New welder qustion too...

I did search most of the day,looking at welders.Yeah i would LOVE to have a nice high dollar one but it aint in da budget.I did find one I think I might buy...Its a Clark 130EN Gas/no gas model.I checked a few reviews and it seems like a pretty good one.I am only doing body work and other light welding so it kinda fit into my budget.If I do need any heavy welding done,we have a brand new welder at work so I have that part covered.Let me know what ya all think...

At least spring for a gas bottle and regulator. Flux-core wire sucks for welding anything and it looks like poo. You will be much better off spending a few extra bucks...

I totally agree, look into a 110v miller for bang for the buck. Also remember buy the time you chip the flux off you'll likely have more warps than with a gas welder. Save your money and don't just buy price.
Wire is cheaper at tractor supply and also gas. If you buy a cheap welder you'll save up front but lose when it comes time to really weld your job. You can get a great deal online or check with several local sources and don't be afraid to haggle prices with them and also your local welding supplier may have some trade ins. I however would be careful on ebay as I sold a machine for more that my local dealer gave me on a trade in.
Finally try a buddy's machine or one at a dealer if you still want to go gasless.
The difference between the two is astounding.

Listen to Gary and Blue Eye. I own the Clarke 130 in question and use it with flux core. It sucks...well, the machine works fine for what I've done with it, but it's just not what a guy should have to do any serious job the RIGHT way. I have not done any body work with it.

I was a certified AWS welder and can manage to put out a reasonable weld with the little thing on light material, but any real welding should be done with a larger/better machine and most certainly USE GAS!!!

I picked a Carke 130 up used (barely) and cheap. Works as well as I expected it to. I wouldn't think of doing anything besides body work with it. And as the others said, you'll need the gas set up for it to really be usable. Otherwise you'll probably waste a lot of time and $ grinding.

Moronthethottle - you're telling him to "GO GAS!", but you're not using gas yourself? Just curious!

Sam_Fear said:

Moronthethottle - you're telling him to "GO GAS!", but you're not using gas yourself? Just curious!

Click to expand...

It's because I'm not using gas that I know he should use it. I also have a 220v Miller, well actually it's my father-in-laws but it's in my shop, that I can use for serious stuff.

Oppssss.

Yeah,the Clark is a GAS ONLY welder...and we know what that means.It will only operate on gas.I am too familiar welding with gas so this is why I chose this model.Hence the price was cheaper then the NO gas welders.Like I said..I am only using it to do mild welding...we have a new Miller at work if and when i need to do the heavy stuff.

welder

I've got the Clarke 130 had it for 5 years and it does work with or without
gas. For light metal I use 28 gauge wire and gas ,get the bigger bottle you
save money in the long run. and if you are going to do a lot of welding get
the 12lb roll of wire.Good luck with the project.










all rust no paint it's a ratrod

I have a Hobart Handler 140 i picked up just to do body work with. Its a great little welder, pretty versatile too. The price was right around $400 if i remember correctly. If you dont have a local welding store they sell these at TSC.

Its too much of a hassle setting my big welders up to do 20ga.

ok guys and gals, this being a welding section I have a question about a welder I am concidering buying next week. I need some opinions from you welder folks.

What is your opinions of a Miller Shopmaster 300AC/DC with a Miller S-22A wire feeder?? Would this be a good home shop welder or would I be wasting my money in this purchase? Single phase/230volts.

Right now I have a Hobart 135 Handler I use for all my welding needs but want to upgrade. I can get the Shopmaster300 for $800 plus my Hobart 135. Deal or no deal?

Thanks in advance.

I've got a Lincoln weld pak 100 (110V) love it. I personally find no fault with flux, but true that using gas is cleaner. Mine can be upgraded to use gas and probably will down the road. Home Depot has some good deals on the Lincolns, get one that can be upgraded for gas. IMO money well spent.

I have a Lincoln ProMig140 w/ gas. The quality of the Mig weld is much, much better than the flux core - spent an extra 100 clams to get the gas capability (well worth it!!!). I have read comparisons between the Miller and Lincoln 110V and from what I have read, the Lincoln 110V welders are built better w/ better components, wiring, assembly, etc... Anybody care to comment on that???

Not sure about the 220V - seem to think the quality of the Miller welders are better on the high end. Again, I have never owned a Miller - any comments??

