im a beginner welder, but experienced mechanic. im looking to start by welding an exhaust up to fine tune my skills a little bit, and then i just bought a hatch that needs the quarters replaced.

i know i need a mig welder, but does it have to be gas shielded? i dont really know what to even look for in a good welder to be honest.

im not looking to spend a ton, but enough to get a good welder to do this and a few jobs.

so any welder recomendations?

 

I would recommend either a lincoln or a miller bought from a welding supply and not a home depot version. The machines that home depot sells have presets for your voltage and I really don't care for it. A 110 machine from either manufacturer will do just fine for your use. They both make 140 amp machines ( although you do need to provide a dedicated circut to attain it). These machines will also come with the regulator for using a gas. The flux wire is difficult to use especially for a beginner and out of position. Get a bottle of c25 ( 25%co2 75% argon) and you'll be much happier with your results. You also really can't use the flux wire for putting quarters on either. Use a 023-025 wire for body work and it can also be used for the exhaust work. You can also get some 030 for heavier work later. Set your flow meter/gauge on 20-25 depending on how much of a breeze you have. You really need to keep the breeze in the welding area to a min. I would also not waste my time thinking you can do alumunim with the machines.

 

what do you think about say a dedicated gas mig versus a flux core that has the ability to be setup for gas? may be a dumb question...sorry...but sometimes with things like that the converted ones suck.

 

My .02

Get gas - especially if you are going to do body work with it. Also, to really be useful for exhaust work, you need at least 130 amps (IMHO). I agree in principle with the above statement regarding infinite level adjustment vs stepped, but in the real world that factor wouldn't make my top five. I've used both and the infinite adjustment is clearly better, but for exhaust work a stepped power level is not really a problem. If you work with a lot of thinner material, it becomes more important. The way body work is generally done - in very short segments - makes the infinite adjustment less critical there as well.

Just FYI, I picked up a 170 amp Lincoln 220v Mig for $350 off Craigslist last week. If you look for them, they pop up on a regular basis. Be careful with the duty cylce limits on the 110v machines, but there are some decent ones out there.

Best of luck with your project.

 

Ive used both the Lincoln and Miller 110v MIG welders and the miller was 100x better and smoother. And also use the gas shielding, flux core gets to dirty and generally burns hotter

 

thanks guys.

im starting to look at the lincoln sp140t non HD version lol. should do me good and i can prolly get it for a tad under 500...i guess i should just spend that much since the repair on my new shell would cost well over 1k to have a shop do.

 

I've used a grand total of 2 welding machines in my life, but that is one of them. My next door neighbors buddy just bought one and I laid down a couple beads with it just for fun this weekend. I thought it was fine, but it clearly doesn't put out the heat that my Miller 180 does.

take my advice for what it is, pretty much a noob.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KFMRC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would recommend either a lincoln or a miller bought from a welding supply and not a home depot version. The machines that home depot sells have presets for your voltage and I really don't care for it. A 110 machine from either manufacturer will do just fine for your use. They both make 140 amp machines ( although you do need to provide a dedicated circut to attain it). These machines will also come with the regulator for using a gas. The flux wire is difficult to use especially for a beginner and out of position. Get a bottle of c25 ( 25%co2 75% argon) and you'll be much happier with your results. You also really can't use the flux wire for putting quarters on either. Use a 023-025 wire for body work and it can also be used for the exhaust work. You can also get some 030 for heavier work later. Set your flow meter/gauge on 20-25 depending on how much of a breeze you have. You really need to keep the breeze in the welding area to a min. I would also not waste my time thinking you can do alumunim with the machines. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Take his advice. I have a small Lincoln 135 and it works awesome with body work using gas and .025 wire. Only bummer is you can't do much thicker then 1/4 inch.

 

what about hobart?
5 yr warrenty i have 2 of em
tsc has crazy prices on em sometimes

 

Skip the toy 110 welders and get a nicer 230 machine. The MIlller 175 or 180 are great machines. You can weld really thick stuff with those. .023 wire in a 135-140 machine won't penetrate 1/8in plate properly.

 

I use lincoln and miller.. but i have this hobart machine that more affordable than both of them that would do just what you need it to do. Runs great as well

 

I like my Lincoln Power MIG 215 a lot. I wanted to be able to weld anything made of steel, any thickness I would ever encounter. It has given me three years of excellent service. I have replace the cable liner once and had to have it serviced for burned contacts on the rectifier. That is all. Considering that I have used three 40-pound spools of wire in that time, I won't complain.