[Holder350]

I have got to get me a mig welder (and a plasma cutter ) I have a craftsman stick welder for most jobs but I have found that no matter how I try I CANNOT get it to weld sheet metal.

It was the biggest welder in the catalog at the time and is a 250? amp AC/DC reversible current. It works great for exhaust and anything close to 1/8" steel.

Can anyone suggest what would be a good welder that will only be used on thin sheet metal?

[NEW INTERIORS]

A good buy is the 220 Lincoln at Lowe's,You won't be disappointed,Great all around machine,About $600.00 .Don't waste your time with a 110.It's like buying a a/c you are better off with too much ,Then not enough

[Vortech 4.3]

no doubt that a 220v machine is more desirable. but there are times when one is useless = no 220v power.

[NEW INTERIORS]

I didn't have 220 either,but soon found out how much i had to have it.now i'm glad i have it.

[timothale]

I have a an old lincoln sp 200 ... $900 used with a big full bottle of co2,... 4 big wire reels.... 2 -7 inch grinders.. 2 buckets of grind stones and discs... 2 helmets... gloves..welds good ....the only thing is I have to pick it up with my backhoe. to move it around... I also have a 4 cyl gasoline powered lincoln and an Airco stick welder with built in Hi freq that i heli arc with.. my son has a small flux wire but it quit and I haven't fixed it yet .. I say buy the biggest you can afford. .. you can always turn it down for light work

[ggassert]

How does everyone feel on Clarke brand welders? There is a used Clarke 110v/125amp Mig Capable/Flux for about $250. Thoughts?

[SuthnCustoms]

Clarke is a pretty good brand welder,ive had 2 of them and they ran good and was reliable,one was the Hot Shot model,it had the pull gun with a 20 foot lead,no need in carrying the machine around to get in places and the pull gun allowed it to run aluminum.

For 250.00 used i'd consider looking a little further for a Lincoln or Miller used.

There's a place close to here that sells the Clarke MIG/Fluxcore machines for a little over 300.00 brand new with the warrantee.
50.00-75.00 difference isnt much to me for the difference of knowing nothing is wrong with it or wore out parts and having the warrantee.

[NEW INTERIORS]

The Lincoln is a better machine than the Clarke.The Clarke is a lot harder to set.My friend Bought one in he much rather my Lincoln.The Clarke is a little cheaper.It's OK,But a little harder to learn on.

[fiftyfivegasser]

Originally Posted by ggassert

How does everyone feel on Clarke brand welders? There is a used Clarke 110v/125amp Mig Capable/Flux for about $250. Thoughts?

I purchased a Hobart at Welders-Direct and it has been an excellent machine for the price http://www.welders-direct.com/mercha...ct_Code=500487.
Some say the flux welders are not very good and make a mess with sheet metal, but I have found this not to be so. Just need to know where to set the feed/amperage for best results.

[PsychoBandito]

miller makes an excellent 110volt mig welder that i use in a shop all the time, but i can't remeber the exact model. mig is way better than these cheapo flux core machines, because these "flux core" machines aren't true flux core, they're self shielding. real flux core use shielding gas aswell, usually CO2.

http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.co...ERMATIC/Detail

thats a good affordable welder.
get a mixture of 25%CO2 / 75%Argon for what you'll be doing.

[427v8]

I have a hobart 175 that I just love.
It's 110v and can weld just about anything I want it to.

I'm glad I didn'tbuy a 220v, I can weld quite a lot and haven't yet run into the duty cycle.

I almost bought a Clarke, good price,but I didn't like the drive roller system. the Hobart looked a lot better more repairable.

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Originally Posted by ggassert

How does everyone feel on Clarke brand welders? There is a used Clarke 110v/125amp Mig Capable/Flux for about $250. Thoughts?

No trouble out of my clarke sofar.
Shane

[rob jerico]

buy a miller tig welder, you'll have it forever, mig sucks, it will take you a week to get good at tig

[Chevrolet4x4s]

you can auso build a tig......but you still cant use it without gas
Shane

[PsychoBandito]

tig will warp body panels to much though, so if you every want to do body work with this welder mig is the way to go.

BUT if its only fabrication you want to do such as exhasut, i agree that tig is the way to go, but it will be EXTREMELY hard to tig weld your exhasut back onto your car.