What kind of welder do I need?

Cheap isn't good and good isn't cheap.

Do a search for this first as there has been MUCH posted on the subject.

I'll refrain from giving any other info until you read the search and ask questions from there.

Hobart handler 180.

Use the gas, flux core sucks.

Hobart, Miller or Lincoln is what I'd look at if buying new. Buying used is sort of a hodge podge deal. Hobart is owned by Miller IIRC and is considered a step down, but still a damn fine welder.

You do want a wire welder with gas. You can still run flux core through it, but gas with solid wire is so much nicer.

The problem with buying a $200 wire welder is, you'll get to where you really like welding, you'll fine yourself welding up all kinds of stuff, and you'll get pretty decent at it and you'll find the $200 welder is a piece of crap.

I can't see how people live without owning a welder. I've fixed enough stuff to probably save me $1000. I tend to use it once every couple of months at least, and that's just for around the house stuff, not even hobby stuff.

You need a minimum of 130amp 120v welder. Later, you'll wished you'd bought a 185+amp 230v welder (I know I do).

One suggestion is to go in together on a welder with a buddy, this is what I did. We bought a Miller 130 at the Street Rod Nationals when it came to town about 8 years ago. We've been thru about 5 of the 3' tall bottles and typically use .030" and .023" solid wire with it. We only go to the flux core when we run out of gas and need to finish something up. The welder with the gas kit was $600 and to sign up for the bottle rental was a one time $80 fee including the bottle and gas. It cost about $30 everytime to swap out bottles. We use a 75%argon/25%C02 mix. We usually are welding in the garage, so we don't have to worry about wind blowing away the shielding gas.

It lives at his house for a while until I need it, then it stays at my place until he needs it and it goes back. Works okay for us.

1320stang said:

Hobart, Miller or Lincoln is what I'd look at if buying new. Buying used is sort of a hodge podge deal. Hobart is owned by Miller IIRC and is considered a step down, but still a damn fine welder.

You do want a wire welder with gas. You can still run flux core through it, but gas with solid wire is so much nicer.

The problem with buying a $200 wire welder is, you'll get to where you really like welding, you'll fine yourself welding up all kinds of stuff, and you'll get pretty decent at it and you'll find the $200 welder is a piece of crap.

I can't see how people live without owning a welder. I've fixed enough stuff to probably save me $1000. I tend to use it once every couple of months at least, and that's just for around the house stuff, not even hobby stuff.

You need a minimum of 130amp 120v welder. Later, you'll wished you'd bought a 185+amp 230v welder (I know I do).

One suggestion is to go in together on a welder with a buddy, this is what I did. We bought a Miller 130 at the Street Rod Nationals when it came to town about 8 years ago. We've been thru about 5 of the 3' tall bottles and typically use .030" and .023" solid wire with it. We only go to the flux core when we run out of gas and need to finish something up. The welder with the gas kit was $600 and to sign up for the bottle rental was a one time $80 fee including the bottle and gas. It cost about $30 everytime to swap out bottles. We use a 75%argon/25%C02 mix. We usually are welding in the garage, so we don't have to worry about wind blowing away the shielding gas.

It lives at his house for a while until I need it, then it stays at my place until he needs it and it goes back. Works okay for us.

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Best information I've seen on welding advise ever in the forums! THX!!!

I've got a small Lincoln MIG that runs on 110. It does anything I've wanted to weld. It started off as a non-gas welder but it didn't take long before I bought the gas outfit and was well worth the extra money. I also have a Lincoln stick welder that I had already and keep it around just in case I need to weld something very heavy. I haven't used it since I got the MIG. If I had it to do over again I would probably go with a higher voltage welder but I'd probably never use the full potential of it.

geostang351 said:

Best information I've seen on welding advise ever in the forums! THX!!!

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Well, thanks, but that's really a nutshell of advice. I really think a welder is something you can't afford not to own. I've fixed mowers, barstools, heck, the other night I fixed my LazyBoy love seat with the recliners on each end. Sheetmetal bracket cracked at the bend, the other side was arc welded from the factory....hmmmm..... Either I would have been forced not to use it or tossed it.

1320stang said:

Well, thanks, but that's really a nutshell of advice. I really think a welder is something you can't afford not to own. I've fixed mowers, barstools, heck, the other night I fixed my LazyBoy love seat with the recliners on each end. Sheetmetal bracket cracked at the bend, the other side was arc welded from the factory....hmmmm..... Either I would have been forced not to use it or tossed it.

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Nut shell or not, a true MIG is in the future.

I have a flex fed and it does OK. Nothing to compare it to, just you guys talking about it. The flux seems I guess a little dirty wth lots of popping and slag (little "hot balls" ). I can only imagine at this point what the gas welders are like. Just seem so....$$$$$$.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and pony up for the gas option!


I went way to long with flux core before I switched mine over to gas.

I knew I could lay alot prettier beads than I was getting out of the flux core

If money is a problem, look in pawn shops. I work at the local EZPAWN (suprisingly good pay) and we always get welders in. I have my eye on a nice MIG setup that will be "dropped" soon. Better yet WORK at a pawn shop, I get 50% of anything in the store.

Tyler

Now that's a GREAT idea! I'll hit that and give it a try.

danny clemens said:

I've got a small Lincoln MIG that runs on 110. It does anything I've wanted to weld. It started off as a non-gas welder but it didn't take long before I bought the gas outfit and was well worth the extra money.

