Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Finally getting to replacing rockers, and such on my 68 C20, and need to buy a welder.

What kinda welder do ya'll think would be great for general body work and such... i'm on a budget and can't spend much, Brand and info on the welder would be very helpful..

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Right now Tractor Supply has the Hobart Handler 140 on sale. It's a good welder capable of doing 1/4 thickness. You can grow into that and get by for a long time.

I used a Little Lincoln 100 amp machine for 15 years. It's a good machine, but limited on thicker material. Now, I have a 250 amp Miller too. It's great for up to 1/2 inch thick steel, but I still keep my little Lincoln around with .023 wire for welding thin stuff like patch panels.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I have a little 110 Cebora mig that uses Argon, works fine for sheetmetal.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I have a 110 volt Lincoln Weldpak 3200 HD, great for bodywork.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

This is what I got and I love it. Body work and frame work. Mig or flux core. I think it's a good all around welder.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...0-1&lpage=none

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I bought the hobart handler 140 from northern tools and equipment for $470.00 w/ regulator.You can weld with it as is with flux core wire.The only extra cost is the bottle and gas but not required..Everyone thats used my welder loves it.

Here's a link with more info.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=285977

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

what do you all think about stick welder types?

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Insanely difficult/impossible to do bodywork with a stick welder. Get a MIG.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

hobart handler here to 140. bought used for 200 dollars. ive tried using a stick welder one time didnt work to good. i like the wire better.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Try trolling the local craigslist.org for a decent used MIG setup, and/or a gas bottle. Do some research first. The gas bottles have dates stamped in the top flange and you can't easily exchange them if they're out of date.

As far as exchanging goes, it may vary by the gas company. I bought 3 off the internet and exchanged them w/o a problem, but years ago had trouble exchanging tanks I bought at an auction.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

so what guage is most of the 67-72 trucks sheetmetal?

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

18 and 20 gauge. IIRC

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I've seen it tried and it warps the crap out of sheetmetal. Like trying to hammer a finishing nail into your nice kitchen cabinets with a 50 pound sledgehammer.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I can do it on my best day but it's the worst choice if all welding types for this job.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

x2

Good for frame work though.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Hobart Handeler 175 and It works Great.
Ron

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

have a hobart 125 handler used it 3 to 4 times in one year and it burned up the control board! not happy. saposeably lincoln makes it just with cheaper componets. Save some headaches and get a lincoln or miller and be done with it. got several of both at work and dont have any problems em. just my 2 cents

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

love my lincoln mig/wire...... doesnt have the gas setup on it but i wish it did. found the gas setup for 140$ in phoenix but never bought it... my welder has payed for itself 100x over......

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Lincoln 175plus. It is a 220 volt machine, good for 3/16 single pass. I use it with 100% Co2 and .023 wire most of the time. I get awesome results with it. I've had it like 5 years now. I think you can get one or the current model equivalent at Blowes or Home Depot.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I have this one also, great little welder!

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I've got a Lincoln WeldPak 100 (or something like that) and it works great. I was curious if you HAVE to run gas when doing patch work? I don't have regulator set up and just do flux. It's all I've done (self taught) and my practice patches seem to be good. Just curious.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Fluxcore will leave slag/residue which can come back to haunt you when you go to paint.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

That's the same machine I have. It's an old one, bought in the early 90s. Trust me on this, buy a bottle and conversion kit. You will come back here and thank me. If you're good with flux core, you will weld like Jessie James with MIG conversion. It's night and day. With the gas, you can run the little .023 wire which is perfect for sheetmetal.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Thanks guys. I was afraid of that :lol: but its another reason to buy more stuff!!

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Bought the Handler 140 from tractor supply, got a smoking deal on it because they had an additional offer if you signed up with a new e-mail address. Love it, MIG is the only way to go. Used a stick welder for years, wished I had made the plunge to MIG a long time ago.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

^^^^ yeah what Kevin Said!!!!

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Does anyone in here use TIG?
It's a great choice for small stuff, low heat input, very accurate.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

This is a very timley topic for me. I purchased a 72 Longhorn this summer and have had very little time to work on it thus far. I just ordered some new rockers and door pieces to replace on saturday and I bought this welder.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=55525

Has anyone used this item?

I've been reading some stuff on these boards the last month or so. I will get some photos up soon. I live in Milwaukee, but my truck is currently being stored at my folks' place in Central Wisconsin.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

It looks like the lowest amperage you can weld at is 58 amps with that welder, which is too hot for sheet metal. You need to be able to get down to 20-25 amps. IIRC

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I priced a Hobart 140 at Northern tool @ 5 years ago then went to the local welding shop where I would be purchasing my gas to see what they had to offer. After talking to the salesman and showing him the price on the Hobart I ended up buying a Millermatic 140 that he gave me a deal on. I paid slightly more for the Miller but the salesman made up most of the difference by giving me the first tank of gas free.
IMO it is better to spend a little more on some things and buy it from the place that can get parts and repair it if there is a problem down the road.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Well said..............I've learned that it is always better to get the right thing for the right job, or you will spend more time and $$ trying to make something else work.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

I would avoid fluxcore. I used Argon to weld patch panels on my 67 Camaro and my 71 Mustang and no rust, no bubbles under the paint or any other problems for over 15 years.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

So Miller, Lincoln, or Hobart?

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Lincoln and Miller are premium, top of the line machines. It's completely Ford versus Chevy in a MIG welder. Engine drive, Lincoln is king.

Hobart is owned by the same company as Miller, but they are consumer grade. The differences between the two are noticeable if you look closely. For instance, on the Miller MIG, the wire drive is aluminum while it's plastic on the Hobart. Also, the Hobart will have a lower duty cycle than the similar Miller machine.

The consumer line of Lincoln welders is Century. Again, made my the same company, but at lesser quality and specifications.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

so i think i will probally go with a lincoln or miller 140... So you would say the lincoln is a beter welder then the miller?

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

On a mig welder, choose your dealer and support network that treats you best. My big steel jobber is a Miller dealer so I bought a Miller welder recently so I can get needed stuff from them.

Either is great though. I have a 15 year old Lincoln 110 volt Mig and a 15 year Miller 220 volt big Mig. Both are super.

On engine drive welders, Lincoln owns the market. Find any big construction job, bridge, or pipeline and it will be all Lincoln on the job site. It's literally like 99 percent Lincoln engine drive machines.

As you can likely tell, I am a big welder guy. I spend a lot of time on the welding forums and read the books too. I even have the title "welder" on my business card. Some days I do better than others, but it's my passion.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Thanks Tx Firefighter, you have been a huge help in deciding.. So as a Shopping list I need a:

Welder, Welding Wire, Gas W/ Bottle, Gloves, Helmet, and Gas regulater?

Am I missing anything that I would need to start welding?

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

if it was me and you dont do very much needing a welder i,d just hire it done. you can make a mess of things if you dont know what your doing. there more to it that just buying a welder.jmo
bob

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

You've got it covered. Depending on which welder you buy, it will come with the regulator and hose. You can usually buy gas bottles real cheap on Craigslist. Just look at the bottle and find the latest hydrostatic date. It will be a year stamped into the bottle near the valve. Make sure it is within the last 10 years. Buy it and take it to a welding house and swap it for a full one.

For gloves, I use normal leather work gloves for most mig work. Some spots and shot beads don't make enough heat to need the big heavy welding gloves. Only if I'm running beads for long lengths do I put on the thick ones.

Re: Best Buget Welder To Buy?
 

Where's the fun in that? :lol: Get a welder and practice on scrap until you're ready to weld on your truck. It's fun and you'll have the skill for life.