Cheap welder recommendations for brackets and exhaust?

[Drewski23]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

I will also add that I see the HF welders for sale on CL all the time.I occasionally see the Hobarts.The only Millers I see for sale used on CL are "Bobcats" and they tend to be for sale by pros who are upgrading.Around here the Lincoln AC welders are on there but most want new price for them.
BTW The Miller 211 isted above is a 110/220 unit that only requires a plug and play change to go from one to the other.I love mine.It will do any work on these trucks I want and handle most light fab work of any kind.

BTW Don't forget to budget for hood,gloves,wire brushes,grinder,and MIG Pliers.You'll also need cutting tools to fab some things.

god damn this is gettin expensive real quick..

im going to look around a bit more at used stuff and continue research before i make my decision on a new one or not

[bbcmudtruck]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

I will also add that I see the HF welders for sale on CL all the time.I occasionally see the Hobarts.The only Millers I see for sale used on CL are "Bobcats" and they tend to be for sale by pros who are upgrading.Around here the Lincoln AC welders are on there but most want new price for them.
BTW The Miller 211 isted above is a 110/220 unit that only requires a plug and play change to go from one to the other.I love mine.It will do any work on these trucks I want and handle most light fab work of any kind.

BTW Don't forget to budget for hood,gloves,wire brushes,grinder,and MIG Pliers.You'll also need cutting tools to fab some things.

This guy just backed up exactly my previous post. The millermatic 211 can be had for 1200 and that will include everything but a bottle. However you should buy/rent your bottle from a local shop anyway. Some if not most shops wont trade/fill bottles that aren't theirs. 1/2" thick metal is heavy duty stuff bubba. If your wanting a welder for the garage, the Hobart I listed for you would do anything you asked it to. Plus remember, ITS FULLY OUTFITTED ALREADY! If your just wanting a welder to fab up stuff on your truck, the Hobart will handle just about any job on the truck. The Millermatic 211 will handle anything you'd ever throw at it, unless you work on implement. Even with that said, you could still make it work with a dual or tripple pass. Bottom line, the Hobart 140, Miller 145 and up will work great for what your wanting to do. 1/2" is a very heavy metal. Hell, my car hauler trailer is made out of 3/8" flat steel and angle iron. The one big thing about the Miller 211 is that you can just measure your metal thickness and adjust the dial to match the thickness. Of course you will have to dial it in, but once you get the hang of it, its one of the best garage welders available. You really just have to ask yourself "how much welding am I really going to do?" Most welding shops have miller 210's up to 250s. The 211 will handle what most welding shops are doing. The Hobart will cost you half of that and handle everything you need it to. Especially if your just starting to learn and get into welding, I'd roll with the Hobart and see how you get along. A few basic intro dvd's on welding will get you started on the right path.

[Drewski23]

no doubt bbc, i was really over estimating what i would be doing here. the hobart 140 seems like plenty, i may look around for a used one

sorry i did not see your link in your previous post initially

edit: LOL called you raven looking at your location, my bad

[hamjet]

For body work, sheet metal, just about anything on a vehicle, a small mig (120-140 amp)is probably all one would need. I think gas is a must, ( a lot of splatter with flux core). If you've never picked up a welder before you could learn quickly with practice on scrap material. That size should be good for 1/8, maybe 3/16ths stock with good penitration.

[jpmanyhearts]

hey guys this is a pretty interesting thread surprisingly theres a lot of people that don't really know that much about welding me included but heres what I done I WENT TO MY LOCAL PAWN SHOP AND PICKED UP A HOBART MIG WITH A MULTI CORD ON IT it plugs into a 110 or a 220 got that baby for 380 bucks im just starting to get a little bit good on it (in my mind anyway ) but just about every town has a pawn shop so maby start there

[RManson]

Flux core is a terrible idea if you want to do it right. Check out Miller's 140-Auto Set machine for an entry level MIG. About as easy as it gets. I use the 180 all the time as it can weld thicker material and is a true 240V machine. TIG is a totally different animal and is not for the newby welder unless you're willing to sit down and practice. That said, once you learn it, you won't want to go back...