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LOL. That's pretty much my story. Got the Lincoln 110 flux core. I couldn't weld worth crap with it. Went out and got the mig kit and I was doing nice welds in half an hour (did a couple test welds on scraps then went straight to my floor pan).

I will add that although it's not an absolute requirement, and auto darkening helmet is a REALLY nice accessory to have.

I think a welder is one of those thing where, at first, you debate whether or not you really need it and will actually use it. But once you get one, you find so many uses for it you swear you'll never be without one again.

-Chelle

I'm still a newbie at welding. No experience at all, just an understanding of the welding materials together. I bought a used MIG Lincoln SP100, with a gas tank. I've welded up a front end dolly for my project 69 fastback, and I'm currently working on a rotisserie for my 70 cuda project. A 110vAC MIG welder with gas is a excellent starter welder. Along with a good welder, you will need a good mask and gloves. If I was to purchase a new welder, my first choice would be the Miller 135, followed by the Lincoln.

i've done some welding but i've decided not to weld in my front and rear suspension systems from martz chassis. i think this kind of stuff is best left to a true professional, even though i do have some welding experience. i have found a lot of use out of a 110 machine, but i do wish i had one that ran on 220 as well. although, you kind of need both because you cannot weld sheet metal with a 220.

matt

There's nothing on a car that you can't fix with a 110 powered welder. My Hobart will weld up to 1/4 inch thick steel. That's very thick, heavy metal. You can also make multiple passes on extremely thick parts.

I don't know what you guys have laying around the house that's built of such thick metal, and that breaks - ever. Anyway...

My philosophy is that I skimp and buy inexpensive/used etc. on anything other than tools. Tools I will always spend the money to get good quality. It's just not worth the frustration and poor results that you get with using a cheap tool.

Well, my partner on my welder cut his '85 Ramcharger frame in half under the front seats. It was a half ton 4x4 with a 360/727 combo. He bought a '92 Cummins 3/4 ton longbed 4x4 single cab pickup for $3500 and cut it in the same spot. He said the frames were exactly the same from where he cut it forward, but the 3/4 ton frame was about 1/10 of an inch thicker. He welded his old 1/2 ton front end in the pickup and swapped rear suspensions including the rear brackets. When he put the two frames together, he also fishplated the frame inside and out with 1/4" plates that were about 16x6, he also put two 1/2" dia. bolts on a diagonal on each end of the plate. He sold the pickup for $1250. He bolted the 3/4 ton rear into his truck and rolled the 3/4 ton front clip back under his truck and welded it in much the same way he did the pickup.

He doesn't go out rock climbing or mudding in it so I really have no problem with it. But if I were putting in a mild steel roll bar or roll cage into my Mustang, because the track required it due to the speeds I was running, one, I wouldn't be putting it in myself with a 110v or 220v welder. I can make great looking welds and I think I have pretty decent penetration, but I don't know for sure and it's my life on the line. And two, my buddy with the chassis shop wouldn't put it in with my welder either. Not beause he has a 220v welder, but because I don't think he'd trust the penetration of the welds, plus I'm not sure if turning it up as high as he'd require would have a long enough duty cycle. He makes his roll bar welds in one pass the whole way around the bar. Granted, the roll bar tubing is usually .134" seamed or .120 DOM which should be sufficient. It's you life though. I'll have to ask him next time I talk to him about using a 110v welder on a roll bar, but I'm pretty sure he'd be against the idea.

As far as needing both to be able to weld both sheetmetal and thick stuff, that's false. A 220v welder can weld sheetmetal just as well. Most body shops have a 220v welder if they only have one.

I agree on the part of not buying cheap tools, the only time I ever buy cheap tools is if it's for a one time use (heat a wrench up to bend into a spot I can't get to, or some special tool for a car I'm working on for someone else and I'll likely not use it again), in other words, a specialty tool. Although a lot of that type stuff you can't rent from the parts store for free (deposit returned upon return of tool) so that's cool.

(replying to Larry's post above)

I agree completely with what you're saying about safety and weld penetration. Most instructional books recommend testing your settings and technique by welding a practice piece with the same geometry and cutting it through the weld to make sure you have full penetration. I think if you took that step, you should be comfortable that the weld is secure. It doesn't matter what welder you use, follow the proper safety steps.

Having said that, if you are regularly piecing together big rigs and such, yeah ok I agree that a 110 volt unit is inadequate. I would be surprised if many hobbyists are doing that, though.

Regarding applications like racing... anyone who is racing and has welded suspension or safety equipment should inspect the car regularly. And if you are racing inspect everything, not just welds.

Hack said:

There's nothing on a car that you can't fix with a 110 powered welder. My Hobart will weld up to 1/4 inch thick steel. That's very thick, heavy metal. You can also make multiple passes on extremely thick parts.

I don't know what you guys have laying around the house that's built of such thick metal, and that breaks - ever. Anyway...

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i built a rotisserie for my mustang and i would not use a 110 machine for that thick tubing. you are simply not laying enough material down to make a good weld (when you weld tubing together you don't have the priviledge of welding from both sides.

however, i do agree that if someone is going to buy ONE welder, he should get a 110 machine, it will be most useful in 90% of his projects

matt


matt

I've got a Hobart auto darkening helment and I like it very much. The only drawback is underneath the car it is still hard to see because it has a tint to it. I'll usually take a worklight and shine it on the piece being welded. I've heard of people really liking the helments with a chin operated lens drop. I'd like to use one to see if I would like it better.