Welders!
 

Everytime we turn around somebody's asking about a welder. I figure we'll start a thread where all the experts chime in on the various welders. When we have everything we'll move it to the FAQ page.
Personally I have a Hobart Handler 135 with CO2. I am in the process of learning how to use it and am looking to upgrade to Argon mix soon.

lincoln
 

i have a lincoln 225 arc welder ,it's what i grew up on ,my father had his own welding shop in houston and brookshire texas i learn to arc weld when i was about 12 years old . so i am comfortable with the lincoln . peace

i'll type, since i'm in class and bored anyway.

i have a millermatic 175 (http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...llermatic_175/)
i love it. i do paint/body/restoration work and use it probably 4 times a week, sometimes every day. for body work and light frame work this is a great welder.

at work we have a millermatic 210 (http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...llermatic_210/)
its great too, but its a pita to move around. it works better for heavy frame work than my little 175. but i can fit my 175 in the trunk of my car.

IMO its impossible to do precision body work welding with a regular old style flip down hood. you must keep the wire on a spot perfectly, and when you flip down the helmet something is going to move. for body work you should get the kind that you can flip down the lense with your chin, or an auto darkening helmet. i have this one (http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...ets/elite.html) and its the best thing since sliced bread. mine is black though, i'm not paying extra for "custom" sticker paint. now 3m has a speedglass model thats a little cheaper for probably the same quality helmet. mine is also very very light and has that rubber piece that is very comfortable to wear. its so clear that i can walk around the shop with it down if i wanted to.

link to the 3m hoods

http://www.autotoolmart.com/cgi-bin/...75&p_catid=167

MM210 is what's in my garage.Has a couple cool features and will do anything you want to do on a vehicle.I suppose that if you are used to the smaller machines,this one might be considered a pain to move around,but I like it just fine ;) .I will say this though,if you are debating between the 210 and the 251,go with the 251 without question.Money was the deciding factor for me but the 251 has alot of cool features that the 210 lacks.
I agree with an autodark helmet,especially for those just learning (but are serious about it).I'm one of the tools that spent the extra on the flamed helmet....it was on sale what could I do? :confused:

get an auto darkening helmet, definatly gas not fluxcore, and flapper discs for your grinder

snap on ya 219
 

had it 20yrs love abused it taken it every were on was need its only 110 amp 120 volt machine it runs .023 and .030 witch are perfect for all body work youll d, it take 2 and 10 lbs spools and i use 75 25 mix gas,a tig would be the only nicer weld i could suggest but both have there good points, also keep a plasma cutter on you wish list as there is nothing ive used more on restoration jobs and fab work auto darkening shield a mush for the welders dark sun glasses for the plasma cutter and tacking with the mig in those contorsionest type places.
just my .02 :)
Ed

auto darkening is the best........gas shielding, short cirduiting transfer is good for light guage, anything over a quarter inch or if welding in anything over a 5mph breeze, use fluxcore.

is this a good welder im a noob. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44567

chevy283 I have the same welder you are asking about. Its cheap so thats a plus but it prolly wont be around forever like the miller or snap on brands. Another thing its great for thin metal nothing over 1/4 in and thats pushing it. Me and my uncle used mine to weld together a cart out of 1/8 angle and it worked great. If you need something to weld 1/4 or bigger pick another welder.

chevy 283, i would get one that altleast can have gas, it makes better and cleaner welds i have a harbor freight welder and it works great for body work but i have it hooked up to gas

I'm currently using that mig-100 and I like it. Keep in mind that I am in no way a body expert! The main downfall though is how much the flux will splatter which means more grinding for clean up! But for the price I don't mind

Gas is nice before the mig-100 was in the garage I was forced to use a buddies Gas welder, not sure on the model but man it was clean!

Recommendation
 

I need a recommendation on a welder. I will be purchasing one in about a month. I know a want/need a 120v MIG. I'm only going to use it for sheetmetal and thin metals- no heavy stuff like frames. I am a beginner so I will most likely have to teach myself how to use it. I will be using it for some body work for now(rockers, cab corners, floor pieces, etc) and maybe a few projects in the future but not very often. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money either ($300 or so).

Now I was looking through the craftsman catalog this weekend and saw this for $299 with the craftsman membership which my dad has. Any good?

I know I've seen alot about miller and lincoln here. Which models would be recommended? I don't want a piece of junk that will end up being a $300 paper weight.

This is the only welder section I could find, so if this was answered before...please forgive my ignorance.

