Welders!

[dwcsr]

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.

[timcos]

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

[krazymonkeys24]

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.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by timcos

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

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

[Daks]

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

[cdowns]

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

[Bender]

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.

[SanitysBane]

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

[Sonny]

New question. What about wire size for body panels?

[DURRTY]

Originally Posted by Sonny

New question. What about wire size for body panels?

.023-.025 wire with 25%CO2/75% argon gas works out well on body panels. Straight CO2 is cheaper and will work but it will run a little hotter.

I got a couple of 1lb rolls of Hobart .024 wire as a sample and really like it. It might even be enough to finish this job out and I wont have to go and pay for more.

A .023 tip should work with .025 wire also. I am running the 24 with them and it works fine. I don't think an extra thou or 2 will jam it up.

[earl87gta]

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

[scottyweeez]

Dont leave out the trusty Lincoln. I got one from Home Depot for about $360 and for another $100 you can get the regulator kit to run shielding gas. Its a wire welder and plugs into any 110 socket. Like I said, with the reg kit, you can be miggin'!

[Draggn66]

Originally Posted by scottyweeez

Dont leave out the trusty Lincoln. I got one from Home Depot for about $360 and for another $100 you can get the regulator kit to run shielding gas. Its a wire welder and plugs into any 110 socket. Like I said, with the reg kit, you can be miggin'!

Yep that's the Weld-Pak 100HD. I was going to get that one but for $449 I got the Weld-Pak 3200HD and has the regulator and gauges included. I like it

[2nd_wnd]

what do you guys think of this welder?

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Plugs into 115V, 20 amp outlet. 4 voltage settings and continuous wire feed speed. Welds mild steel, 24 ga. - 1/8 in. thick. Safety feature keeps wire electrically "cold" until trigger is pressed.

Includes gun and cable assembly, work cable and clamp, gas nozzle, gas regulator and hose
Solid wire spool, contact tips, handshield, spool of fluxcored wire, chipping hammer/brush

[72chevy327]

got a esab migmaster 173 a fue weeks back and i was welding my floors and rockers in and it works great i also made a rear drop panhard bar and it welds just as good as the miller 251s at work. i paid a little over a grand for it in $cad. its a good deal imo, considering the millers run in the 4+ range.

[RicksTrucks]

Originally Posted by 72chevy327

got a esab migmaster 173 a fue weeks back and i was welding my floors and rockers in and it works great i also made a rear drop panhard bar and it welds just as good as the miller 251s at work. i paid a little over a grand for it in $cad. its a good deal imo, considering the millers run in the 4+ range.

My neighbor has an ESAB, not sure the model number, but says he has had all of the rest (Millers, etc.) and this one is the best.

I signed up for a Beginning and Intermediate class at the local VO-TECH, starts next week. Anxious to begin. Then I will pick out a welder.

[Mr79C10]

Ok I just got myy bottle of gas and going to start my welding skills back up. The question I have is what size wire for what steel? Im going to do some body work, (roll pan,, shaved doors) and the Notchin the fram Right now I have a roll of .023 and .025 Ive tried to look through the forum for postings but either Ive over looked it or its not thier..
Thanks every one!

[dwcsr]

23 and 25 are ok for what your doing.
if your doing a lot of panel work you may want to try
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-JW-Harris-20...QQcmdZViewItem

I use it a lot and its very good on panels and frame work.

[jeffspower]

If you are looking at spending around $1500 for a welder, spend a little more and get a Miller 251. They run about $1800. It has a variable voltage control instead of "settings". I find that most welders never have the setting I want on sheetmetal. One is a little too cold, the next is a little too hot. So, If you are not an expert, the settings give you a choice of burn- thru or chicken poop. The only welder I ever ran with settings I liked for thin sheetmetal was a Snap-On YA212A IND. It has 12 voltage settings. I don't have it anymore, wish I did. At the time I bought it, there was no question in my mind that I wanted the tried & true Milller 210. Snap- On & Miller both wanted me to buy their welder. I told both of them to leave them to demo for a week, and that next week someone was going to make a sale, the other would be loading up. I was surprised myself that I liked the Snap- On machine better, and it was quite a bit more expensive than the Miller.

[Mr79C10]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

23 and 25 are ok for what your doing.
if your doing a lot of panel work you may want to try
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-JW-Harris-20...QQcmdZViewItem

I use it a lot and its very good on panels and frame work.

That Harris wire, can be used with gas right?

[corn]

dish soap works pretty good for "de-spat"...

[BIGRAGU]

Regardless of which brand you go with I would highly recommend buying from a welding supply house. I manage a welding supply store and could go on all day about horror stories from people who purchased online. Everything from getting damaged machines to missing parts and everything in between. And when they do have a problem they are usually on their own. I can always get very close to the online guys prices if not beat them. Then when you have a problem we are there to take care of it for you. We dont claim to know everything about the machines, this would be impossible with the constant changes in technology, but we can always get you a straight up answer. If a customer requests it I will always go to his shop and set it up and do a demo for them. We sell ESAB, Miller, and Lincoln and I will say that we have by far the least problems with the ESAB. They all have good machines however Lincoln in my opinion has very poor support. The ESAB will also give you more welder for your money. They offer the Migmaster 203 for around $1275.00 and it will do an excellent job of anything you will encounter in a bodyshop. It has 12 voltage taps,will accept up to 45# spools of wire, has a spot timer, comes standard with a 13' gun, is gas ready, has a running gear so no need for a cart, is spoolgun ready, and welds increadibly smooth through the entire voltage range. IMO buy a good one once and it will last you for a lifetime.

[xakk]

Not another Harbor Freight question. I promise!

Has anyone used or had experience with this one? I can't find anything on it except the reviews on the site, and I'm always a bit wary when it's the company's own site. It looks and sounds ok, though.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...2691_200332691

[stingrayorangekrate]

what do you guys think of this welder? for like body work?????? yes or no
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...keyword=welder

[DURRTY]

for thin sheet metal I think you would be OK with that welder. If run with 75% argon 25% CO2 it should be real nice.

I wouldn't weld anything structural with it though. 1/8" might even be too thick for it. even though it says it can do it.