Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

thanks ya'll you guys have been a great help

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Now... do yourself a favor... go to your local community junior college and take a couple of welding classes.
Oh yeah, TX firefighter is right on the machines, go Miller or Lincoln.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Here's a good welding site with tutorials and forums.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

well said. i have been trying to weld on my cab with a 20 year old mig that i spent more time fixing and riggin than welding. i purchased a Miller 140 autoset and it is a heck of a welder for a 110V unit

i like the adjustibility of the milller - it does not have the presets like other welders do. it makes it nice because i am cutting the drip rails off and i am welding on different material thickness. i have found a setting that wont blow through the material yet still penitrate the thicker areas

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Also, invest in a auto darkening helmet. I was amazed how much prettier my welds where once I started using one. It will also save you a bunch of grinding time.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

:agree: 100% I went from the flip front to an auto darkening unit and made HUGE improvements!! I have a cheap one from Harbor Freight and it works well so far. May get a nicer one later, but hey, it works for me!

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Mine is also from Harbor Freight, I've had it a couple years, no complaints here,

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

at home ive got a miller 172 its a 220 machine and is good up to 5/16 I use 0.23 wire for sheetmetal and it does great. Unless they have changed them the small lincon machines have plastic parts in the drive mechanism i havent used one for mabie 5 years so the new ones may be aluminum like the millers. Just know your machines limits my welder is good to 5/16 but even being a certified welder i wouldent weld a frame with it. i see alot of people using 110 machines to do frame work and its scarry. Keep in mind a big machine like a lincon or miller 255 can weld thin guage sheet metal so you dont need two machines.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Was thinking about buying a lincoln, But does anyone know forsure if the drive componants are plastic or metal?

thanks Bryant

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

On my 15 year old Lincoln, they are not plastic.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Did someone answer this guys question and I just missed it?

Since I don't do alot of welding I'd like to get as much "user" info as I can. All I really know is that heat is a killer for sheet metal hence all the spot welding but what's the deal with TIG? I don't know anything about it.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I'm looking to get into some welding as well. What do you guys think about this one by Miller?

http://store.cyberweld.com/millermatic135.html

It says it will go as low as 30amps. Is that low enough for patch panels and sheet metal?

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Ideally you want to go down to 15 to 20 amps. IIRC

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

having a hard time finding one that will do that....

Any recommendations?

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I have a Lincoln Weldpak 3200 HD that goes from 20-140 amps. Does good on bodywork. Not sure if they're still selling them though.
Edit: Just looked up the specs for the 3200 HD, it goes from 25-135. So down to 25 amps would be good enough. 30 amps might be possible. IDK

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

TIG is the ultimate weld for sheetmetal,stainless and other things.It also has a learning curve.If you are proficient with stick and MIG you can probably learn TIG quicker.
That's not to say some people wont do well starting with a TIG unit,it's just more like a torch weld in that you have to hand feed filler rod into your weld.Unless your gaps are very small and you are very good at TIg you will be better served with a MIG.

BTW Miller has some good tips and such on their website also.Just search Miller welders.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I bought a lincoln 135 from home depot about 5 years ago as a simple mig machine to do little parts so we didn't need to tie up our big machines turned out to be a really great machine for general purpose repair. Here is a link to the 140 that is comparable to the small one i have.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...5530_200405530

If your budget will allow for a bigger machine.. No doubt i would buy miller and this is a great light industrial machine that will last a long time.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MILLERMATIC-212-...item5ad5a7585d

just incase your wondering this is what we use. MIG
http://cgi.ebay.com/MILLERMATIC-252-...item518e60dd5e

and TIG
http://cgi.ebay.com/MILLER-SYNCROWAV...item53de25261a

im not saying these are the best machines or that is the best place to buy.. but it is what we use. indiana oxygen has great competitve prices and ive bought machines from them in the past.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Just did a quick Google. Seems like the 30 amp welders can weld down to 24 gauge. The sheet metal on these trucks is mostly 20 gauge IIRC. Should be alright with a 30 amp minimum. Here's a link to a Lincoln at Home Depot that would work also: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053