[sean1969c10]

I bought a Campbell Hausefeld (sp?) from Northern Tool almost 20yrs ago. It was about $500.00 at the time and I really can't complain about it but, now that I am much more experienced I can tell you that one think to think about when buying a welder is being able to get replacement parts or consumables, preferably from a local source. Good luck, Mig welding is pretty easy and rewarding when you lay down a good bead.

[72bowtiestepper]

I have a 110 volt older Miller mig setup that I use with argon/co2 mix gas...works great for any type of sheetmetal or fab work up to 3/16" (works great for exhaust too ). I agree with others...stay away from the cheap China welders and flux core too...they are pretty much useless !
My little Miller is one of the most used tools in my home shop !

[Bigdav160]

I don't have not much to add except I own several welders. Although I'm not my professional welder.

Each method of electrical welding has it's pro's and con's. I didn't find TIG particularity hard to learn but it is most suited for bench work. The metal needs to be extremely clean. However, if you want to weld more than just mild steel it's the best choice.

MIG is the easiest to learn because it's close to hot glueing on metal. The work needs to be clean but is more forgiving. I have an Eastwood MIG 175 and it works fine. It was under $500.

[Lattimer]

I bought a 110V Lincoln MIG at Home Depot over 10 years ago. Its flux core only, which doesn't do as nice of a job as using shielding gas. However, I didn't want the expense and hassle of bottles, and I wanted to be able to use it outdoors reliably. I went 110V because I wanted to be able to use it anywhere, and at that time I had zero electrical skills and no 220V outlets in my garage.

I've built a bunch of gym equipment for myself and others, done several exhausts, multiple misc repairs, modified my trailer, etc. Did all the floorboards and rockers in my truck. Built custom linkages, shifters, etc.

I was able to teach myself to use it over time with some books and video's. These days there is a ton of good stuff on YouTube for learning.

The modern equivalent to mine is this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-E...ct_description

Personally, I wouldn't buy a small welder like that used. The bigger MIGs and the Stick machines can last forever, so as long as I could see it work I'd be ok with one of those used, but the little ones are not all that robust. Mine has lasted well but probably gets used 20-40 hours per year.

The small 110V MIGs can weld 1/4" pretty easily. Thicker stuff you need to v-groove the joint and do multiple passes, but in reality you can weld any thickness with a small welder, it just takes longer.

[Rochlow]

I will second the Hobart 140. For years I tried to learn on an old Linde machine from the early 80s (POS). About a year ago tractor supply had zero percent financing for 6 months, so I bought the welder, a cylinder of gas and a plasma cutter.

I did all the fab work in my cab with it and learned a lot in the process. When I bought the welder there was a tool that came with it to measure the thickness of the material your working with and inside the welder is a chart to put you in the range settings for your heat and wire speed.

[rcazwillis]

There is nothing wrong with flux. With practice, it makes a beautiful weld. With that said, I use gas. Hobarts are good, Lincolns are better, Miller is the best. I have a Lincoln 100 and 140. The 140 is 15 years newer and a much better machine. For home use, the Lincoln 125 or 140 are great choices. You can weld just about everything with them. This includes stainless and aluminum with a gas kit. Prices are good and they will last forever.

[Eddie H.]

I bought one of these Thermal Arc welders a few years ago for under $1000 and it works great. It will allow you to do MIG TIG and stick welding, all with one machine.
http://victortechnologies.com/thermalarc/

[bbcmudtruck]

Just a heads up, the Hobart 140 is on sale this friday at sears for $469!

[BigDan3131]

The only thing I haven't seen anyone write about is the wiring in your garage/shop. Is all the wiring up to snuff? If you go with the 110V welder what size breaker is on the one you would be using? If you go 220/230V have it wired by a pro some you don't set the house on fire. If you plan to connect an extension cord to it it need to be heavy gauge wire at a minimum of 12 gauge but 10 or heavier would be preferred if using it further than 10' from your power source.

[killerpanel]

I have an old Hobart 135. Use it for Body work, exhaust, and fitting roll bars. I said fitting them. tack welding until it goes to my friends shop. easy to use, 110v, I have a Argon tank.