so im looking to buy my first welder. iv never welded before but am very eager to start! i want a welder that can do body work (frenching, shaving, ect.) and also be able to weld some suspension brackets (4-link, airbags, ect.). i obviously want the best $ deal $ availible. The welder will not get used "full-time" only for weekend projects and what not, so i dont want to spend an arm or a leg. So what do you guys recommend? Links to where i can buy it would be great. Thanks!
For the money, Hobart 180 is a very good all around welder at a very reasonable price! Tractor supply usually has them in stock. About 5 bills! If you got more money invest in a Miller!
I have a Millermatic 175 that I really like, but you need 220 power to run it. But if all you are doing is what you describe, a buzz box that runs on 110 should be fine. Just keep in mind that if you want to do thicker stuff later, you're kinda limited. That's why I went the next step higher. It's a good all round mig that meets most all my needs.
Sounds like you need a mig welder. I don't know about prices but try Harbor Freight, Craftsman if your on a budget. I have a really cheap no name brand and it works good for body work.
Take a course at your local community college. Then, you will get to use they varied equipment they have there, AND you'll learn how to weld properly and safely, which is something you CANNOT do at home, nor with a buddy helping you learn (because 'buddy' may have bad habits you do not need to learn). This is how I chose between Lincoln and Miller TIG machines (I bought the Miller 250 Syncrowave). Had I not taken the course, I might have chosen just by price, and ended up with a machine that I might not have gotten on as well with. Cosmo
Thanks everybody! i am going to look into a taking a course asap. That way i can familiarize myself with the equipment and techniques. Thanks again for the quick replies!
All these points are really good. There is something you need to keep in mind, if you enjoy welding and you find you are doing it all the time you will be PISSED that you didn't just go without a little longer and save your money for a better one! I speak from experience here. I have a little 110 no-namer and it's been relatively good for welding small stuff, tabs, brackets, some sheet metal, etc. BUT... the settings SUCK and are limited! Also, I didn't realize just how bad my welder was until I tried my neighbor's welder. He has a nice Lincoln MIG that runs off 220 and the control was so much better, easier to use once I got used to it. It was night and day! Now that I know what I can do with a good welder and can't do with mine... I'm dumping it for a nicer welder for sure! In my mind, I'm going to use it enough to make it worth my while and who knows, maybe I can even make some side money to pay for it helping friends or doing odd jobs. I've been in your shoes and didn't want to spend the money... but you will NEVER regret it if you use it. If you weld a lot and find that you want to start welding on frames and have something cheap I promise you, you will regret it! If you're worried about the 220, don't. They're relatively easy to install and the components aren't that expensive. So rethink your situation and then decide what you're REALLY going to do with it. If you're going to weld frame stuff, plan on getting something that will handle up to or beyond 1/4" materials. Also, make sure you can run a shielding gas, you will be unhappy with the flux core (if not now, later!). Welding is fun and self rewarding, don't limit yourself and do dangerous work! Just my $.02 though... Oh yeah, if you do decide to invest in something really nice, check out Miller, Lincoln and Hobart welders. For 110 VAC machines you'll spend $600 and up. For 220 VAC machines you'll spend closer to $1000 and up. Sometimes you can find stuff at auctions and in the paper. I know a guy that just picked up a Millermatic 210 ($1200 welder) for $600 and it only had about 30 hours on it. It was from a shop that was going out of business and just needed the money. Keep that option in mind. Good luck!
maby you should considder a TIG welder also. It's a bit harder to learn but a much nicer weld. And TIG is the way to go with stainles and aluminium. Remco
I love my hobart 180. Great for all around hot rod building. I like the 110 because I move it all ove the garage and did not want to put 220 all over.
