I am looking to do lots of fabrication work, mostly body and exhaust... I am not sure what welder to buy. I am looking to spend as little as possible for a decent one. I want to weld some body panels (shaved handles, and antenna), fix my hatch lock, and redo my exhuast some cool custom way... That is all i see me using it for now. Home depot has the following lincoln electric, can you all let me know if the $220 machine is a good one, or the other one? I noticed the $220 welds 1/4" steel, the other welds 1/4". http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100031840 http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100039229

to do any real work, you will need to buy a welder that can use gas. Not a flux core only welder like the first one listed.

the second is convertible to gas use, but does not come with the regulator.

If you actually plan to use the welder, dont cheap out on one, you will just be disappointed and end up buying another.

86 TA is correct. you need a shield gas set up. i would look on www.craigslist.org for a used welding machine in your area. people buy them thinking they need one and use it once then realize it is not all that easy to do a good weld.

The best 110V mig welder on the market is the Millermatic 140. It is a very nice piece with infinitely adjustable controls and the most powerful you will be able to get from household current.

You definitely want gas capability as difficulty will be encountered if trying to weld thin gauges with flux core.

Avoid the off-brand welders as it may be difficult to get replacement parts such as contact tips and rollers. Any welding supply will have such items for Miller, Lincoln, or Hobart units.

There are several online welding vendors that offer discount prices. Alternately, pay a visit to your local welding supply. With welding supplies there is wiggle room on their posted equipment prices. Usually they will deal.

I've always preferred Miller myself, although I have a Lincoln 110 unit myself. I had a lot of trouble welding 3/16" stainless with it. That was pretty much the limits of the machine, although it advertises it will do 1/4" mild steel, or 5/16" w/flux core wire.

I work in a sheetmetal shop, and the older guys there prefer Miller's 110 units as well.

Of course if you can afford it, and you have a 220 line in your garage, get a unit that will do it all.

Most guys want to buy a welder, but they end up not being able to afford one, or don't have a 220, or even a good 110 hookup, or they find that welding is beyond them.

I can sympathize, money is extremely tight for me, but don't waste your money on a dirt cheap machine that won't really do what you want. You won't be happy in the long run.

Mathius

Ive got a Millermatic 250 and like it. Have the aluminum spool gun for it also.
pricy machine thow.

If I was you id get a lincolin Sp135+ (110machine) or a SP175(220) Either one will prob do anytihng you need.

Im actually looking to sell my Big Miller as i don't need anything this size anymore. and get a SP175 or SP135+ myself.

Get a miller It may be more money but its a very good investment and it will work 110% better than all the other machines and you could have welds that you could show to other people.

I have one of the Lincoln 135 machines. I forget the exact model, but it goes up to about 135 amps IIRC.

It works fine for anything up to 1/8" steel. After that you have to start playing with wire sizes, what kind of wire, do you have an extension cord hooked up? etc. etc. It becomes a hassle, and will still only go up to 1/4" according to the manufacturer's specs (5/16" with flux core).

He'd be happier with a bigger machine if he ever wants to do anything else and he can afford it, but yeah, a 135 will do sheet metal at least. I don't know if I'd recommend it for heavier stuff like subframe connectors.

Mathius

mathius,

I dono about you but Ive done pleanty of SFC's and roll cages with a little sp135 and an sp175 and both come out just fine with good penetration.

I am no pro by any strech of the word but I go the Lincoln Electric Weld Pack HD Feed Welder about 4 years ago and did a ful ground up build with it and had great results. I taught myself how to weld with it, using no gas and have never had a weld break or even crack or anything on my car. I installed lots of sheet metal in the floor and installed SFC as well as a full 6 point roll cage. I also made a full true dual set up for my car with bullet mufflers and had over 4.3" ground clearance using 3" pipes. It was super easy and the first time I had ever done anything like this. I get better and better every time I need to do something... I needed the welder for my car and thats about it. It was and is a huge project for me, but the $200 welder fit the bill for my 1 car garage.

If you just need a welder for this project and don't really work in a shop or are going to selling anything, so just on a small scale job I would recomend the Lincoln Electric Weld Pack HD Feed Welder . But thats just me and I am no pro.

SP175 is a different story. It's a bigger welder entirely. And my next question would be what size materials?

I'm not saying the 135 can't do 3/16" comfortably, but you're probably gonna have to bump up to the 0.30 wire, not the 0.25 that Lincoln provides with it, and an extension cord will cut down your power as well.

I tried to run 3/16" stainless, and had a hell of a time with it. Obviously stainless has to run at more amps. The extension cord I had to use (the guys I was contracted to do the work for wouldn't let me weld inside) killed some amperage, no doubt, and the 0.35 wire I used (I used what I had, 0.30 would have been 110 percent better) didn't want to burn. Also, the fact that I was running 100% argon didn't help either, I'm sure. The combination of those three things pretty much made the job nigh impossible. The reason I ran 100% argon, is that's all I bought, because I've always used 100% argon on everything, that way I don't have to buy a new bottle to run aluminum if I switch welders.

You can get by with that welder, but you really have to know what you're doing if you're going to run thicker stuff with it.

I still think he'd be happy with a bigger machine in the long run. If I could afford it, I'd buy one of those big @$$ multi-purpose welders that can TIG, MIG, or stick.

On a side note, completely unrelated to what he wants to do, but definitely weld related, at work, I recently saw a guy using a 110 rated stick welder. It was made by Thermal Arc, I believe, and he said he had to run 1/8" rod, but it runs pretty good for a little machine. Just thought I'd pass that along if anyone was looking for a small arc welder. It's a hell of a lot easier to take that thing to a job site, instead of having the truck drop off one of those big gas driven things.

Mathius

I like my passport allthough it is by no means cheap. A buddy of mine has a "Home Repo" Lincoln with shielding gas. It is a pretty decent machine. I've welded 3/16 with it and it did a pretty good job. The first roll of wire he bought with the machine was junk, once it was used up he got some decent wire and it did much better. If you go flux core, make sure you get self shield wire (Lincoln calls theirs Innershield) versus (Outershield) wire. Outershield wire allthough having a flux core is still intended to be used with a shielding gas.

.030 in the Sp135/175
Ive never ran stainless with a 135/175 Ive alway tig ss or aluminum.

<shrug> I can't afford a good TIG, and I don't have a hookup for a 220 anyways. House comes first, then I can get the big toys.

But like I said, I used what I had when I did that job. I was employed with the company at the time, and I volunteered to "try" and fix what was broken. They were paying me for my time, but I didn't get anything extra for supplies, so I used what I had onhand, which was 100% argon mix, and 0.35 wire. And of course they insisted on me doing it outside, so I had to use the extension cord.

If I were going to do it again, I'd find a way to talk them into letting me do it inside somehow in a controlled environment, maybe they'd just agree to a fire watch.

I'd have used 0.30 wire, instead of 0.35, and 75/25 mix.

I would never bother running aluminum with any MIG that didn't have a spool gun. Too much of a PITA to change the liner when you want to run aluminum. Unless you had an extra machine dedicated just to aluminum.

Mathius

Im sure that extension cord was hurting ya alot also. Unless it was a Big old heavy duty one like 00 wire.

I have a Corba Spool Gun with my miller. I agree I wouldnt run alum with a normal lead as you said pita to always change out the liners.