[Supa-haole]

LOL!!!!!! i know what you mean by "additional projects" i am a certafied welder and it is amzing how many people want you to weld your stuff. i got crap laying all around my garage, thats not mine.

i would go with miller for a 110V unit. i have and use the millermatics 13X's all the time. they are great with sheetmeatal, and can even be tweaked to run aluminum and stainless wire. you can easily do major work with a 110V unit up to 3/8 inch plate can be welded with proper pre and post heating. i got mine for around $500 and it has lasted over 3yrs with out a single problem. probaly will go another 3yrs before anything bad happens to it. just make shure you use a mixed gas (2% argon and 98% CO2). 2-98 maix gives you about 10% better mechanicals in the weldament properties (i.e. stronger) in the weld, not to mention the beed is much wetter and fluid in nature, makes a great out of position gas. also the spark runs a little hotter, which alows you to turn down the voltage a little so you can weld thiner stuff.

dont get a cheep welder. you will only have to buy another one soon. thats just my .03 cents

supa!

[Hot Rod Hellion]

The first welder I ever bought was very much like the one you describe, and I have used it on body patch panels with success.

It takes practice though... The cheap machines are very usefull, butt mine only had HI and LOW for power settings. Both were to hot for thin sheet. But by running the wire out a little further than usuall, you can play with the temp enough for success.

Keep a small wire wheel in a drill or die grinder near by. You will have to clean that brown crap off of your project after every spot in order to get a good weld.


I now have a hobart handler 175 that is awesome. Hobart is made by Miller, and less expensive. I also have have an oxy acetylene with a Meco midget for thin sheet, and a Lincoln 300/300 TIG. Beleive it or not, I still love that hundred dollar cheapy for odd jobs. It does great on exhaust and small brackets, etc. It's the only welder I have that will fit in my camaro's trunk. I also get out of a ton of "buddy welding favors" by just loaning it out. It keeps me from welding on my neighbor's lawn mowers and utility trailers. I got hot rods to build!!

......Then get used to a quality welder, and try to go back to using the cheapy for body sheet... You will feel like a brain surgeon using a taco bell spork...

[357ford]

Appreciate all the responses, I would have responded earlier, but my e-mail wasn't being notified of the posts, for some reasone, I thought the thread was no longer being responded too.


The general consensus is, buy a name brand gas mig welder but the cheap one will get a person by, for now.

All points well taken, I have been told someone has some welders in storage and they must go, now whether this deal goes through or not is another story, either way I have time, and will look around for a good used welder, and explore all options and comments made in this thread. Thanks again



357ford

[rpaulsen]

I almost bought a used Econo-Tig for $500, but when I researched it on the web, I read that you need to weld thin sheetmetal at 10 amps or less. The Econo-Tig only goes down to 30 amps, so I've been watching for a deal on a Lincoln 175 Pro or Miller Syncrowave 180. Is Supa-haole telling me that I passed up a good deal?

[TravisT]

I agree fully with Supa-haole. I have used several different migs in the past, century being the most notable one. The century welder really sucked - I don't know if the welder was broken or if flux core just makes a real bad weld - but I would never own one of them. I bought a millermatic 135 (~$700 for new welder/cart/regulator/tank) and I could not be happier. I have done everything with it from building furniture to doing bodywork. I have not used my Lincon crakerbox since I bought it, although if you had to weld something very large, then it may come in handy. I really can't think of anything on my truck that I couldn't get an exceptional weld for from my miller MIG welder.

Don't blow your money on cheap stuff - I have learned the hard way. I'm sure that if you look in the right place, you could pick up a used Miller/Hobart welder from $200-500 easy. They are good welders and will last a very long time if you treat them right. Good luck with your selection.

TravisT

[jimk]

I have a flux-core mig and it works great.You need to look at the duty cycle of the welder that you are going to get.