mite buy a lincoln sp125 welder.

[down4thakrown]

mite have a good deal on a sp125 welder. this strong enough to box a frame, build a cage, and make a winch mount on a trailer and weld shackles for tien down a full size truck to a trailer?

 

[owenst7]

I have the newer version of that one. It's not quite as powerful as the 135 I used to have, but it is near the limits of what you can do with a 110V supply anyway. I think it's a pretty conservative duty cycle. A friend has had the same machine for several years and really pushes it hard (carelessly) and has not had any issues with it.

I'm going to borrow my buddy's 220 machine for welding 1" thick tabs for shackles to my bumpers, but that little 125 has handled everything else you need to do. I've done a lot of 1/4" with it, and you need to do some planning/prep, but it will get full penetration if you know what you're doing with it. It is fully capable of blowing through .120" and it will get through .180" if you are careless, if that gives you an idea. The frame is only .120", and that's what cages are made of, so it can easily do 99% of what a guy needs to do.

It's totally not ideal, but it's a darn good 110 unit, and I think it's good to have one around for portability anyway. I couldn't pass up the deal I got on mine, and I figure I will always want a good 110 unit to loan to a buddy, run off a generator during a recovery, etc.