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TIG is actually one of the hotter processes, but you have such great arc control that you can regulate the heat very well. Short Circuit MIG is the coldest process, and prefered for sheetmetal work.

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I use the Millermatic 110 volt wirefeed alot....

Also have a Lincoln Stick welder, and a Miller plasma cutter

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I have a hobart ironman 210 unit. Ive had it for a few yrs and love it. Kinda a big non portable machine but very handy!! ran around $1400

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OK so I have a question, If I am buying one of these to do my rockers and fill some holes from old tonneau covers, NO FRAME work what is the thickness of that metal? what guage? that way when shopping I know if it can do most of what I want....

I will also use it on my imaginary 67 camaro conv. one day too :-)

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OK Guys
I just bought a snap-on YA-240 wire feed 240 amp DC 80% duty cycle takes 33 lb spool of wire up to .045 wire has stitch mode and argon/c02 tank flow rate regulator new gun about 2 months old for $500.00 I think I did good. what do you guys think?
EMMETT

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I have a miller 251 It is a sweet MIG welder tthat is well worth the money. you can weld sheet metal and up to 1/2 inch steel..

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I'm having a tough choice. I was lookin at the Lincoln SP-175 Plus and the Millermatic DVI. The DVI variable input voltage setup is appealing - don't feel like rewiring for 220 in the garage. I have been dorking around looking at the Hobart 175 as well.

Just curious - what is suggested for fram welding/auto body work - tap feed or continuous feed? Does it matter?

Maybe those two welders are overkill....

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:hi2: Shifty
I had a friends LINCOLIN 135 worked an 115 volts. It did all the welding I was doing. For frame work you want continuse welding if your new at welding try to find someone experienced with these frames I only stretched semi frames which had to be plated in and out. As far as panel welding I always tack or spot weld then stitch about 1-2 inches at a time eliminates a lot of worpage. The snap-on I have now is a little bigger than I need but I think the price was right.

Good Luck finding one
EMMETT

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I installed a new double pole breaker and 220 outlet in the garage this past weekend, so working @ 115 is not a problem anymore. I'm now looking at the Lincoln or Millermatic 175 now. Torn on which to get, trying to find one used. I want something that will do framework in one pass, wire feed, ability to do stitch and ???

It's such a big investment. It's gonna take me forever.

I've just started hearing about the Snap-On welders. Can anyone elaborate more on that product? Everyone has been pushing me to get a Lincoln or Miller. I know they're well known brands, but I'm a little ignorant and I know others have much more experience.

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Hay guys I know this welder has been asked about but the harbor friaght hear is having a 2 day sale and I can get it for $89 would it be good for welding in rockers and floor boards. Mainly patch pannel work. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44567

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I would stay away from it. You get what you pay for.

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Eventually I would like to get something better but I figured for that price if it can weld in my new rockers and the little bit of work on the ¼ I have to do to my blazer it would be worth it. I’m not a body man so I do the old spot weld over and over again until it’s all welded up approach.

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Hi Earl
A friend of mine just bought a http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=55247 He is very happy with it, but like he said these welders are for the weekend welder it is not made for heavy duty or everyday work.
Good Luck EMMETT

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Ya I was looking at that one to I dont have the cash right now for a good welder so I was looking for some thing cheap to weld in rickers and floors with. would the one in the link be better i see it needs gas. Im not a body man so it wont get used that often and I have a good ark welder that I use for big stuff.

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how about this one its on sale for $200
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=6271

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I got a Lincoln 3200HD from a local pawn shop. It's the same thing as the T135. It's really neat. I can plug it into a GFI outlet (must be on a 20amp breaker though) and it doesn't mind extension cords (I only have 12g cords). Just picked up the accessory cart today. For what I do, this does just fine.

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I have the campbell husfield version of that one and I put it under the bench and bought a Lincoln SP 175 plus.

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i was gonna go with the 175 miller.......will that be fine to use for notching frames and welding on 4 links, and different things like that? i just don't wanna buy it and waste 900 bucks!!

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It will do the job just fine. It wil do what ever you need to on a pickup.

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Your welder should do a good job,it takes alot of practice but you will get the hang of it soon.we have one like that at my job and use it constantly everyday and cant ware it out.I have 3 lincolns myself,my local welding supply house told me hobarts are made by lincoln.Anyway you should be fine.Goodluck

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I bought a lincoln from mac tools 15 years ago and I still use it today and never spent a penny on her,I also have 3 other lincolns,miller is also a good welder.But I am a true believer in reliability.You get what you pay for.

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This is a very complecated topic. Of course with more money you will get a better welder. The welder I use for everything is the millermatic 175 with the 220 volt and you can switch the wires for negative welding with flux type wire. I use mostly argon CO2 mix. However this welder will also do Stanless steel and I think that is a bonus.

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How about a Mac Tools welder...like the MAC 135?

https://www.mactools.com/portal/site...extfmt=default

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thats expensive. I didn't pay that for my Lincoln SP175 Plus that had a 3 year warranty

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Sure it is...but who buys news. I saw one at a pawn shop.

Is it any good?

Thanks

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Depends on what your going to do with it and what type of wire you want to use. Its a 110v so your electric meter will spin like crazy. its probaly going to weld 1/4" in a single pass using flux core wire, no gas. if your idea is body panels and no more that 1/4" thick mild steel it should be ok. using gas it should be good for spot welding panels. The nice thing abot 110v is that you can drag it to a buddies house or anywhere there is 110. 220v is a little harder to find but it is cheaper to run.

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Well dwcsr...that is a mouthful.

