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Welding rails.

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PurpleDino
Posts: 1513 - Karma: 483

i want to buy a welder to weld rails. can someone lead me in the right direction of a cheap welder that works good enough to make rails. and how hard is it to learn to weld rails?

Feb 19 2009 7:52PM
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C.Wood
Posts: 2524 - Karma: 180
you want a mig(metal inert gas) machine which requires a shielding gas which costs money

or you can get a flux core machine with a special wire that has protective coating on it which acts liek a shielding gas

look in build a jib cult
there a couples thread on welding
Feb 19 2009 7:55PM
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jibjay
Posts: 7 - Karma: 11

u can buy a cheap lincon MIG at like lowes and that would probably be the easiest to learn on but i like useing a stick welder it give a stronger weld but a MIG works fine

Feb 19 2009 8:06PM
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Happy.
Posts: 1248 - Karma: 9
First off, its not going to be cheap.
You want a MIG welder (like the guy said, metal inert gas), that basically has two components
1. Wire, its relatively cheap and comes in huge spools.
2. Like the name implies, and inert gas, usually Argon, which runs about $100-200 a tank to fill, and about $300 for the actual tank, but will last a loooong ass time if you take care of it well.

As for the actual machines, Miller makes some decent ones for anywhere from $800-5 000 depending on what you want (http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/onephase.php). The good thing is that most of these are relatively small, the biggest part will be the tank. You will probably want to buy a cart too, which is about $150

Learning to weld is really, really simple. It just takes a lot of practice, but you could learn to weld well in a good hour or two, if you do get that far send me a PM and ill be happy to tell you what I know
Feb 19 2009 8:10PM
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eLvIaNnEs
Posts: 10 - Karma: 10
arc welding is super easy. you dont need any gas for small ones. and they are not all that expensive.
Feb 19 2009 9:26PM
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WhiteBurd
Posts: 1127 - Karma: 98
go with arc cheaper and i like it more it funner
Feb 19 2009 9:33PM
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Happy.
Posts: 1248 - Karma: 9
Arc welding is waaaay more dangerous, harder to work, and leaves slag behind that needs to be chipped/ground off. They also cost more and are alot harder to learn to use/master because you have to keep the gun moving forward and in the direction you are welding because the stick is constantly getting smaller.
Feb 20 2009 1:20AM
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PurpleDino
Posts: 1513 - Karma: 483
for the people that said arc welding. how hard is it to learn?
Feb 20 2009 6:22AM
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eLvIaNnEs
Posts: 10 - Karma: 10
pretty easy. it takes a couple of trys to get your bead straight but after that you should be able to weld it good enough for the medal to hold.
Feb 20 2009 10:44AM
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SkeechyD
Posts: 2026 - Karma: 1,071
arc welding is extremly easy you plug it in, put a rod on and go
Feb 20 2009 1:58PM
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LMC
Posts: 21 - Karma: 10
i took metal shop all through out high school and made a ton of rails there. it maybe more expensive but mig welding is the way to go. It's easier then arc welding and it uses a lower heat so there is less chance of warping the metal your trying to weld. I would recommend buying angle iron to make rails they make it easy to make legs and a base that are real strong.
Feb 20 2009 2:04PM
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PurpleDino
Posts: 1513 - Karma: 483

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100596737&N=10000003+90260+503465

would that work for just a simple little welder? what else would i need to buy for it?

Feb 20 2009 3:19PM
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Shredneck
Posts: 2051 - Karma: -32

Not true

arcwelders require you to drag the stick acrost the metal then keep the right distance from the metal

Migs are way easier you just pull the trigger and weld

Arcs are way more versatile though you can switch up rods for different kinds of metal and are cheaper. Migs are easier and theoratically they both should make the same quality weld but you will probally get a better weld as a beginer from a Mig

Feb 20 2009 3:26PM
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T-Holt
Posts: 5020 - Karma: 639
My threads, I wanna weld some rails this summer
Feb 20 2009 4:05PM
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hedgehog
Posts: 1595 - Karma: 167
the cheapest welder i would personally use is a hobart, very similiar to the millermatic i have but a different brand name a a little bit cheaper. lincoln also makes good welders, but i like miller better.

Click for larger image
Feb 20 2009 4:37PM
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