I have to agree with Scooter on this one. There is no substitue for CHEAP tools (i.e. Harbor Freight & Off Shore Brands) You will regret it later on. If you want to do nice work - nice tools can help make that happen. Just starting out I would recommend a MIG (wire feed) with Gas Shielding. Can go wrong with Red or Blue (Lincoln or Miller). Save your pennies for another month or two if you have to and step up and buy something that will last. If you have the same mindset as everyone else on this board - this will not be the last car that you build. The advise to take a course is also very good. I just picked up a welder laying down beads & practicing with it....but about 1 year later I took a course on welding. Check you local Community Colleges and Vo-Tech Schools. I took my course @ the local Vo-Tech School and it was around $250 (if you have an apprentice card it was less ($100 I think). Classes were 1ce a week and for 3 hours @ night. They usually teach StickWelding, Brazing, OA Welding, Cutting with the OA, MIG, and give you a taste of TIG - and most places run Miller and Lincolns...both pretty much equal in quality...but fine tuning features vary from brand to brand. And if it is a good Vo-Tech they might even have a Plasma Cutter to use. Only problem with taking courses @ Vo-Tech is that the kids tend to be rough with the machines since they are not "thiers" Sounds like you would be good with a Miller175 or equivelant Lincoln. They run about $800 or so. next model up is the Miller 210 and they run about $1200 and the 250 is about $1800-$2000 depending on your dealer.
I like my little Lincoln 135 wire feed pretty good so far. But don't forget to factor in buying a gas bottle ($200+ bucks and $60 to refill for a big 160 cu. ft. bottle). I've always had one from the start and couldn't imagine not running MIG with a wire feed. You don't want to even attempt thin sheet metal with flux core (let's just say I ran out of gas right in the middle of welding a patch panel and I was a little desperate to finish up). But to be honest, I find myself wishing had a Oxy/Acetylene/Henrob rig more often these days.
Just to clarify some terminology: Wire feed welders without shielding gas are not MIG. (and require flux core wire.) With shielding gas, it becomes MIG. (and requires solid wire) The "IG" in "MIG" = Inert Gas (argon, etc.) Don't waste time or money on flux core/gasless... unless you're always welding in 20 mph+ cross winds. I like my Miller 135. It does surprisingly well up to about 3/16"... though I wouldn't call it "efficient" for that. (Don't try to run a production shop welding 3/16 with this thing.) You can weld 1/4" with it, but it takes some knowledge and practice to get it to do that. I do regret not getting the stronger 175, though. Mainly for building shop fixtures and tools. There's really not that much on a hot rod that's thicker than 3/16". Also, be aware that most lower-cost MIG welders have a multi-position switch for the heat setting (like a hi-medium-lo switch). Better ones will have the heat control as a rheostat-type knob (sometimes called "infinite heat control"). Not everyone needs that feature, but I personally couldn't live without it.
damn, thanks for all the insight. i usually do buy the good stuff but for some reason lately ive been trying to save money. my tools shouldnt be sacrificed because of that. And yeah i do plan on building cars so long as i can. the miller 175 or lincoln for $800 is a good price range. ima see about starting that course next week. thanks again!
I have the Miller 250 mig and it is a very good welder,if I would buy one know I would go for the tig.Tig is definitely a little tougher to use but once mastered it is a lot more durable.
I'm a Miller fan... I'd recommend a Miller DVI, it'll run on 110 or 220 , that's what I'd be getting right now if I was buying a new one, very convenient... around $1300 but it'll do everything you need...
Miller provides tech schools with product at cost or below plus most instructors operate pro shops where they need nothing but the best. So you are brainwashed right from the beginning! For a beginner on a budget Id go with Hobart or Firepower, both old line US companies. Firepower owns Tweco which is the gun of choice for even top end welders so you know its quality. Im using a FP120 for roll around work and an old Miller monster that I cant even lift on 240V for serious stuff.
spend the money and buy the biggest welder you can get. I have 2 small 110 welders that i use for thin sheetmetal and stainless tack welds. they save a ton of time when making parts that get tig welded.
Holy SH!T!! I've been looking at Millermatic 210's for awhile now and I have to say that is worth spending the extra $100 to get!! I REALLY have a need sometimes for that 115-v input! That's perfect! Thank you for sharing that! Does anyone use that DVI? What do you think of it?
