Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey all, new here.

I've been welding Flux core only so far, and I'm itching to upgrade my 140 for a 220V and start welding with gas.

I was going to pull the trigger on a new lincoln 260 but then I found a used Lincoln 350 mp for like $2600 it looks like its in great shape, any thoughts?

I can't help with the welder question but welcome from North Carolina.

The 350 MP is a beast of a machine, no doubt. I had a Power Mig 300 which is the same basic machine with older software (which can be upgraded). I was very impressed with the arc quality and it had more power than almost any casual welder would ever need. It seemed to have a really robust wire feed system as well. I never considered using it for stick or TIG, but the pulse/pulse-on-pulse and synergistic programs could be very handy.

With that said, I'm not really impressed with how long Lincoln is supporting legacy machines these days. It seems like 10 years is about the limit if you ever need parts. On another forum I just read a thread about a shop that had three 350 MP die in ten years, which seems crazy...even running them all day every day they should last a lot longer than that. I take that with a grain of salt as there is no idea what they're doing with the machines, but it certainly sounds strange.

Pretty excited to get home

Echoing what was said about about the short timespan Lincoln (or any manufacturer) is making consumables available, I'd say do yourself a favor and buy enough of the nickle/dime parts so as to have a lifetime supply on hand. Most of the stuff is cheap, so spending an extra $100 or $200 on consumables isn't going to materially alter your current spending. But it might just keep that welder working decades after Lincoln has decided to force everyone else to buy new.

I did just this for my Hobart, for which I can no longer buy anything that fits. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the welder, other than Miller has decided they want to sell more welders so they need to make mine obsolete.

I did just this for my Hobart, for which I can no longer buy anything that fits. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the welder, other than Miller has decided they want to sell more welders so they need to make mine obsolete.

This "opinion" of why manufacturers discontinue production and support of much older machines has nothing at all to do with selling "new machines" as much as it has to do with supporting out-of-date or possibly out-of-spec machines. It can also be far less expensive to produce and purchase (both Miller and the consumer represented here) a newer machine with modern electronics and assemblies. And of course, one must consider new regulations to be certified for sale machines from years/decades past to new energy standards or electrical service requirements.

No manufacturer can survive with unending support for something bought decades ago. Just isn't possible unless the quantity of units and profit in those parts sustains it. This is like expecting Ford to still make parts for Edsels for crying out loud.

The new machine seems to work pretty good for now atleast..... could use a better operator

Broc - if you’re MIG welding horizontal like that, hold the upper edge 2x as long as the bottom. Whip across the middle. Gravity will take care of the rest. And do try to be as “straight in” with your torch angle as possible.

Thanks, input like that is why I'm here