Not sure I understand the ramification but if I can pick it for less than 300 bucks...sounds like agood deal.

Thanks

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I uess I like to be complicated lol. I have a Miller maxstar 200 for stick/tig welding. Usually stick for chassis and other heavy gauge materials and tig for aluminum. Then i use a millermatic 135 for sheet metal.

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for 300 I''d do it. it would be a great start machine

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My brother in law is selling a Lincoln AC/DC 225/125 welder (to me) for $100... Its about 2 years old or so I believe... Being absolutely ignorant about welders, is this a good deal? And is it useful for bodywork / framework?

From what I could find on the net, it says that you can tone down things on it to do thinner metals. Does that mean I can use it for sheet metal? Also, I believe since it is a ARC stick type welder, does this mean I can not use gas, or have no need to use gas? I really only have to replace rockers on my truck, and mebbe do a couple other things with sheet metal replacement in the box... Anyhow, I am going to buy it regardless, just was wondering if it will suffice for the things I am looking for.

Daks

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its not at all suited for sheetmetal repair but it's a good welder for frame and suspension engine mounts etc// try it on sheetmetal and you'll ruin alot more than you fix

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Hey all, just wanted to add my 2 cents here.

First of all, the only welding I do now is TIG welding, and I am by no means a “professional”.

If I were welding any amounts of body panels, I would buy a MIG tomorrow.

I would never buy a stick welder.

Stick welding does have some very useful applications, but I’m pretty sure any TIG can be set up to stick weld with much more control than any ‘stand alone’ stick welder.

If I were just starting out and just wanted to do “general” welding repairs, I would buy a MIG welder. MIG welding is the “easiest” to learn and a person with some mechanical ability can run a half decent weld with a little bit or practice.

From what I have heard, the “flux-core” welding wire for a MIG isn’t very good. If you want to mess around a little bit or make simple repairs, it might be fine, otherwise, you really need a tank or argon, which is fairly expensive.

Keep in mind, you need a tank of argon for TIG welding also, but you do not need it for stick welding.

If you want to do complicated repairs, I strongly suggest taking a welding class, it will save you time and money.

As I said previously, all I do now is TIG welding. The rule of thumb I use for metal is 1 amp for every thousandth of an inch of material (0.001”). In other words, I would use 125 amps for 1/8” metal (0.125”), 250 amps for ¼” (0.250”).

Keep this in mind because if you want to weld ¼” metal or thicker, you will need a good bit of power.

About a dozen years ago at IMTS, I found this unique welding helmet at a small booth:

www.accustrike.com



I absolutely LOVE this helmet, but would NEVER recommend it to a beginner.

Well, I hope this helps and someone finds it useful. :lol:

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interesting helmet wouldn't recomend it to anybody that chews gum:)

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I have to sort of disagree, even though the actual mechanics of mig welding, handling the torch and pulling the trigger is much easier than TIG doing MIG good is harder to do than TIG. With MIG you are comitted to weld with the selected settings, there's no way to alter those apart from stopping with welding and adjsuting, TIG gives you real time adjustability of your weld pool (if you have a remote control on your machine) Furthermore with the torch setup on the mig and the weld pool colors it's much harder to see the weld pool and if the weld flows into the surrounding parent material. With TIG you can easily see wha't you're doing. Just pulling the trigger on a MIG gun and splattering some filler onto a piece of steel isn't welding IMO. A half decent weld is a bad weld, only a good weld is a weld good enough for any project.

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Whats a good tig welder to get for welding up body panels?

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im looking to buy a welder and wondering if anyone is selling!!! i figure i would give the forum a try before i start looking on ebay

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New question. What about wire size for body panels?

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How a bout this welder has any one used it? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=6271
Thanks earl

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I have used the L-tech tig with argon and it does beautiful.If you get a mig go with gas and get it from a welding supply.My neighbor has a lincoln SP175 he bought from lowes.I have a lincoln SP175T that I bought from the welding supply where I get my bottles filled.When he tries to weld anything like a frame his will get hot and shut down after a few minutes.I have not had this problem with mine but my supplier told me that the one I purchased from him was commercial grade with a higher duty cycle.I have been very pleased with mine.

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There is an American Company called HTP America. I happen to own their
200 amp mig, 160 amp tig and a resistance spot welder. They have more features than most welders for a better price.

They offer outstanding customer service. I had the president of the company
troubleshoot a problem with my tig welder and he guided me through it on his 1-800 phone line after hours. It needed a new printed cicuit board which he guided me through removing and promptly sent me a replacement.

This company has definitely left me satisfied, with no regrets and offers outstanding products. They also offer a beginner Mig welding video for $15.00
which is refundable upon the purchase of a welder.
They offer 6 Migs from 120 -240 amps. Some of the mig accessories are really cool as you can use them with your mig welder. Such as Stud welding so you can pull out dents with a dent puller instead of buying a separate unispotter, shrinking attachment so you can add heat to a high spot or oil
can in sheet metal without having to use a torch. A spot weld nozzle, so you can drill or punch a hole in the top sheet of metal and spot weld to the lower sheet without having to move your welding gun and on apreset timer which is built into the welder.

There are many more cool toys, and I would definitely check out their website
and/or order a current catalog. I live in Canada and paid for shipping and customs charges with no regrets. Their welders are not manufactured in the U.S. and I would not trade them any day of the week.

The company is located in Arlington, IL.

Tell Jeff or Dianna that Warren Oliver says hi from Calgary, Aberta, Canada. Hope this helps.

Web site: www.usaweld.com

Phone: 1-800-872-9353