First time welder advise

[35Mastr]

Then you should get yourself a good one and go from there.You will always need a bigger one as you progress.Unless you have unlimited funds to keep upgrading them then get what you want.But it will be a costly learning mistake.Its your money and it sounds like no matter what advice that you have been given. You dont sound like you are going to absorb much of it.

I can just about guarantee you that if you spend your money on a little welder that you will attempt to weld on stuff that you should not.It will not penatrate the steel.

You will also regret buying it as you learn.Learning this art is not rocket science.And can be learned very quickly.

I have seen this happen quite a few times.Guys buying cheap stuff just because they dont want to spend the money up front and get stuck with a use less piece of machinery that they cant use for the job that they need to do.

 

[hillbilly4008]

just to clarify, i am not expecting to jump right into welding on my frame. i just stated that is what i want to do after i learn how to do it correctly. im sure everyone starts somewhere and with something... it just so happens i have yet to do that and want to.

I was just speaking in general, i hope that you didnt take offense to what i said. Nothing personal was intended.

 

[custom cabby]

hillbilly... no offense taken, just didnt want to have anyone thinking i was planning on jumping into it.

35.. with all due respect, i am absorbing the advise ive been given. but i am wanting to make sure and learn the pro's and con's of others and if certain others will be similar to fit my needs.

and let me add one thing... unlike some others that may have a nice flow of money to do just about anything their desire leads them, thats not me! i have a family of 5 boys and VERY limited to what money i have to support my hobby. so with that being said, if it is possible to spend a little less money by shopping around then that has to be what i need to do. i understand that what i "want to do" and "what i have means to" are two seperate things. so i dont want you guys to think im not listening to your advise. if that were the case then i would not have posted this question.

i dunno... maybe i shouldnt consider getting a welder. dont have the amount of money to get what i want to do what i want. this might be one of those "sign" things..... "HERE'S YOUR SIGN!"

 

[Bonehead]

Okay, the cheap way into it is a cracker box arc welder, used about $100 bucks. They are hard to beat, super strong welds, versitile, and a basic starter for getting into welding. I started with one years ago (Lincoln) before I went on to a portable arc.

Now the bad news, harder to learn with, more clean up after you weld.

There is more to metal work than just welding. You have to have a way to cut material too. Maybe a chop saw, or a torch. I used to build everything with just a welder, and a torch. Now I probably have 20 different ways to cut metal in my shop.

Welding stick is not a bad thing. If you want to build "old school" thats is how it is done.

 

[Bonehead]

Real old school would be torch welded. but a torch set up costs more than a cracker box welder.

anyway, here is a good one. I have owned two of these, over the years. find one locally because they are heavy to ship.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lincoln-Electri...14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

 

[custom cabby]

thanks bonehead.... what can you tell me about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Century-Lincoln...temZ110268352204QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Welders

 

[Bonehead]

Kind of a light duty machine, the old style like I showed you is a more heavy duty machine, and they come up in the paper pretty regularly. The really old ones were copper wound machines. The kind with the round crank on the front is the really old ones. They were good but getting old like me now.

 

[custom cabby]

thanks bonehead. on my way back home from columbus today, i stopped by one of the local pawn shops just to see if they would have something i was looking for. well, they had the exact same arc welder that you pointed out and out of curiosity i asked what the price was on it. you could tell by the sticker on it that it had been sitting there for quite a while and still.... $200.00. i thought for sure with the age of it, use of it and with how long it had sat there, that he would work a little on the price. nope! he wouldnt even extend a 24 hr warranty on it to make sure it would hold up. needless to say, i left without even saying thanks.

 

[35Mastr]

Here is a pretty good deal.I dont know if it is in your store,But I have used the online part numbers and had them deliverd to the store or to the house.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100395926

Also keep checking here under the tools.Something that you are looking for is going to surface soon.

http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/oh

 

[Bonehead]

Lets talk arc welding for a minute. Arc or stick welding burns a flux covered welding rod. It is a great way to build a frame, but is a little lacking when it comes to sheet metal. That is where a mig welder shines. Not to say that you can't weld sheet metal with an arc welder, because you can. But it takes practice.

As far as the machine I pointed out to you, keep looking, I have seen them from $80- 150 bucks used with 100 dollar bill buying most of them. Again the good news is the used price does not change much. If it doesnt work out you can get your money back out of it.

 

[custom cabby]

35... tried that link and its not showing anything.

 

[custom cabby]

"M A R K O!!" where's POLO???? okay, who snagged that lincoln 175 that i posted a link off of debay? thats hilarious! went back this afternoon to jump on the buy it now price and guess what? i wasnt the first one! so, which one of you guys just bought yourself a one way ticket to my house for the delivery of my new welder???? oh, its okay, i will give you your money, but it would be only fair to pay for your own gas... since you offered and all. lol!!!

 

[35Mastr]

35... tried that link and its not showing anything.

Fixed it.

 

[custom cabby]

whats the difference between the Lincoln 180 and the Lincoln 180 HD?

 

[mrbob]

Welder

I have a Linclon 140c mig welder gave $700 for it new. That welder will weld on frame an do light welding also an its only a 110 welder. Its approved by the NSRA . I like it. Looking into that one. I welded my box plates to the frame it did a good job. Looks strong to me.

 

[willz2155]

i cant give you much advice on welding because i have only been at it for about a week so im still a hack at it, but i do have some advice on where to look for one. i spent about two weeks checking the tools and the farm+garden sections craigslist, and i was able to pick up a year and a half old 220v mig welder with a cart, tank of gas, and spools of wire for 300 bucks. being in the military it was easy for me to swing by the barracks to check out craigslist every few hours, but if your able to check it two or three times a day you can usually be the first person to pounce on something when its posted.

 

[35Mastr]

From what I can see.The 180 is the older model and the Hd is the newer model.

 

[Bonehead]

I am not sure what the difference is but I can tell you that the box store units are sometimes built a little different than the welding supply store units. Usually they have some number change on the decals as well.

 

[jcillch]

come on guys, just save some cake and search craigslist. I found the holy grail of mig machines yesterday the OLD millermatic 200. handsdown the best wirefed machine EVER built for FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS. If I didn't allready own one I would have snapped it up. It is stiil available goto sarasota craigslist search. welder. $400.00 crazy

 

[custom cabby]

well, let me think about this.... if i lived anywheres close to you i would jump on it. but here in Ohio, they arent as readily available as of yet. ive been jumping on there about 4 times a day hoping to find a cool deal. but they just arent popping up here like i have heard they are everywhere else. but i will keep at it... something is bound to pop up sooner or later.