Good welder for $300-400?

92Patrol5.0 · Jan 9, 2007

Hey all. I have about $300 in gift cards to Sears and I was wondering if there was a decent welder I could get from there in the $300-400 range? I'm new to welding and I'm just interested in kinda learning how to do it so that I can weld up simple things like exhaust pipes and stuff like that. I have done a little research and from what I gathered it's more difficult to start learning by using a stick welder than something like a mig welder. My dad just has a little mighty mite stick welder that he's always used for exhaust stuff, but he had some welding training before so he kinda knew what he was doing. If I get a welder, I'm just going to buy some scrap metal and practice on that so I can get it figured out. Anyway, just wondering what your thoughts/opinions are.

310stanger · Jan 9, 2007

no good welders are that cheap.

billison · Jan 9, 2007

pawn shops have good ones for about 150-200

carbed87 · Jan 9, 2007

throw another hun on there and get yourself a decent little lincoln electric FCAW mig welder

Foxfan88 · Jan 9, 2007

stick isnt a good idea for exhaust stuff. i mean it would work fine, it just has a lower deposition rate and creates slag and u must clean it alot.

a nice mig works better very high deposition rate. no cleaning and easy to learn.

u could grab a nice body shop mig for cheap. we have a millermatic machine my dad used to use in his body shop. i just welded my SFCs in last weekend with it and its small enough to move around easily.

if exhaust is all your really interested in, i would get a mig.

hopefully someday i will buy a nice little lincoln tig machine, for like 1500, so i can do my own complicated fabricating more easily

niklid05 · Jan 9, 2007

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...=00920667000&vertical=TOOL&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Shakerhood · Jan 10, 2007

I would check and see if Sears carries a Hobart.

MikeC · Jan 10, 2007

Start with the Lincoln Weld Pac 100 wire feed welder for $350 from Sears. Then later add the gas regulator for about $80 to full MIG. That's what I did (not from Sears though). It welds anything from subframe connectors to sheetmetal to trailor hitches to exhaust. One of the best things I've ever bought. I've had it for 5-6 years with absolutly not problems and it runs on 110 volt. Just make sure whatever you buy is capable of full MIG with the gas. TIG would be neat but it's much less usefull around the house. Don't even bother with a stick welder.

carbed87 · Jan 10, 2007

Shakerhood said:
I would check and see if Sears carries a Hobart.

lol, i wouldn't

TC93 · Jan 10, 2007

I bought a craftsman. Got my craftsmen cardmember sale paper in, and saw a welder listed $299. Read the item details but didn't match the picture listed. So I went to the store to check it out, and sure enough it was wrong. Plus the same part number in the store was $399. Show-ed the manger the ad, but she said, they don't match the craftsman card ad, since it does majority of on-line.

So I went home called and bought it only to go and pick it up at my local sears..LOL Here's the one I got.. Craftsman MIG Welder with Cart

So far can't complain, it's been a dang good welder for what I wanted. I bought it mainly to do my 84 engine bay and just to have... With getting it for $299 plus regulator valve and tank I have about $450-475 invested..

92Patrol5.0 · Jan 11, 2007

The one that Myke is referring to is the one that I was basically looking at. It seems like it would do ok for what I'd be using it for, plus it can convert to a MIG also. Whats the advantage/disadvantage to welding with the self-shielding flux-core wire? Is it easier to weld with? Not as strong as doing a MIG weld? I'm new to the welding game so I know nothing about this stuff.

TC93 · Jan 11, 2007

92Patrol5.0 said:
The one that Myke is referring to is the one that I was basically looking at. It seems like it would do ok for what I'd be using it for, plus it can convert to a MIG also. Whats the advantage/disadvantage to welding with the self-shielding flux-core wire? Is it easier to weld with? Not as strong as doing a MIG weld? I'm new to the welding game so I know nothing about this stuff.