.....my suggestion to you is start at your local community collage..take a "basic" welding course...get to know how to use your equiptment BEFORE you lay down your cash..the few weeks spent there will be worth it...then make your choise.if your serious go with a "220" set up...it will benifit you in the long run...also gas or fluxcore will be a choise you will have to make also...good luck....
I bought my Millermatic 135 after using a little Century welder that was my boss' welder. I'm glad that I took the time to save a little more and get the Miller. If you know people with different brands, maybe ask to try em out and see what you like after you get an idea of what you're doing. I love my welder, it does very well with patch panels and the lighter fab work, but that's all I need it for, so you'd probably want something a little more powerful for the brackets and such. But then again, you know what they say...opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one. Jeremy
Sorry fellow, this is not what you want to hear, but its the truth. I have been building hotrods for close to 40 years, and am an experienced welder. You won't get everything you want/need in one welder. For doing sheet metal work, I strongly recomend a 115 Volt mig welder, which will run 0.020 wire, equipped with a gas bottle. These units, come in at about $800 by the time you figure in the price of the welder itself, the regulator kit to make it run on a gas bottle, the gas bottle itself, plus a the argon or whatever gas your local welding gas supplier sells.---However, you absolutely will not get enough amperage to provide good penetration for making any safe bracketry or doing chassis/frame/supension work with a 115 Volt mig. For that you must either step up to a 220Volt mig, which runs flux core 0.035 wire or buy a "buzz-box" electric stick welder, minimum 180 Amp, 220 Volt supply. A decent quality "big mig" is going to cost in the neighbourhood of $1500, and would be really great to have if your budget allows. I have got by for many, many years with my old 180 Amp 220 Volt Lincoln A.C. stick welder----these are available new for about $300 or slightly less, and are great for any kind of brackets, frame boxing, or any weld where your life depends on the quality and penetration of the weld. Yes, by all means, go and try to get some professional instruction. Any fool can lay on a bead of weld after 15 minutes practice with a welder----but do you want yourself, your wife, or your kids riding around on something that has nice cosmetic welds that only penetrate 1/64 of an inch into the parent metal???
one of the lurkers from around here does ( 364nailhead, rush, who knows what his handle is these days) it rocks.... maybe he'll post one day to tell us about it... buy the best welder you can right out of the box, the cheap ones aren't worth crap second hand, and you'll end up spending the money anyway...
HAs anybody heard anything about the Clark brand they sell in the Northern Tool catalog? Take the course at the local VoTech... like someone else said, some self taught welders may have picked up a few bad habits, or never picked up some good ones. P.S. O/A will get you dead if you don't know what you are doing. I'm glad the instructor I had scared the shit outta me.
I love my lincoln sp175-plus... the "plus" is the best part - fully adjustable voltage. probably not nessicary, especially for beginners, but its great for fine tuning your weld. Even better are the big lincolns that have the digital readout, i learned on those... and will have one someday. At work I use a Miller 220? I dont remember exactly what model, but it is a "big mig." I usually wish i had my welder.
I have a 250 amp GMAW machine made by Weld Tech Aust. a 150 amp Kempii GTAW machine, it's Finnish and a pleasure to use, and a 160 amp Flowarc MMAW machine. Don't skimp on consumables. I had a pack of rods that must have been made by "Lucky Strike". Bloody awful chinese crap, labelled as 12's but were 13's, chucked 'em out and bought WIA. Get gas for your MIG. I've been told that spray cooking oil will work for spatter guard in a pinch.
I don't see it covered here yet, but allow me to point out the duty cycle rating. Duty cycle. The duty cycle is the amount of time a welder can run at it's highest voltage rating before it has has to cut out so it can cool down, for example a 220v machine with a 100% duty cycle can run all day at 220v without shuting down. Many of the smaller machines these days only have a 20% duty cycle, which means, if you run the machine at full power for two minutes it must rest for eight, this can get old fast and in a professional welding shop anything less than 100% is a waste of time and therefore a waste of money. A 20% duty cycle is probably fine for what you are doing, but anything under 60% runs the risk of being a pain in the ass if you get involved in a big project that requires the full output of your machine. Just something to keep in mind.
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