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  1. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    melbourne australia
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    Default

    Here's the duty cycle curve of the Bossweld S180 stick welder if anyone's interested.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Chris

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Sydney, NSW
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    1,249

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    Quote Originally Posted by clear out View Post

    I’ve done numerous TAFE welding courses starting with oxy in 1965 in a draughty nissan hut at Gore Hill to TIG at Granville a few years back under a Govt migrant skills programme.
    Problem is TAFE here in NSW has been destroyed by successive penny pinching politicians.


    H
    IRT TAFE, I wanted to do a metal fabrication course this year. The only TAFE in the Sydney Metro area is Ultimo TAFE. That's the only TAFE for all engineering type TAFE short courses in Greater Sydney. I was willing to travel to Mt Druitt or Granville but the courses aren't held there anymore.

    If I was to buy a welder for backyard use, I'd probably just go the Boss Weld 180A from Bunnings for all the little jobs I couldn't wait to take to work to do and for anything that I thought my life or someone else's life might depend on, I'd take to my welder mate to do.

    Ben.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Norwood-ish, Adelaide
    Age
    59
    Posts
    6,540

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jack620 View Post
    Here's the duty cycle curve of the Bossweld S180 stick welder if anyone's interested.
    That's not bad when you think about it. The average 2.5mm electrode found in shops all over the place is recommended to run at around at say 60 to 80A (will depend on type, but that is usually the range that mine fall into), so that welder will provide a duty cycle that probably exceeds actual arc time on a job (when you think about changing electrodes, chipping and positioning).

    Michael

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    N.W.Tasmania
    Posts
    1,407

    Default A couple of good operators.

    Quote Originally Posted by clear out View Post
    I agree Welding is one skill that a decent course makes all the difference.

    I’ve done numerous TAFE welding courses starting with oxy in 1965 in a draughty nissan hut at Gore Hill to TIG at Granville a few years back under a Govt migrant skills programme.
    Problem is TAFE here in NSW has been destroyed by successive penny pinching politicians.

    Be wary of non expert tuition I was working part time at UNSW industrial design and the T.O. (who wasn’t a tradesman) was showing the students how to oxy weld. He was back to front with the wire and torch so I asked him where he learnt to weld like that.
    ‘From a book’ was his answer, U tube isn’t much better although there are some very good welders out there on it.

    Perhaps we should list a few of the better U tube welding dudes out there and also bag any that are dangerous.
    H
    In line with Clear Out's last comment, Bob Moffatt with Weld.com and Jody Collier with Welding tips and tricks, both on YouTube are two very good operators in my opinion. No doubt there are many others, but these two have a huge body of work out there, and any beginner and many experienced welders would find answers to problems they might have with Bob and Jody.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    melbourne australia
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    3,228

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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael G View Post
    ...so that welder will provide a duty cycle that probably exceeds actual arc time on a job (when you think about changing electrodes, chipping and positioning).
    Thanks Michael for that useful feedback. Based on that I'll put one of those machines on my birthday wish-list.

    Regarding TAFE welding courses- it seems like most of the posters here recommending doing a course did theirs well over 20 years ago when welders were expensive and TAFE courses were cheap. Now the reverse is true. The cheapest TAFE welding course I could find in VIC was $650 for a basic course. I can get a reasonable handyman stick welder and good helmet for less than that.
    Chris

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Greendale Vic. Australia
    Posts
    64

    Default

    It's just a quick off the cuff response to all this (I was the original OP).
    I just shelled out today for 'Bossweld 180' from Bunnings. $250.
    Yes it's a toy according to you 'pros', but it's not all that bad. (I've previously suffered with a couple of ancient probably stuffed transformer welders).

    Suddenly I can weld acceptably - after just about an hour. A long way from perfect- but that's mainly due to MY in-expertise.
    Great little thing, and I'm sure I'll want something bigger and better one day, but what a delight to be able to get a half-decent weld so easily.
    One thing I didn't really 'clock' previously, was that as well as the material thickness, electrode diameter, amperage was critical, ...what really comes into the equation is the rate of travel.
    Now I have adjusted my auto visor, I can now actually SEE the work. (I was paranoid about my eyes). Previously I was burning holes in the work because I couldn't see the work properly and was moving too slow, now I can see it I'm moving faster, so nice solid continuous welds with no burned holes.

    What a relief, now I can just practice, and I'll get it right.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    melbourne australia
    Posts
    3,228

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    Quote Originally Posted by joolstacho View Post
    I just shelled out today for 'Bossweld 180' from Bunnings. $250.
    Well done. Did you run into the duty cycle limit at any point during your 1 hour session? If so, how long did it take to cool down and reset itself?
    Chris

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Greendale Vic. Australia
    Posts
    64

    Default

    No Chris, I didn't push my luck!
    A test for later I think - pushing the duty cycle. I'll do a test once I'm happy with a basic weld, and report back.

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