Thanks for any info,
Mike :fb:

What type of welder does not warp bodt panels? I heard there is one but do not know which one. :fb:

Art

nyone know anything about this brand? Are they any good?
http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/p...ProductID=1288

I bought an inexpensive Clarke a few years ago, and couldn't weld a thing with it. It would spit and sputter, and just didn't work well. The first time I tried a Hobart Handler, I created a nearly perfect weld. You can get a hobart 135 for less than the Clarke on the Eastwood sight, and although the Clarke may be OK, I know you can't go wrong with the Hobart. The Handler 135 is $380 at Harbor Freight. Add a tank and regulator, and you'll be into it for under $500. I've seen them cheaper than $380 too.

Also, unless you really need the higher current, you may be happier with a 125V system because you can take it anywhere and use it.

lincoln
 

:canada: I am useing a lincoln sp-250 mig with argon and co2 mix i like it i can any thing with it. It has a spot timer built in to it works good for body work or heavy welding best thing i bought.

TIG welding puts the leat amount of heat into a material, making it warp panels the least. It's also the hardest to learn, and most expensive process to use. But man, can you crank out some pretty welds.

Ever seen anyone TIG two aluminum cans together? That's impressive.

An excellent place to get a good idea on what a welder is really worth is to shop around online. The local welding shops have pretty high prices all over the country.

I'd recommend www.cyberweld.com as a start. I bought my Miler 175 from them back two years ago for $600 wiht a cart during a sale. It's a good bit higher than that now... but remember all their prices are TO YOUR DOOR, and you won't pay tax buying from an online place that's out of state. ;)

chicago electric harbor freight
 

has anyone used the cheap tig on harbor freight. i know you get what you pay for but the small jobs i need to do will not require i hi dollar welder. i want it of body panels and such. here are some specs its a chicago electric 130 amp, 30 percent duty cycle, 220 volt welder. anyway let me know if any of you have used it and what you think of it. i have read revues on the mig and they were all pretty good. thanks andrew

I have the chicago electric 220 volt welder. I had an issue with mine that the welder would automatically switch on and off (with power supplied) after I had about 100 hours on it, After each (4) trip to a welder repair shop in San Antonio, I would get it back, and after using it a few hours, it would do it again. Finally, it started doing it again, and I took it in, and it FINALLY did it to the technician. Has ran fine ever since (cross my fingers). Beware though, I have had to replace the gas welding shield (tip on end of gun); normal maintenance. When you go into any welding shop to find one, they will laugh you right out of the store. I finally took the original one, cut it down, and fit a Miller tip over it.

miller --- no doubt
 

body man/ restorer for 15 years-- mig welder--miller--bottom line

Miller 251 with 75/25 and Argon on the spool-gun.

Nuff Said

welding is like having you PHD in medicine. I could fax you our companys welding standards but it would tie up the line too long and once you got em you would need an interpretor. A good welder is as valuable as any doctor. they just don't get paid as much. I buy all my stuff from welding shops I pay more but they will help you out more. deal with pros if its in your budget. Its not in mine but i deal with them anyway.
you can get more than you pay for.(note: some welding shops don't want to mess with small guys like body shops but go somewhere else)

L-Tec Welder
 

Has anyone dealt with L-Tec welders? It is a commercial grade Mig welder that was given to me by a friend when his companys building was destroyed in a flood here in SEP '04. I was just just wondering if it is worth investing some money into to refurbish? Give me your thoughts. Thanks, Mike

if your looking for a stick or tig welder for home heres what i would recomend
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...xstar_150_sth/
i personally have the 125 which i dont think they offer anymore, but i love mine, its small it will stick or tig just as good if not better as any big a$$ old shop welder will, did i say there like the size of a shoe box?! the unit i have is a 110/220v welder and there is no switching leads it automatically senses what voltage your running. they are a little on the expensive side i bought mine when i was welding for a living i got mine at the time in the range of 1200 bucks. it comes with everything, leads, argon gauge, tig leads.

Quote:The main downfall though is how much the flux will splatter which means more grinding for clean up!
go back down to your welding shop and by flux splatter spray or you can use like WD40 its basically like a oil and it keeps the splatter from sticking
just my $.02

The right lense may be as important as the right welder
 

First, I am lousy at welding, so this is not expert advice. Second, I recently switched out the lense in my helmet from an 11 to an 8. In one day, my welding improved 100%. I can finally see what I am doing. I am not suggesting that everyone should use an 8. However, I wear glasses. This automatically cuts down on the available light. I never new I had a choice of lenses. So if you find that you cannot see what you are doing, just remember that you are not locked into one grade of darkening lense. I think the new lense cost me less than $3.00. I screwed up way more steel than that over the years so it is worth expirementing. You don't have to make such a dramitic jump from 11 to 8, considering the cost of the lenses and the value of your eyes you may want to sneak up on the right grade for you.

i'm pretty sure 10 is the lowest you can go for mig welding, its just your eyesight though you might want to check into that

I've been using "9" for many years without any problems. I don't wear glasses at all.

