mastercraft welder

I doubt that you folks in the US of A have ready access to mastercraft products ,but we just recently picked up a 110 volt 30/70 amper welder and it isn't worth the cardboard it's packaged in so far.I thought it would come in real handy doing fix it up repairs in the milking parlour and other areas in the freestall barn,but it just won't melt the rods.Maybe if we picked up some really small,and I mean REALLY small diamater core rods,we MAY have better luck,but so far,even with the 1/16 rods,it just sticks.The old lincoln welder works great,even 60 amps,45 if you've got a real steady hand,but this one won't get the job done and it's supposed to be 70 amps.Just a vent/heads up,pd.

IMO the only way to go is Lincoln, your right about the cheapies like mastercraft they are not worth box they come in.

It is hard to beat the old Lincoln 225 for general use.

I bought a cheapie MIG welder at CTC and am having problems finding a good use for it. On steel you get no where near the penetration as with 7018 rod and on sheet metal (like body work) it either burns through or piles up the steel so fast you have to grind most of it away.

I don't know.

JP.

Hi Phillipd
Making the assumption that the 70 amp setting
is putting out 70 amps then pick up some 3/32, 6013
mild steel rod and it should work ok. I bought one like yours 35 years ago from a fellow with the same story you have. With the rods he had,
he was right. advice on the 6013 from a friend
of mine and the little thing has welded thousands of things over the years. Hint..
drag the rod across the ground clamp
with good sparking, then weld. Don't know why, just helps get started
Enjoy
Bob Whitmoyer

When you arc across the ground clamp it warms the rod. Warm rods are easier to start.

As soon as I saw the post about a Mastercraft(Canadian tire)welder, I knew it wasn't to give a rave review. LoL I've seen the welder you're talking about. They claim it welds with 1/16 and 5/64 rods. 35 years ago puts us in the early seventies. I don't think they made these ultra cheap machines back then? Why would you drag the rod across the ground? That makes no sense. Preheating the rod would make some sense though. Stick the rod to the work for about 2 seconds and the rod will be warm. 70 amps is a little too cold for most 3/32 rods. 5/64 would be better and I think they only come in 6013? I don't know if I'd trust much with a really really economy machine like that. 7018 usually has more penetration than MIG and produces a stronger weld. MIG can be strong but on critical work, MIG isn't allowed. Back to the topic of an inexpensive welder. You would be far better to purchase a 110 volt, if that's what you need, wire feed welder and use the flux cored wire. However, I'd recommend you buy a name brand like Lincoln or Miller over a Mastercrap. Another option is a small inverter than runs DC. Princess auto had some on sale a while ago for $288, I think. 100 amps DC current. It was only about 20% duty cycle but 100 amps and DC current from an inverter would be night and day better than the Mastercrap. 100 amps would burn 3/32 rods which gives you a wider variety of rods to use including 7018 and 6010. See if you can take your machine back. You will never be happy with it and it will make welding very frustrating. Dave

I've looked at them on the shelf and left them there. I realy don't have any use for a welder that small anyway...
Makes you appreciate just how tough and durable that old Linc is, eh?
I've still got my old one around here, minus it's cover and fan. I replaced it with a Thunderbolt, but the linc still worked. Tough old welders.

Rod

Thanks for the help,the thing's in used looking condition now so I doubt they will take it back now.I will look for some 3/64 rods as we have nothing more to really loose.I've seen small 110 welders that actually work well,just so far this one doesn't.The old lincoln we have is like the rest of them,big,heavy and takes 220.The 110 was intended to come in handy to just run a drop cord and fix what you need.We used to have a 15 kw generator on a cart and would just set the welder on the back of that when we needed to do remote fix jobs,but now we have a 50kw bolted to a cement block and that's not an option anymore.

These baby welders have been around for many years.None worked but plenty were sold.I bought a 225 Lincoln in 1964 for 93.00 delivered to my door.I had an old 150 amp welder my Dad bought in a junk yard for 10.00.I started running into jobs the 150 couldnt handle.The Lincoln will go down to 40 amps if you want.Used Lincolns can be had for under 100.00.I picked up a 70A welder in the dump,did some repair work on it and put on a new ground clamp and rod holder.While it did make good welds it wasnt much good.I gave it to a friend who needed a small welder for small projects.Most of my welding is done 90 to 150 amps with the older 150 A welder but the Lincoln is rolled out for the heavy jobs.

Only thing I can suggest is getting a BIG extension cord. It could be that you have a severe problem with voltage drop on 110 with a small cord.
Keep in mind that any welder on 110 is going to run a circuit to it's maximum draw. It's just not a good system all around...
Get you one of those inch thick yellow cords.

Rod

I picked up a used Miller Blue Star for $1000 and it works very well for getting good penetration on 3/16 and above. It is not really good for welding 16ga thin sheet metal. It can also be used as a generator for those remote repairs. It is heavy though and not something one man can pick up.

I dont know about that particular welder,but to weld rods and have something thats going to hold you need a 220 volt welder.If you are just barely going to stick something together then you might get away with using something like that.You need as small of a diameter rod as you can get,like 1/16 6011 if they make them,and that would need all 70 amps to burn it maybe.I bought one of those 115 volt MIG welders years ago and got a CO2 tank and mild steel wire and could weld 1/4 thick metal.I cut a dump bed of a dump truck and made it longer and only used that little welder and a torch.The trouble I had with it was it had an internal breaker that kept cutting it off.Very aggravating,but it could actually do the job if you had enough patience.I also had 4 years of welding experience under my belt and most of that was on a MIG.You have to know what you are doing with one of those little ones like that or you will still be disappointed.I have run the flux core and it works but it costs a lot for the wire.I guess it welds alright but there again you need to know what you are doing a little or you can make some welds that wont hold anything.

You are probably better off to see if you can find a good welder like a small Lincoln MIG or something that runs on a gas motor or a long extension cord for a 220 Lincoln 225 amp if you want to be able to really weld something.That little welder you have might work if you weld the ground cable to the work,use a real small rod,and arent going to weld a long weld on anything very thick anyway.Thick steel is going to be a problem trying to get it hot enough.Maybe if you can get 6011 rod that small it might work.