Hi there gang, Im wondering which welders are the best for all the fabricating you do with your cars. Which are the best? Size, style, make and model? Maybe post some pics of you in the action with your welder of choice! Thanks
Process or brand? My favorites are: L-TEC (now ESAB) MigMaster 250 with a 25' Tweeco #1 gun on it. 14 years plus of nearly constant usage without a hitch! Miller Sychrowave 250 with the TigRunner package. 7 years on it now with true blue faithfull service and last but not least, my Oxy/Acc rig. 20 years and all I have replaced are the cutting torch tips. Can't get through the week without all three. Since the Miller/Hobart merger it seems QC isn't what it used to be and I have never liked Lincoln MIGs, too much down time on the ones I have had.
Depends on you budget but- Hobart makes a dam fine mig welder 180amp for all round universal use. Very affordable [ usually around 450-500 bucks ]with regulator for gas. A good TIG welder is gonna set you back 1000.00 or more [ USED ] Stay away from stick welders, fine for frame fab, but not practical for body or light welds. I got a good deal on a Lincoln 250 mig a year ago for the muff shop and have had nothing but trouble with it since.FWIW
Mig - MM251 (Miller) TIG - Sycrowave 180SD , no runner kit, build your own cart & buy a quality aftermarket torch. Water cooling isn't necessary but if you do a lot of alum. Binzel BWC-3 cooler. Or Miller Dynasty 200SD if you can afford it. Oxy-acet. with a regular torch & cutting setup and the Meco Midget torch for gas welding alum. http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/forumdisplay.php?f=3
i have the same welders as Elpolacko. and think they are the best. with a tig you really need a 250 VS. a 180
Ain't that the truth, welding any aluminum thicker that 3/8" requires a lot of pre-heating even with a 250! I have welded thick aluminum DC Straight polarity but its ugly.
I'll second Muffman. I've got a factory refurb Hobart w/ gas 180amp, I payed $325 about 3 years ago, been a real good welder. That and a Oxy-acet torch and your set for just 'bout anything. -HL
FWIW : rebuilding torque converters we do a bit of welding at my work place. All mig welders are Miller. Yet i believe we only use Lincoln wire in the migs. It runs cleaner, smoother and fewer pin holes I told. We run 95/5 gas mix .... CO & oxygen for the production stuff All tig machines are Lincoln.
If you had to choose one to cover most fabrication, a nice mig would do it. I have and love my Miller MM210. Plenty of @ss to cover any steel fab you'd do building a rod. I've welded 3/8" regularly with it, with great penetration. They cost about $1200, I don't know of anybody that dislikes theirs
millers seem to be the best, I have had hobart and systemmatics also, they are fine, but miller seems to be just a little better than the rest
I like Miller too. I have a Millermatic 135 (MIG) for small fabrication at my house and i really like it. At work we have a giant Miller TIG machine (possibly a syncrowave 250? can't really remember the model name) and it's pretty nice too although i havent gotten to use it much. I would definitely go with Miller though.
Ok cool, so Im hearing Hobart, Lincoln and Miller as being the best 3 to go with. They all sound as if they're reasonably low maintenace, and not too pricey. Which ones have the longest history, available parts and support? Are there any brands I should stay far away from, even if its a steal of a price? Im obviously just starting out with the welding. Would you recommend taking a welding cl*** at the local community college? Thanks
Not sure what prices your talking about but Hobarts are avalible from Tractor Supply all day long for these prices. Also Orschlands farm stores have these at low prices. As far as TIGS go they are always in the cl***ifieds here at or near 1000.00-1200.00
I'm a Miller guy myself, but there are other decent machines. Hobart is Miller, just the lower line, not to degrade them though. Miller or Lincoln. I'd go over here and just sit & read the archives, there are a lot of pro everyday welders there. Any question you could ever come up with has been asked probably 100 times & answered, so don't be surprised if they don't answer if you ask the most common "which welder" question, everyone that goes there tries to ask it thinking they'll get the new up-to-the-minute answer. http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/forumdisplay.php?f=3 With that said, you absolutely should take a welding cl*** if you have one near and can afford it. You'll have to take a gas welding cl*** before anything else usually, although some let you drop right into a MIG cl*** since anything with opposable thumbs can be taught to run one. The best thing you could do (IMHO) is to take a Oxy/Acet. 101 , it sets you up for everything else, plus most colleges & trade schools won't let you take a TIG cl*** without O/A first. Good luck, it's a fine skill to have, you surely won't be wasting time or money.
I've got a Hobart Handler 140 Ive only had it for 6 month but seems to be a good little unit. Hobart is owned by miller so parts availibility shouldn't be a problem in the long haul. With cart it was $435, it runs on 110 so it is very portable. Down side is I'm limited on thickness I can weld, sales guy said it could weld frames if I preheated and made multiple p***es.
We use a miller 135 xlt and it covers bout all the bases. Praxair seems to have the at the cheapest prices around these parts.