The gas is suppose to keep splatter down and help with impurities in the weld by sheilding the weld with the gas from what I was told. Doubt its any stronger unless you have trash get into the weld.

carbed87 · Jan 11, 2007

Myke86GT said:
The gas is suppose to keep splatter down and help with impurities in the weld by sheilding the weld with the gas from what I was told. Doubt its any stronger unless you have trash get into the weld.

thats right, GMAW mig is not only cleaner, but also less prone to being ****ed up by dirt and ****. one bad side about GMAW is that when welding in the field, a slight breeze is enough to cause porosity and trash your weld (porosity (sp?) is what happens when the weld is no longer sheilded from the atmosphere)

FCAW also has it perks too though, the biggest one being that you dont have to lug around/rent a bottle of your favorite inert gas. not onlly that, but since the flux on the outside of the wire shields your weld from the atmosphere with fcaw, wind wont do a damn thing! as far as being stronger though, theres a few things to think about, mostly, the fact theat theres a few different types of transfer to use when depositing filler metal. but honestly, i'd take GMAW over FCAW any day lol.

GearHd6 · Jan 11, 2007

I'd say look at some Miller mig welders. You can get a good one for about $1000. You dont want to go to big because some of the bigger models have a hard time welding sheetmetal if you ever get into doing bodywork. We've got an older Millermatic 150 which works great for just about everything. You can weld real thin sheetmetal and you can crank up the heat and weld some pretty think steel also. I dont recommend fluxcore mig welding, it doesnt give you the best result, it'll do the job but later on you'll wish you went with gas. We run Argon, C02 mix and that welds real nice. This is just my honest opinion, do with it what you may.

These are pretty nice and not to expensive as far as a good welder goes.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_140/ This one works off 120V house current

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_180/ This one works off 230V current

carbed87 · Jan 11, 2007

exactly what gearHD6 said. im a big fan of miller, and also run a 75/25 mic of argon and Co2

Foxfan88 · Jan 11, 2007

Myke86GT said:
The gas is suppose to keep splatter down and help with impurities in the weld by sheilding the weld with the gas from what I was told. Doubt its any stronger unless you have trash get into the weld.

mig or GMAW has a solid metal wire only, and u MUST have cover gas which is usually 75%argon/25%co2 to displace oxygen in the air to keep from burning the weld metal.

with flux cored or FCAW, its the same process but there is flux in the wire which burns as you weld. which protects and floats to the top, creating slag, very similiar to SMAW (stick) welding. but the slag on FCAW pretty much falls off, doesnt cling to to weld like it does with stick. with a flux cored setup, the flux wire itself will work good. but u can also use cover gas for double the protection if one would like.

Foxfan88 · Jan 11, 2007

GearHd6 said:
I'd say look at some Miller mig welders. You can get a good one for about $1000. You dont want to go to big because some of the bigger models have a hard time welding sheetmetal if you ever get into doing bodywork. We've got an older Millermatic 150 which works great for just about everything. You can weld real thin sheetmetal and you can crank up the heat and weld some pretty think steel also. I dont recommend fluxcore mig welding, it doesnt give you the best result, it'll do the job but later on you'll wish you went with gas. We run Argon, C02 mix and that welds real nice. This is just my honest opinion, do with it what you may.

These are pretty nice and not to expensive as far as a good welder goes.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_140/ This one works off 120V house current

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_180/ This one works off 230V current

yes, we have the millermatic 140 and its a great rig, small and not to bulky and u can move it around easily. and runs of 120V which means u can take it anywhere.

millhouse · Jan 12, 2007

I'd look into a decent Hobart machine myself. They use the same feed mechanism and most of the internals as the Millers…and the gun is the same as well. Their prices are typically quite a bit better…and the controls are far easier for the novice welder. Do some reading over on http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/ before you make your decision. They are fairly unbiased for being a hobart site…and are full of knowledgeable people.

Good welder for $300-400?

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