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what kind of welder to buy?

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knottyrich

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ok found a "flux wire welder" at harbor frieght for $100. is that somthing i want to get? i thought the self feeding thingy might be good, i know one of my buddies is always getting that "stick" stuck and having to pull it off. (don't know if its him or tool) but some thoughts would b great?
is this somthing i can teach myself? from a book? look over someones shoulder for a while?
remeber you're dealing with a nutso dread-headed rookie...:screwy: heehe
thnx ya'll, laters
 
My dad has the $100 flux core welder from Harbor Freight and I have the $90 stick welder. I think his is probably more user friendly. I was able to weld me up a frame to mount my bucket seats in my truck using the flux core with no experience, but I had to practice a good bit before I could weld at all with the stick welder. Neither one is very good though. A $300 dollar Lincoln 220 volt arc welder is much easier to use and works a whole lot better. I think I'm going to save up for one of them and keep the HF model as a backup for when I'm not near a 220 volt plug.

That being said, you can weld some basic stuff with the welding machine you're talking about, it just won't look pretty unless you're a good welder. The trick is getting the wire feed speed right.
 
My very first welder was a flux core Lincoln 135. I quickly found out that I wanted something different. Flux core makes a looooot of smoke. You have to remove the flux with a chipping hammer to inspect/see the actual weld. They work well for outdoor situations where it is windy.

I would look at the price of a MIG welder with a shielding gas hookup option. Some flux core welders will allow you to hook up gas and just change the spool of flux to solid wire.

If you have never welded before in your life, or have never used a MIG, my 1st suggestion is to do some reading. It will help you avoid some frustrations and get a basic idea of what is needed and required. Remember though that no reading will ever replace time behind the helmet and practicing to develop a technique.

Arc uses the same principles as MIG but the process is different, striking and arc with MIG is much easier because at the lowest level all you have to do is pull the trigger.
 
Right now Harbor Freight has an auto darkening helmet on sale for $40 ($35 if you clip the coupon from Four Wheeler or 4 Wheel and Off Road magazines). It's the same one I use and it works well for me. It's not a professional helmet, but it does all I need it to. You definately want an auto darkening helmet. It's much easier to learn with.
 
Mig is allot easier to learn. If you are planning to weld 1/8" thick and less the 110 volt machines are very adequate. If you will be doing allot of heavy duty work in 1/4" plate and perhaps thicker, I would upgrade to a 220 volt machine. Lincoln, Miller, and Hobart are pretty good brands.
Scott
welders360.com
 
For a noob, MIG will be the way to go.

Don't be afraid to pick up a good quality, used 110V welder.

If you buy an offbrand, low-end welder (even if it's brand new) you'll end up regretting it.

Get something that can be retrofitted for shielding gas later on if you don't want to spend the money now.... once you start melting metal for a while you'll want a gas setup.


:usaflag:
 
I've owned that Harbor Freight Fluxcore machine and can tell you from personal experience its good for nothing but LIGHT bracket work and welding exhaust. It is great for welding exhaust I will admit.

A friend has the stick machine and its pretty much worthless. Because its such low power the stick gets stuck pretty much as soon as you strike an arch on the work.

As far as fluxcore vs gas for a mig: Its easier to get a pretty weld out of a gas machine. When I first started welding I was amazed at how much nicer my welds look with gas vs fluxcore. Fluxcore has the advantage of squeezing a little more penetration out of the machine and not having to worry about gas and wind.

I would say take a look at Hobarts 140 amp entry level machine from sears. Its served me quite well and I caught it on sale for $500. Its 110v which is a really nice thing for your first machine because it gives you the versatility to bring it anywhere and weld. It accepts the larger spools of wire which will save you a load of money and can be hooked up for gas.

I really disagree with all the guys that say Just go 220v just go 220v. If your doing alot of work that a 110v welder can accomplish than get one. I've brought mine over plenty of friends houses to do frame fixes, exhaust work, floor patches, etc. I never would have been able to do that without it being a 110v machine. If you step up to needing a 220v machine then ya know what? Your 110 machine is still a valuable tool.
 
With a bevel joint and fluxcore definitely. Its rated for 1/4in with fluxcore without a beveled joint but I would say take 2 passes to be safe.

I love the thing.

Actually I take that back. When I built my flatbed on my truck the thickness of joints was totaling 1/4 on the structural tube sections and was getting into with a single pass no problem. Just didnt look good cause it was my first time welding.
 