I knew how to gas weld already when I got my sycrowave 180 TIG. For what I use it for - Frame or body panels it's almost perfect. I am a novice/ hobby welder and not a pro. If I had one complaint it would be that the duty cycle is a little low. I can weld for a good while but in heavy use the fan will kick on and I will have to give it a rest and wait for it to cool off. If you don't it will do an automatic shutoff and then your waiting a heck of alot longer to weld. I could have paid more and gotten the 250 but truth is... when the fan comes on it's time for a beer anyway. It will do aluminum and stainless but I haven't had a chance to try it on anything but steel. from 1/4 inch steel to thin sheet it's handy. The other benefit to TIG is you could do it in your suit before church on Sunday and not get dirty. No spitting molten metal..... just a bright light and a gentle hum sycrowave 180 Miller has lots of sources for books and courses to get you going welding here I couldn't find it but I this time around but I downloaded book from them on TIG and learned alot. It was in adobe acrobat. If I find it i'll edit my post.
My Lincoln 135 is a great welder. I only use it for light welds. I have about 600 in it with a cylinder and a cart.
for everything I do, which is build hot rods, and fix whatever brakes around here my Miller 210 with aluminum spool gun is the ****.
I recently sold my older Miller-Matic 35 and a newer Lincoln 110V mig...the Miller was OK but it's value was waning and I wanted something brand new...I bought a Miller 175 mig...welds thin material much better than the old 35....I've owned three 35's in the last 30 years...never had any trouble with 'em and I had a Lincoln 250...didn't own it long enuff to give me any trouble.
Yea, I bet thats the truth! What kind of hoods/goggles do you guys like? Goggles, black gl*** hoods, hoods that turn black when you weld and are clear when youre not, or the cheap way... close your eyes.(?) or others? Thanks for ALL the info so far, im going to print it all out
I have a 180 sd ...it work wonderfulyl but its not like the 250 sd i learned on...but it does just fine on mild steel a long as you know how to grind a tio and set up a michine the right way. I also have a miller 220 mig...works just fine but i hate the voltage switch...i would have rather gotten the 251 because it has a potentiometer rather than a switch for the voltage. i think that i can just rewire the 251 pot into the 220 switch and itll all be ok... im a miller man myself so i cant comment on anything else but i her good things about esab and lincoln...i guess its just like chevy and ford...you just have one brand you like.
Go to Quiimby Welding (www.****bycorp.com) and get some catalogs. The sales people are great about answering questions. First thing you need to know is what do you have for power in your shop. Most 135 migs run on standard plug 120 volt. A 175 or bigger is going to need 240 volts. If you want a good all around box, I second the Miller. I bought a 175 and love it. I really recommend spending the little extra to get a machine with infinately adjustable voltage rather than one with 4 -5 tap settings. It really makes a difference on sheet metal if you are a novice like me. I was able to take advantage of the big sale Qimby's had during the Rodster Show and walked out with a Miller 175 with cart, 80 cfm 95/5 tank of mix, 20#'s of wire, a pair of mig pliers, extra tips, a Miller 375 Plasma cutter and Sellstrm facesheld with #5 flip down visor like Gene Winfield was using at the hammer welding, lead filling, demo in Feb. at MHCC, all for under $2100. I also treated myself to an Optrel OSE dual range (3-9, 9-13) welding helmet. Best investment I've ever made. I can actually see what I'm welding on again. Go online to Clackamas Community College and sign up for, Street Rod Construction. "Bring your own project and get hands-on instrction in rust repair, body work, welding,painting and more." $295. I hope to enroll next term. Friend of mine totally redid his 53 Chev pickup. He said the instructors are great. He also said there were people there for their 4th or 5th time, who just needed the larger shop space, equipment and most importantly the state of the art paint booth.
As far as prices go ,around here (OMAHA) used are too cheap to buy new IMHO. Omaha paper yesterday was a lincoln Tig 250 with new torch and and extras for $800. 180 wire feeds are in the $450 to $600 price range.
I am on my 3rd 250 series miller welder. Started with a 250cl***ic, bought a 250x five years ago, traded my 250X to a friend, and bought a new 251 the same day. I am not sure why, but I think the 250x welded at a higher frequency, but they no longer make it so... I like my 251, and the spool gun does a good job on aluminum, not as good as tig, but fast and good looking welds anyway. I also have a 110 lincoln flux welder(like the ones at home depot), a Snap-On 110 mig/tig welder (100% duty cycle, got it on trade), another lincoln 110 with a bottle, a century 220 wleder with gas. Each welder has a place in the shop, the flux for ease of portability when I have to fix someting away from the shop, the lincoln with gas is setup with .023 wire for light sheetmetal work. The snap-on for the dc tig. The 220 century welder was setup in my old race trailer, with a 3/8 thermaldynamics plazma cutter, powered by a 12.5kw onan diesel generator for repairing the race truck. I sold my 44foot Featherlite trailer, but kept everything out of it.
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