I found out why the welds I was getting out of my Hobart 135 wire-feed wleder have been so lousy. It turns out I was using solid core wire! My welder CAN be converted to MIG if I install the valving, but I haven't installed it yet. I thought I was running flux cored wire but it actually is plain solid wire. So I am going to blame the wire, and not the welder-operator, on the poor weld quality.

Which brings me to my question. Can anyone recommend a good all-around wire for gasless welding? Years ago I bought a coupel rolls of a flux-cored wire brand named "twenty-gauge" and worked great. But I used that all up. I need a wire that will work good for doing bodywork and light welding. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

The Lincoln brand is sold at retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes

Thanks Tim. I will probably end up going to Home Depot and grabbing a roll of .025 and a roll of .030 just for general purpose light welding. I was just wondering if anyone had a recommendation of any brand being preferable over another for things like welding body panels or fabricating seat and engine brackets. Or if there was any variety of wire chemistry or design that was better than other for general mild steel light fabrication work, i.e. E71T-11 or E71T-GS. My uses will be light welding, mostly indoors or on windless days outside, all positions (just in case I have to crawl under a car and patch up an exhaust line overhead), materials ranging in thickness form body panels to mayber 1/4 inch angle iron.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Reed

you do not want fluxcore for doing bodywork...get the gas and solidcore....the flux will create rust

keep on roddin'

I do want to upgrade to true gas shielded MIG welding, but that has to wait until I can afford to buy the equipment to do it. In the short term I am stuck with flux core welding.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

You will probably find out that even with flux core your welds will still suck. That has been my experience.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Yeah, you are probably right. However, back when I was using flux cored wire my welds got to looking OK. But when I mistakenly switched to solid core wire my welds really went to heck. I will save my spare change up and buy a gas valve kit and bottle and gas someday. Meantime I just need to get my welder back in commisison to fabricate things like brackets to mount Sebring seats in my brother's Duster and a dual exhaust system for the same Duster. I have a bunch of exhaust lines I saved off of various cars and vans I have owned in the past that I am going to cut up and reweld togther to make the Duster exhaust system. Lots of bends and even some Y joints.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

i have used the .035 and .030 flux core wires from harbor fright. they both work pretty well. i have also used what ever they sell at home depot. couldnt really tell the difference. both gave good solid welds with the usual slag associated with flux wire.