I understand the 220V will improve your welding quality just because they are manufactured with better components overall - hence better electronics and therefore better weld..... I really want to step up to a 220V, but may get a Tig to pick up the stick capability.

After asking alot of folks (welders) I did go ahead and purchase the Shopmaster300. Most I talked with said it was a great deal and would be the last welder I would even need to buy. It has stick, mig and tig capibilities so we will see how it goes from here.
Here's a couple of pics of it.

Looks like a great deal ratcrazy. They were right, you shouldn't ever need another welder.

49-I usually used Miller 302 (460V) welders at work, but preferred a super old Lincoln that we had. My Father in law has a Miller 220V that I use occaisionally, it does a nice job. I do believe Lincoln is pretty much top of the line though....no proof to back that up, only heresay from pro-welders.

i would go with a miller , hobart or lincoln ..reason is clarke is a italian machine i believe . i doubt the local welding supply will have consumables(tips,liners,nozzles) for it ..also when it comes time to set up to a bigger machine the re-sell value of these machine are basically there weight in scrap. save some coin and hit craigslist ..you can hunt down an american made machine for cheap .

I run a Lincoln 110V and actually like using Flux Core, sure the welds are not as pretty but I'm able to weld thicker material than when running MIG. For thin stuff I do use MIG but I need more practice at it since it welds differently than with Flux Core filler.

Over and out,

Sid

This was done with a 110 Lincoln with .025 wire and mix gas.

A Lesson Learned

quote]I used a Hobart 135 Handler with gas (75/25) and haven't had any problems in welding about anything I want to, sheet metal to frame. [end quote.

I am posting these comments so someone else will not make the same mistake I made and place their life or someone elses life in danger.

The above comment was one I made on another board before I found some BIG problems in my welding skills/knowledge yesterday when I started back working on my frame. By no means or stretch on the imagination would any one in their right mind call me or mistake me for a welder but I can stick things together and most of the time they stay stuck...BUT.........

The frame has been setting in the back of the garage for the last 2 month with very little to no attention while I worked on other projects. Yesterday after dragging the frame back out to start on it once more I made a major discovery that has me second guessing my welding knowledge which is very little.

Even though I had beveled all the edges at a good 45 degrees, welded the frame on the highest settings the Hobart 135 has with 75/25 set at 25psi, .023 wire (which was my first mistake, wrong size I am told, should have been at least .030 wire) I find it wasnt hot enough to burn in properly and here the results of it. I found cracks in every welder joint. Along with poor burn in I make a serious mistake by grinding the welds to have that smooth look when all I did was grind out any weld that might have been holding the frame together.

When grinding out the old welds, the deeper I got into the joint, it looks as if the weld was just setting on top of the metal and not burnt in at all I am guessing its because the settings on the 135 wasnt high enough amperage.

Heres a photo of the cracked weld joint and one after I ground out all the old weld and rewelded it with the Shopmaster 300 on a 220 amps setting, .030 wire and 25psi on gas. I checked it again this morning and I dont see any cracks yet so hopefully I have repaired what could have been a major health hazard.

If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate the input and I am sure there are others new welders that would like to hear about this also before they make the same mistake.

Thanks.

We have covered this topic on another thread, and pretty much agreed that frame should be welded with a 220 unit. The 110 units are fine for sheet metal and small parts, but for frames you got ta have More Power. (tim allen grunt).

The best way to find out what you have is take two pieces of flat steel and weld them together on one side, just the way you are going to weld up your frame. Then when you are all done, exactly how you plan to do it on your frame, bend it backwards against the weld. If you can bend it backward into a U shape. you did it right. If you break it, do something different. If you will be welding verticals, then test it with verticals: flats with flats, and use the same thickness as your frame.

Ratcrazy said:

What is your opinions of a Miller Shopmaster 300AC/DC with a Miller S-22A wire feeder?? Would this be a good home shop welder or would I be wasting my money in this purchase? Single phase/230volts.

Right now I have a Hobart 135 Handler I use for all my welding needs but want to upgrade. I can get the Shopmaster300 for $800 plus my Hobart 135. Deal or no deal?
Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

You would be crazy not to go for this deal. Miller makes fantastic welders. I've had mine for over 15 years and it has never let me down. I wouldn't buy any other brand of welder.
The Shopmaster300 retails at over $3500 and the 22A at $1100 so a used Hobart and $800? I'd gladly trade my Miller in for that kind of upgrade. Do the deal before this guy realizes the he's getting the short end of the stick.