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| | | | Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 19 Member | | Member Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 19 | I would like to hear from anyone that may have tried an Eastwood Stitch Welder and what their opinion of it was. Good or Bad? I want to use it welding sheetmetal body parts. We use wire feed mig welders at work, and I'm looking for an alternative that may not be as expensive.
Thanks, Dave H. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2001 Posts: 41 Member | | Member Joined: Feb 2001 Posts: 41 | Never tried the stitch welder. I am brazing most of my sheet metal. It is easy, the bond is plenty strong, and the lower temps are a lot easier on the metal.
Ed | | | | | Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 198 Member | | Member Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 198 | what equipment do you need to braze, and exactly what is brazing? | | | | | Joined: Feb 2000 Posts: 39 Member | | Member Joined: Feb 2000 Posts: 39 | Dave,
I tried Eastwoods stitch welder once upon a time. I hooked it up to their small stick welder that they sold at the time (3-4 years ago). I did not have good results. The crazy thing never would work as it was described. I also had some problems with the small welder, too. Even without the stitch welding attachment, I could not weld the thin sheet metal with out burning through it. With the amp setting real low, I had real problems with the rod sticking to the material. There seemed to be no middle ground with the amp settings. I must admit, though, that my stick welding talent is a little less than lousy! I gave up, saved my pennies, and bought a small Lincoln mig set-up and have been happily welding up sheet metal since.
Michael Zaic
Dahlonega, GA
52 GMC 150
48 GMC 300
| | | | | Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 19 Member | | Member Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 19 | Thanks for the answers, I was kind of afraid that the opinion would be to the negatve, because the price seemed to good, and you get what you pay for. We have a Lincoln 125 set up at work with gas and I guess I'll have to not be so cheap and bite the bullet. Thanks again, Dave H.
53 GMC
55 GMC | | | | | Joined: Feb 2001 Posts: 41 Member | | Member Joined: Feb 2001 Posts: 41 | Brazing is much like gas welding, except that the filler material you use has a lower melting point than the metal you are joining. The most common filler is probably bronze. Basically, you heat the steel up so that it is hotter than the filler's melting point (but not hot enough to melt the steel) and then apply filler.
It is most commonly done with a plain old oxy/acetylene torch with a soft flame. You could also do it with a mapp/oxy torch.
The nice thing about it is that there is no puddle to worry about, no burning holes through anything, and the bond is stronger than the steel itself (according to two welding books I have).
Ed | | | | | Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 198 Member | | Member Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 198 | how hot do you have to get the metal, and what are the chances of warping it with this method? | | |
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