Welding Tips and Tricks

I had trouble posting... hope this isn't a duplicate.

I'm currently taking my first mig welding class and enjoying it. I'm planning to add a welder to the shop, and have a history of wanting to upgrade soon after purchasing... I've narrowed my choice down to two units, and would love some feedback.

My first and more practical choice is the Lincoln 210 mp. I plan on mostly mig, but the thought of stick intrigues me. I understand the limitations on tig. I think the unit is probably adequate for most things that will come across my table.

My alternative choice is the Lincoln 256. I'm attracted to the industrial feel and seemingly better quality/durability on this unit. I understand it is limited to mig only, but don't believe this will be an issue for me.

Any and all guidance is appreciated.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome aboard mate!

What do you plan on welding with the machine? Thickness, what kind of projects...?

Farmwelding wrote:Welcome aboard mate!

What do you plan on welding with the machine? Thickness, what kind of projects...?

Great question... not sure I fully know yet. I do have a 50hp tractor that will need the skid shoes for the snowblower built up. That is 1/2" material, but probably not the norm.

A few other projects include fabricating a snowblower chute deflector mount for a hydraulic cylinder, and fabricating an adapter for the top link of a bush hog to mate up to an iMatch hitch. I expect the latter should be pretty beefy... 3/8" is what I was thinking.

Thanks,
Toby


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Personally I have never used the 210mp but have used a powermig 255, the model before the 256 and personally I beleive a multiprocess machine is better for a home owner/not a full fab shop. For heavy stuff that requires a lot of strength short circuit mig is not the best option anyway. I'd teach yourself stick between now and winter and do the heavy repairs with stick. You can also do multi pass welds as well. That's just my opinion. 210 some amps will do you a lot of welding as well for mig.

jutrast wrote:

Farmwelding wrote:Welcome aboard mate!

What do you plan on welding with the machine? Thickness, what kind of projects...?

...and fabricating an adapter for the top link of a bush hog to mate up to an iMatch hitch. I expect the latter should be pretty beefy... 3/8" is what I was thinking.

To Farmboy's point, you probably want to Stick weld that part. And 3/8" just might not be thick enough. I did something rather similar and it was 5/8" thick plate for the Idler wheel alone and that was TIG and Stick welded to make it strong enough.

I own a mp210 iv ran this machine threw it's paces. I bought my machine to work for a week and build a steam header with it on 110v mainly tig welding with it. Hours and hours on 110v tig and stick welding I love this welder! All welder were x-rayed as per code.

Short answer: If I had to mig weld for 8 hours straight I'd pick the 256, but any other situation I'd pick the 210.

We use the Lincoln 256 extensively at our school and I personally owned a 210MP for a good bit. Our 256's get abused pretty bad by the students and get run wide open for most of the day, and while I prefer the 210, I'm not sure if it could handle that kind of abuse. (Maybe it can, I've never tried )

Why the 256 is better:

- It has a better duty cycle. (256 = 24V @ 40% and the 210 = 24V @ 25%) This is good if you are doing a lot of production work where the machine is being run wide open all day.
- It can hold large 33lb spools which is more cost effective.
- This machine can mig weld in spray transfer better than the 210. I will say that if I had to do spray transfer on a consistent basis I wouldn't own either one as they are both too weak. While they both technically can, they don't do it well and both machines have to be maxed out to achieve it.
- It has a 4 step switch that allows you to weld without holding on to the trigger, a handy option when making long duration welds such as pipe on a turn table.
- Longer gun whips can be used which increases the reach of your welder without having to roll it around.
- The stock mig gun has a higher duty cycle and is more durable.
- The drive roll assembly is way more industrial and durable than the 210.
- It has a 110v plug in the back for powering tools, lights, grinders, ect.

Why the 256 isn't better:

- It's heavy and doesn't transport as easily as the 210.
- It doesn't have an inductance function. (personal preference, but I really find this feature very handy)
- It cant stick or tig weld.
- It doesn't have dual voltage so it can only be welded where there's 220.
- It doesn't have an auto set function which means you always have to dial in your settings manually.
- You have to buy an adapter to run the base line spool gun, the 210 is ready to go stock.
- The 256 is a transformer, and in my opinion, is not as smooth welding as the 210.

Hope this helps