We have an L-tec at our shop. We got it from the local parts store about 17 years ago. We have abused it continuosly and it has worked great. We repair garbage containers, truck frames, and do some fabrication with it. I even welded a fender bracket on my son's Blaster today, no problems. I would like to find a good 120v welder for using at the house to save trips into the shop.

Hey guys,

I think I'm going to take the plunge and buy a welder. I guess it's the last thing that my shop is missing, honestly (except a plasma cutter, metal brake, drill press, DA sander, ... :D).

Seriously though, I know nothing about welding. I don't know what people mean when they say "ARC" welder, I don't know what TIG and MIG means, when you would use gas mixtures, what gas mixtures have what benefits, what kinds of wire to use with different welders....

Man, I need some help learning all of the ins and outs of welding and the styles and uses.

I'd also like to find a welding tutorial online for welding different types of steel together - it would be nice to have a matrix (grid) showing what type of welding works best in diff't situations.

The types of welding I can see myself doing consists of: Welding fabricated brackets together, welding things to my frame, shaving body panels, doing other body work like frenching an antenna housing into my stock gas filler hole.

I see lots of welder recommendations above, but that doesn't help if I don't know if that welder is right for what I want to do. I don't even know how you'd add gas to a system or what that means :) I'm a super-n00b.

If anyone can give any advice or answer any questions I have above, please help. Thanks :)

hey shifty go to your local miller store and ask some questions. if the welder is a MIG it is gas ready. there is a hole in the back, plug in the hose, read the directions/watch the included video about reversing the polarity and stuff, then start welding. if you want to do body work its not even worth practicing with fluxcore. you'll only learn by digging into an old fender and warping some panels. check out www.millerwelds.com to see the choices. the chart with the diff setting/thickness stuff can be found on the inside of your welder. its not as hard as it sounds.

tig=tungston inert gas,mig=metal inert gas,mma(aka arc,stick)manual metal arc,we generaly use an argon/carbon dioxide mixture for welding steel(mig),pure argon for aluminium(mig and tig)pure argon for stainless steel(tig)
mig welders are the best choice for an all round welder,some thing around the 150 amp-200 amp range should do all the work that you will be doing.

learning to weld is a mostly hands on deal//most welders come with a good instructional video and book//


places for help:
1 local welding supply /lincoln and miller both have schools and sumtmimes have travilin techs that have seminars//and the local sales guys will be glad to take thier time to get you started on the basics and have info on local training// while on this subgect i'll also add that sometimes it's worth the premium price of dealin local to get this knowledge and tech support in the future

2 local community colleges or trade schools for a 5-6night course

3 local library ====nothing like a good book// places like speedway,summit,jegs have good books on welding//eastwood has expensive videos

its really not as hard as brain surgury just start picking up old pieces of metal off the side of the road for practice an go at it

i have a nice 220volt/135amp lioncoln welder for sale $350 if you want to pickup in daytona i'll give u some quickey lessons

Thanks guys.

cdowns - I think I might buy locally just for the sake of ease as everyone seems to be mentioning. there is a new Hobart Handler 135 someone has for sale here for $300, but after reading krue's first post in this thread, I'm thinking it won't do argon/c02 mix.

It would be perfect though - I've got two weddings near you in the next 3 weeks .. one in Fernandina Beach, one in St Augustine.

that quick lesson from krue might be worth not buying locally. videos are cheap and the welding place still will help you if you buy your bottle/gas/gloves/mask/etc from them

what quick lesson? i think i missed something. i was just thinking about buying a welder locally. i've got a friend with a bunch of welding DVD's ripped to his computer (gotta love technology), I'm downloading those off of him right now so i can actually have a chance of educating myself at home before venturing out in the world.

Here is a link to LOTS of educational material on welding from Miller:

http://www.millerwelds.com/education...pamphlets.html

Lots of cool projects for beginners, novice and advanced here:

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/community/projects/

Just look for the links that start with "Project:"

For beginners just one note about galvanized metal welding if you weld it and the fumes go into your helmet and you think hey that stuff doesn't smell to bad, kinda sweet smelling. You may think your going to die the next day you may have the shakes and the feeling that if someone killed you now it would make it better. Drink a glass of milk it helps. Then use a fan to exhaust the fumes to somewhere else.

Any Other L-tec Users?
 

Thanks 70. Sounds like they must be decent machines. Anybody else have experience with L-tec? Any parts sources or e-mail links? Thanks, Mike

Re: Welders!
 

Well.... now that I bragged about how good our L-tec was it blew up today. But it gave me an excuse to go buy myself a new one. I bought a Hobart 140 at the local hardware store. $475.00, cheaper than any of the internet sights had it listed for. I used it to fab up a platform out of square tubing, and it worked great. The only bad thing was I had to leave it at work until we get the old one fixed.