As of now all i have is a Snap-On Mig welder and a Esab powercut 1500 plasma cutter.
I am saving my nickels and dimes up for a Miller Ac/Dc Tig

 

Hobart 135 mig, Miller synchrowave 180, HF ban saw, 60 gallon 7hp air compressor, and a ton of pneumatic grinders/tools.
I'll trade you my Miller synchrowave 180 tig for your plasma cutter! lol hackin' crap up is way more fun! lol

 

I own a Miller Econotig and a Lincoln Mig Pack 110. aside of this I have a Campbell compressor ( 5 hp, 2 cylinder, 40 gallon ), a 7 foot 200 pounds press drill with 1 hp motor, that will eventually be equiped with a Milling table.
Plan on buyin a Plasma cutter in the next year or so...

Kranked

 

You know I've been welding for about the last year and have gotten pretty good. I work for a company that imports farm equipment from japan ( occasionally have them add a JDM motor once and awhile. ). I fabricate loaders, buckets, etc.. for tractors.

I don't know what brand welder I mainly use but, it's a fairly big welder using big Co2 tanks. I know it's not hobart. Hopefully I'll get the time to learn on the TIG welder and fab up some IC piping when my Sr20 is in.

 

Nice screen name Tha Shocka.

 

Millermatic 175, and I love it! Just got some new tanks last weekend (Argon/CO2 SteelMix, and pure CO2) and began to weld up some stainless steel. I must say, I was very impressed!

Hopefully I'll be able to get me a Tig sometime in the near future. Hopefully...

 

licoln pt 185 and licoln pro mig 135

 

So what is a good welder for a beginner like myself should get??

I want to weld Mild steel and SS, the exhaust show is trying to rape me so mind as well learn it now then never.

 

Whats your budget like?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX T-Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So what is a good welder for a beginner like myself should get??

I want to weld Mild steel and SS, the exhaust show is trying to rape me so mind as well learn it now then never.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i also want to know what is a good welder to use. the ones in my class uses lincoln MIG and millermatic TIG.. i forgot what stick welder they use. wut do u guys use to grind, polish, and cut your metal? i know for those home welders out there, having a band saw, and a bent sander will be taking up too much space and maybe even too expensive for home use. also what's a good price range to look for when buying a welder?

 

I don't really have a budget, but not too cheap that it will break on me in a month or so. Not too expensive that I will have to work another job to get ya know.

Just want something that I can take to the BackYard and weld myself a DP, Exhaust, & some brackets.

Since I don't know anything about welding, I figure I ask the experts what I should start with.

I seen Flux core welders and those welders produce a very sloppy weld. Mig welder seems to be the best for me but which one, there are so many to choose from. I also tried TIG weld on my frinds Millermatic but since its not mine I can practice with it.

Need my own welder, it's about time now.

 

Well you're going to spend about $500-$600 for your mid to entry level Mig welder. You want to stick to known brands such as Lincoln, Hobart/Miller, etc. Along with the welder, assuming you decide to use mig, you will either need to buy a FluxCore wire spool (shielded wire) or regular wire and a shielding gas or gas mix depending on what you plan on welding. You will also need your basics such as gloves and a mask, and maybe an apron. Your best bet is to go to your local Airgas and browse their showroom. Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com) is also an awesome place to pick up supplies like gloves, grinders, grinding wheels, etc. at very reasonable prices.

And don't worry, its ok to start off small. You don't have to have every single tool before you can start welding. Work with what you have, and have fun with it.


Modified by EKology at 8:03 PM 8/11/2004

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX T-Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I seen Flux core welders and those welders produce a very sloppy weld. Mig welder seems to be the best for me but which one, there are so many to choose from. I also tried TIG weld on my frinds Millermatic but since its not mine I can practice with it.

Need my own welder, it's about time now.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You sound a little confused. When you mentioned fluxcore, I think you might be reffering to ARC welding. This is the type that uses welding rods as opposed to wire spools. ARC welding is the oldest, mesiest but the strongest forms of welding (I'll explain why later).

