Hey gang, i would like to get into welding so i dont have to rely on anyone and have the opportunity to buy a Miller Arc Welder ( 225amp) for $300. Is this something i should or should not grab and would mig welding be better? Im obviously new to welding so any info would def. be great. Cheers
well mig can do frame and sheetmetal work....arc is frame only..if you go mig buy 220 the first time and dont be dissapointed
what reverb said. $300 aint a bad price, but do yourself the favor and go mig... its much more pretty anyway done on floor suport using Miller model 210 MIG. i have made ch***is and done sheet metal with it as well.
No, it's not that it's no good, it's just not AS versatile. A 110v unit is good if you're going to be welding 1/8" and smaller, but once you get a welder, there's all kinds of things you'll want to stick together! If you're doing car work as a hobbiest, I believe you'll get the best bang for your buck with a 220v, 180-210 amp MIG welder. I just bought a Hobart Handler 187 which will do 22ga to 5/16" steel - about everything you'd need for a car : frame, sheetmetal, etc. MIG also has the shortest learning curve, as opposed to TIG. Leastways, that's my 2¢
110v welders are normally chea harbor frieght flux cored welders that dont require shielding gas (argon / co2 ) and the welds are very sloppy with alot of soot and splatter. the flux core wire makes your wels brittle on sheet metal as well. so once your weld is ground down, and lets say you have to tap it into shape with a hammer, you may crack the joint. 220v welders on shielding gas are the way to go
Good info.. yea this will be for choping my top and doing other things such as new cross member motor mounts, gag for yelping dog next door... you know the usual
look at my old post...all about the 110..till I got a 220...220 is the way to go...dont have to worry if weld penetrated or not
Without making a judgment on the asking $$ for the Miller arc welder...a lot of times you can find perfectly good old Lincoln, Miller, etc. 225 AC arc welders for $50-$100, sometimes less. I got mine for $25 at a farm auction. Looks like ****, but works fine. AC/DC arcs are a little more. I also have a Miller 185 MIG I bought new, (for considerably more $$) & as TagMan points out, that size welder will do about anything car-related.
im not trash talkin 110v welders or flux core. i used it for years when i was learning and i thought it did the trick. but once i stepped up to a big welder. the was no comparison. i chopped 3 cars using a 110, had no problems, good penitration. just had to re weld things a few times cause of cracking after it was ground down. it will do the trick for motor mounts as well. but just save yourself the h***le and spring for a nice welder to start with.
I found this other one on Craigslist.. but i cant STAND when people say " was working before " heres the skinny on it .. this on is for 500 I have a miller mig/ arc welder, with all the cables and argon gauges. The model is a CP250TS. 250amp, 220 3 phase. Machine is in good condition. Worked before stored but don't have a way to check it out now. Would like to sell asap so no reasonable offers will be refused, will trade for chain saw in good working condition or log splitter. Asking 500.00
my recommendation is go to your local community college and take a welding co****, this will help you with your skills and decision in purchasing a welder, spending $300 just cause its a good deal at the time may be just a waste of $300 if it doesn't do what you want
That would be the sensible thing to do and have thought of that.. When last looked into it the courses were booked solid till April .. but have to go away for work in April-May .. so i said F$%^ it im just gonna get one and do as much practicing i can do.. with the help of others then lay it down on the ride
Saaaaaa-lute... RODKNOCKER!!! I wouldn't have been so nice. We need a puking smiley... this is about the 200th thread I've seen like this. The internet is a good source for information, but you need to leave your house to learn about welding... Forget the cost... go take the cl***. JOE
thanks all that have responded.. Junkyard.. your right i should have known better to ask for a live responce, i should have looked in the archives. Cheers
Take a cl*** first, if you buy something and it doesn't work the way it should, you'd never know it. I took a cl***, but it was the beginning cl*** of a program where the students were getting certified to weld pipes for nuclear power plants. I Told the instructor that I wasn't going to take the entire program, I just wanted to learn the basics of arc, mig, OA... so he made sure I was proficient in each and it took about 6 weeks. It was time well spent, and I just bought a Hobart 187 after wasting money on a Harbor Freight-like 110 mig that made of mess of everything it touched. the wire was partially hot all the time and there was always soot on everything.
I've been thinking about this since I posted last night. I got the feeling from your initial post that you knew nothing other that it's a welder. My first ***umption is that it's just a stick welder with a stinger and a ground. We could all ask a bunch of questions to find out, like if it's AC or DC or AC/DC... Does it have high-frequency? You can stick weld with either AC or DC. You can buy a TIG setup, which means leasing an Argon bottle. If it's DC you can TIG weld mild steel or stainless... if it's AC you can TIG aluminum, but only if the machine has hi-freq... otherwise you need to buy an add-on hi-freq unit. If you didn't know any of this, and it's all news to you, then my answer is "No... Don't buy the welder." My first reply is still the same... to you and to anyone who wishes to melt metal together. "Take a course. Learn from someone qualified to teach a very difficult craft." THEN you have MY blessing to buy any welder you want or need. To me, ownership of a welder is something that should be earned... and owning a welder and not knowing how to properly use it is no different than a child playing with a loaded .44 magnum. It might never go off, or it might go off and not hit anyone... or, it goes off and gramma doesn't ever get to finish that quilt. JOE
Stick welders can be useful. For instance, if there isn't room for 4 header primaries due to a mid 50's monster power steering box and divorced power brake booster, and you're practiced up, you can get some nickle rod and cut the original manifold from the new engine that wouldn't fit and weld it back together so it clears your steering box... It is important to make sure you buy a welder you can power. Check the availability of different types of power - not all homes can get 220 at all without a huge expense ($15k +). If you can't get 220, and you want to chop your own top, I recommend either moving or renting a bay somewhere. Sometimes, if you are taking a welding cl***, the instructor will let you bring in your car and weld on it there. If you are in the military, or a veteran, you can rent shop space on base by the hour (cheap - like $5 and hour), and usually even get a really nice MiG setup, but you generally have to be certified. Lots of guys forget that they still have access to cool stuff like that after they get out. Why buy it if you already earned a free rental?
A lot of the name brands have a demo booth on site where you can try it out. Ask questions that relate to what you are considering welding on, metal gauge, type of metal, voltage required, as to voltage available at you home/shop, contracts for gas bottle(s), type of gas required for different metals etc. These people are a wealth of information. Yes they are going to try and sell a welder, but that is their job. As a business, it's unlikely they will dump what ever, in your lap, while tightly gripping your hard earned money. They have a stake in this deal too, and don't want to pissed off a customer. Also, they have the replacement parts/service when you need it. Then make your choice when you've narrowed down the field, and found out what you need. If it's to costly, your going to have to make some new decisions. Best of luck.
I went to two years of tech school welding cl***es and I have a pretty degree to hang on my wall that says I know how to weld. And I will tell you this. A flux-core only MIG (wire feed) welder is about as effective as sticking two pieces of metal together with bubble gum. It could be made to work, but anyone who knows better won't even bother. And a 220V welder may be more versatile than a 110V powered one, but don't get the idea that it'll make you a better welder, or that a 110V unit won't get the job done. Metal preparation is everything when welding. The final weld has very little to do with the machine you're using and everything to do with the prep you do in advance. Properly prepped, with the correct grooves and gaps, you could weld any automobile ch***is with a 110 unit and be safe. And in the wrong hands, welds made with a 220V unit could crack and break just like any other. Preparation is more powerful than voltage.
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