welder

[custom cabby]

new to welding and would like to purchase a welder for everyday use. i wont be doing any heavy duty stuff but i wanted to get any advise from the experienced welders. so any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[dawg]

Miller...

 

[jcillch]

millermatic 130xp, great liteduty machine

 

[roddguy]

I'm a Lincoln fan. My welder of choice is thier 180C. It's a great all around welder, that is relatively compact but can do it all, and costs less than $1000. I've actually seen them now for less than $900 now, and that's Canadian by the way. I built my frame for my truck with one and as long as you V butt all the joints (which should be done anyway) you will get great results. It's also capable of being dialed down to do an excellent job of welding sheet metal. It does however require a 220 power outlet, so just plug it into your wifes dryer outlet.

 

[Bonehead]

You can't go wrong with a Miller, Linclon, or even a Hobart welder. Having a 220 powered unit would be a real plus. With a 110 unit you have restrictions to the metal thickness that the average hobby welder might need. We are probably talking MIG welding here as opposed to stick, and TIG. As Mig is much easier to work with and learn. If you go with MIG, plan on getting a bottle of mix gas to go with it. Flux core wire is not as clean, and straight gas is not quite as good as mix gas.

So the perfect welder for a car builder in my opinon, is a 220, name brand, wire feed, welder with mix gas. You may also want a good auto hood, as that helps the beginner welder learn much faster.

 

[Tripper]

Cyberweld!

Be sure to check out Cyberweld.com. They have pretty good prices on equipment. Don turned me on to this one!!! I actually wanted to buy mine locally but when their price was higher than Cyberweld's I told the local people I could buy it cheaper on-line & they came down on thier price. Sweet! Give it a try!!!

BoB

 

[Arkansawer]

If you wanna go cheap, harbor freight has Migs for $150-$200. But thats if you want to go cheap and dont want to do heavy welding. I was going to buy one to do the floors in my car, but then i figured my neighbor would probably do all the welding i need for that price. That and i dont have anywhere to store a welder.

 

[Blisters]

Hobart 140. Nice entry level MIG(110v). A little light for frame work but fine for body and bracketry work. I use a arc welder for big stuff. You can get them both at Tractor Supply. Look around for a 10% off coupon.

 

[custom cabby]

maybe i should give a bit more info for what i have and want.... i would want it to do frame work and other smaller jobs and have about $6-700 to play with. which i can put more towards but i thought starting out and teaching myself, that would (should) be enough???????

 

[donsrods]

We started out with a Hobart 135 and used that thing to death. I finally sold it to a local cop and last I heard he was still using it. But it had it's limitations, being a 110 volt model............mainly that we like to do frames. So we moved up to a Miller 210 Mig and again, this thing has been flawless beyond belief. Even a hack welder like me can get fair results, although I let my Kid do the important stuff.

I agree that if you stay with Miller, Lincoln, or Hobart you will be ok.

Don

 

[custom cabby]

what about a hobart 140?

 

[Willowbilly3]

If you are on a budget I would buy an ac/dc buzz box before I bought a cheap wire feed. There is just no way a medoicre wire feed (mig) welder can lay out as strong of welds as good old 7018.
I have all 3 here, a 110 wire feed on flux core, pretty much fo tacking stuff. I also have a 180 amp Lincoln ac in the garage and it works ok bit I fight slag pockets a lot. Then out in the shop is an Idealarc Lincoln 175 DC buzz box and it welds real nice. It also has a tig but I haven't got it all sorted out yet.
And I also weld a lot with my oxy/acetaline. Hammer welding is sort of a lost art and I like using it on sheet metal. If I only had one set up it would be the gas one for sure.

 

[Blisters]

I've had the 140 for about a year. I really like it but like I said it's only for lighter work. I paid $430 for the mig and $225 for my 235a arc welder. Between the two welders and my torches I'm good to go. Also the mid size bottle of gas filled cost me $175. Last refill was around 30.00.
But, if you are planning to do body work, and frame, and suspension work and you are buying one welder then make it a 220v mig. JMHO

 

[motorpsykler]

I have a Lincoln 175 HD (Home Depot). I'm a novice welder, but I am confident I have enough machine for frame work. I welded some 1/4" plate today at work and got good penetration on the middle heat setting (machine has 5 settings). Now I just need to get my skills up to the capability of my machine. By the way, it was $600. I got the Home Depot credit card and paid it off in 6 months so I didn't have to pay any interest, made it easier to get it past my wife!

 

[Willowbilly3]

I went to a county shop auction a couple months ago and there was 6 or 7 of those old 220 Lincoln ac/dc welders. With the leads they were going for $35 per. If I didn't have a welder at home I would have jumped all over a couple of those. I grew up with an ac 180 amp Hobart and built more cars and trailers than I can count with it.

 

[1931s/x]

i read only bits and pieces, if you can swing 220 in your work area go for a hobart handler 187 or 210. if you want the option of running a spoolgun on aluminum get the 210, if not get the 187. i paid 800 for my 210 when they first came out and it came with 100 bucks in accesories, not that i needed the stuff but hey, how can you beat it. it was also 10% off at TSC which beat the sales tax and then some. prices may have come down or who knows gone up. you can almost always find a deal on hobart stuff between cyberweld, northern or tsc. they are great machines made in the usa with great customer service and an excelent forum. cant go wron with lincoln miller or hobart, some of the lincolns are made overseas so definitely look into that if it matters to you. 9 times out of 10 the hobart will blow the other 2 away when it comes to price and perform every bit as good. miller and hobart also come right out of the same building indiana tool works or something. the small migs use a lot of the same parts between the 2. ther eis no one brand rules over th eothers, if that was the case only one would be in business. i like the compact hobart migs, miller for the inverter tig and lincoln for any big machines stick or mig.