIG can but also cuts. but again not easy to lern like TIG its hard to master, MIG can be done well in a shoret pereiod of time with proper teaching where TIG and O/A will take a biyt more to get good at and even longer to get good and prity at and most likely never be truly masterd.

[boldfabrication]

Id say a mig in your basic carbon fab shop. In my shop I have always had a tig and the mig (mm251) is a little over a year old and its still new. I weld mostly stainless and aluminum so the tig is handy.

[weld_13]

im talkin type not not wether it be miller or lincon. i would think overall for all types of welding universal even though thats a hard question i would say for rough fabrication. like in a shop