Welders, the definitive thread....

[super56]

I know that some people are die hard lincoln welder guys or hobart or whatever. I am an amature welder. I do have some experience welding pipe together. I have used a stick welder to fix my heatshields on a truck I had. Not really done anything structural. I have also played with wirefeed welders. I need to know (from those who know) if I can get away with a cheaper welder. Im not going to buy the crap from Harbor Junk!

I have been looking at a Thermal Arc welder. Please tell me what you think and why.

http://www.thermadyne.com/thermalarc/

Thanks[cl

 

[NewIronRats]

I cant say either way because all I have are Lincolin products but I will say that you get what you pay for.Bottom line is the more you pay the better you equipment will be.[P[

 

[Bonehead]

My first welder was a crackerbox Lincoln, in 1975 or so. With stuff I built with that welder, I bought a Miller Big 20 portable and went to work in the oil field. Over the years, I have had and used hundreds of welders.
Now my shop is full of Lincoln welders. I still have a lot of respect for Miller too.

But I have said it before, and I'll say it again.
The hot rod hobbiest, should be looking for a 220, name brand, wire feed, with mix gas.
the only option now is wire size.

 

[RAT IHC]

My best friend's neighbor has a "no name" mig welder. He swears by it, but I never have seen him weld with it until yesterday. He was consistantly struggling with the wire feed and made it sound like every welder has those problems.

I have a Lincoln welder and I can tell you that the only time I even look at the wire feed is when I'm changing to a new roll or different size. Save yourself some time and headace...buy a name brand 220v welder like Bonehead said.

I recommend Lincoln...I've used many and always come back to Lincoln.

-Troy

 

[jakas66]

I weld for a living. Our shop uses Millers. I personally own 2 Millers and have had no problems. I have used Lincolns, Hobarts, and ESAB wire feeds in the past. All GOOD machines will get the job done. Best advice I can give is decide what kind of welding you will be doing most often, do your research, and buy the one that best fits your needs.

 

[super56]

http://thermadyne.com/IM_Uploads/Do...letin Canadian Version (84-2902F)_Nov2010.pdf

This is the one im looking at....
Anyone comment on this?

 

[Old Iron]

No, No, No, It'll be fine for body work but isn't big enough for frame work.
super56, I'd rather buy a used 220 name brand machine than to invest in a machine that is not big enough, you asked
You can always turn a big machine down but, you can't turn a small machine up when needed

 

[Dirtyrat]

I have a millermatic 135 that I bought a couple years ago, it does everything I ask of it, has fine enough adjustment to do sheet metal and all the way up to 1/4", and thicker with multipass.

Its light enough to be portable, and its 110V, and I don't think I would ever go larger for a mig, just because the thicknesses we typically weld are 1/4" and under.

 

[super56]

Ill probably(...) never do frame work. Was looking for body/floorboard duty.

 

[Bonehead]

Sure, but what if you want to? Besides, it will be the buddy down the street that needs a quick fix on a frame.

 

[1st Timer]

I may have said this before but I do weld for a living and in the shops at work I use Miller and Lincoln. Both of these machines are absolute first class machines. In my shop at home I have a Linde 250 mig as well as a Thermal Arc Fabricator 210. The Linde is right up there in terms of quality with the Lincoln or Miller. The Thermal Arc is a very good welder as well but the weld quality and wire feed are not as smooth as the others. But with that being said there is nothing wrong with the Thermal Arc for home use. It will weld everything you need to do from frames to bodywork. For the person looking for a decent quality welder on a budget I would recommend the Thermal Arc as a good buy. Just my two cents hope it helps.

 

[no1mover]

welder

I am a hobby welder at best. I started with a Millermatic 135 and learned a lot on that machine. It suited all my needs fine, including a field fix on a broken front spring hanger that was on a dd / trail buggy, the temp. field fix was still strong after two more owners after I sold it. I upgraded to a bigger Miller and sold the little one, which I still wish I had because of its portability. I would consider the availability and cost of consumables as well. But you can't go wrong a name brand, resale is much better if you upgrade later. I sold mine for about 80% of new cost when it was 5 years old!

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

I have a buddy that has a miller 180 he bought almost 20 years ago and he has used the hell outta that thing and only ever had to replace the gun he swears by miller and that is the welder I want to get so I can start doing the frame welding on my own as I have a small welder right now


But yeah like alot of these guys have said go with a 220 volt machine you will be alot happier in the long run and stay away from cheapy no name stuff

 

[sgtpontiac]

Yeah, if the writing looks like this...

And the translation is "Welder".......don't buy it...