Sometimes it is easiest to go into your LOCAL welding supply shop, I am not talking about AirGas or Praxair. More your independent, mom and pop type shops though the big guys can help too. Tell them what you are planning to do and that you are a noob. They can most likely set you up with some type of 110v machine.

Sounds like the Hobart Stomis has would be a good start, I assume you could swap for soild wire/Gas on the same machine.

Basically at a minimum here is what you want:
~120v, MIG/Flux Core, 1/4 inch capabilities.

Miller's site has a help me choose feature. Lincoln's will allow you to compare multiple machines.
 
how thick is the frame on these?
my frame is cracked at the power steering box.
some one re-welded it but did a poor-ass job (i just bought the truck)

im thinking about cleaning it up with a grinder and then re-welding over some of the smaller sections they didnt appear to get very well.

would a 110 newb machine cut it?
 
If your wire feeder should have a door that flips open to load new spools in. Many times you can find data for setting parameters listed on a decal on the inside of that door. I am not sure on frame thicknesses of a K5, sure someone will chime in though.


You may want to consider the weld in frame repair plate, and possibly the bolt in one too. I did both on my 73 even though the frame was not cracked out yet. It is a good preventative measure.
 
I have a Lincoln mig that runs on 110 and is SWEET. Got it from home depot. Welds up to 5/16 and runs flux core or gas. To me the best part of it being 110 is that I can put it in the trailer and have a welder in camp in case something breaks. Look on craigs list there is somebody out there who is trying to get rid of one just sitting around
 
I only have owned an arc welder ,but used many migs,and like them better for some things,like auto-body panels and exhaust ,its much easier with a MIG,but the arc welder shines on heavy jobs like welding trailer hitches..

Just about every one I know who bought a "cheep" 110V MIG that used the "flux core" wire,had buyers remorse,either right away,or after they realized they coulodn't weld anything thicker than 1/8" or get PARTS when the wire feed mechanism screwed up..if you must go with a 110V MIG,get a Lincoln or Miller,and be aware the Home Depot & Lowes ones are NOT always the same models a real welding supply house has--the "box store" ones usually have limited amperage settings,while the ones at the welding stores have infinately variable amperage which is desireable,and often come with the CO2/argon capability without buying an extra "kit"..

I'd opt for a 220V MIG myself,after using both--yes,the 110V MIG's are more portable and the new ones DO work well up to 1/4" or so,but the 220V ones with gas weld anything you can point it at,and it seems much easier to me to weld with than the 110V versions..
 
diesel4me said:
I only have owned an arc welder ,but used many migs,and like them better for some things,like auto-body panels and exhaust ,its much easier with a MIG,but the arc welder shines on heavy jobs like welding trailer hitches..

Just about every one I know who bought a "cheep" 110V MIG that used the "flux core" wire,had buyers remorse,either right away,or after they realized they coulodn't weld anything thicker than 1/8" or get PARTS when the wire feed mechanism screwed up..if you must go with a 110V MIG,get a Lincoln or Miller,and be aware the Home Depot & Lowes ones are NOT always the same models a real welding supply house has--the "box store" ones usually have limited amperage settings,while the ones at the welding stores have infinately variable amperage which is desireable,and often come with the CO2/argon capability without buying an extra "kit"..

I'd opt for a 220V MIG myself,after using both--yes,the 110V MIG's are more portable and the new ones DO work well up to 1/4" or so,but the 220V ones with gas weld anything you can point it at,and it seems much easier to me to weld with than the 110V versions..
Click to expand...

This is very true. When I was welder shopping I went to a local mom and pop supply shop. Their cheapest MIG was $700 and it was even a variable amperage. You wont get an unlimited variable amperage machine without paying around $1000 or more.

Its really not that important unless you wanna try to fine tune amperage to run a continuous bead on thing sheet, which why would you want to do that anyway lol. You'll be fine with a 4 way switch amp setting.

The Lincoln models at depot and lowes are in fact lower quality than a true lincoln. They just purchase the brand name for selling purposes. I like my Hobart. They arent just a company that purchased a name to sell products. The machines are designed by Miller, have miller guns and numerous miller parts on them just manufactured out of country I believe.

As I said a 110v welder needs to be looked at as a more widely applicable tool. Where as a 220v is gonna strap you down to working in specific locations.
 
I picked up a Hobart Handler 140 from Northern tool a couple months ago for 479.00 I think it was, got free shipping and a free cart that holds the welder and gas bottle. Still learning to use it, but getting plenty of practice while patching the floor pans in my 87 k5 :)
 
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