MIG welding can be done in 2 ways: With shielding gas, and without.

Without shielding gas, one would use special type of wire called FluxCore. FluxCore has a special coating on it which allows one to weld without the use of a shielding gas. This form of MIG welding can be a little sloppy due to the coating splattering around on the work piece. Also, FluxCore leaves behind a small protective film over the welding media which needs to be cleaned with a wire brush once finished. The strength and integrity of the weld is just as good as a weld with shielding gas.

Shielding gas is used when the weld must be very clean, and very precise, and also with certain metals. Different metals require different shielding gas, for example Stainless Steel requires a Argon/CO2 mix, while others require pure CO2 or pure Argon. Wire spools intended for use with gas will not have the same coating as FluxCore, they will be 'naked' in a sense.

Now, depending on the unit you use you have a somewhat small range in the thickness of wires you can use. Usually the Miller welders come standard with .030" and .035" feed wheels. Now compare this to the 1/4" electrode an ARC welder could use. This is what I meant when I mentioned that ARC welding is the strongest. When welding metal for a freeway overpass, ARC welding is the weapon of choice because of the fact that in a single pass a 1" bead can be laid. Cuts time, and increases strength as well.

 

I have a Lincoln 100HD (not greatest but does the job) and i had a Rigid Pipe cutter (that ****** would cut any steel though) until Theives took it. ******, i loved that thing

 

I've had this junky Lincoln Weld-Pak 110 for a few years with the gas add-on. Its ok for an entry level mig welder.. I JUST bought (last week) a shiny new Miller Dynasty 200DX (AC/DC Tig) and have not had the chance to use it.. What is nice about this thing is that it is small, is adjustable from 1-200 amps, and will plug into a 110/120 volt outlet, or 220 single phase, or three phase power without changing anything but the plug! It has auto-current-sensing technology, pretty cool..

Now I just need to learn how to use it, or it will be a $2700 paperweight.

Too many features on it, I need a training video!

 

we use a lincoln pt185, more air tools than i can think of, a 60 gal. compressor, full oxy setup and some other neat stuff.

 

I have a cheapy harbor freight welder. It does ok, I've welded a ton of crap, including a turbo manifold which held up fine

I'd LOVE to upgrade though.

 

Miller...220v...60%DC

Rich

 

Miller 135 MIG (110v) - Arg/CO2 and Thermal Arc 185 TIG (220v) - Arg for my welders.
12" disc grinder with zirc-alum pads; dang this is sometime the most useful.
A multitude of air grinders, die grinders, and bits
Roto-Zip: for cutting and forming molded carbon fiber/fiberglass parts
Dremel: for just about anything
Sandblaster, mill, lathe, band saw, cold cut-off saw, heat treating oven, injection molding machine, extrusion molding machine, oxy-acet torch, plasma torch, waterjet, as well as some other stuff

 

I just got my sandblaster and horizontal metal cutting bandsaw set up. Those are two tools I have wanted for while now

 

I'm sporting a lincoln electric 110 flux core only. A sears 250 amp ac/dc arc welder w/ high frequency tig box. 80 gallon husky air compressor. A whole mess of air tools and hand tools. For cutting i use a band saw, angle grider, and a sawzall which i love to death. I am in the process of getting a better mig welder. Not sure which one/kind yet.

 

my lincoln 100 owns you all. i need the gas upgrade

 

Thermal Arc 185TSW pure argon and plenty of other tools.....at home.

Work =too much to list mills lathes cnc's welders plasma cutters presses etc etc etc etc

 

I own Miller Cricket XL mig welder because I got it for dirt cheap and I consider it a "portable" mig welder. When I get out of school in a year, I'm gonna pick up an ESAB Aristotig 255

 

I have a walmart stick welder, it was like $80 or $90, its served me great so far, even though im sure its one of the worst welders money can buy. But realistically, if you are doing this at home, how many times do you need a good welder, you aren't welding battleships, usually a little gay weld here and there. Having this "bad" welder is still 1000x better than having no welder, it was money well spent for me.