mig welder

[killer240]

what do you use?
im bout to buy one.. but im a noob and know nothing about welding yet.
so i just want something that i can use for my car. nothing big.

post up your welders or what you recomend.

[killer240]

im looking at this one
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=94056)

[Chrischeezer]

do not buy that piece of crap
YOU NEED A GAS WELDER, no flux core crap.
Duty cycle: 10% <---worthless
90 amps <-----------terrible


look up the Lincoln Electric 140 HD! ITs the Perfect Small welder.
I picked up my 140hd for 250 bucks! got a nice mask a bottle of gas and ur set to fab.

[Otto347]

Yes get a gas welder, Miller, Hobart or Lincoln. Nothing else.....well Easb also.

Stay away from that turd you are going to buy. Hell even buying any of the said brand name welders used is a good choice.

[drift937]

i use a hobart 185. but you could get by great with a hobart 120. they are nice.

[TheWolf]

The cheap/expensive mig welder isn't going to make or break your weld. Almost every welder uses either lincoln or miller consumables. If you're a good welder then you can make a cheapie HF welder work or an expensive lincoln work. most people think the tool makes a better weld. It doesn't. The owner does. I can weld circles around most with a shitty flux core unit and they're playing with gas settings and flow controls and all that crap. Welding isn't something you learn readily on your own. You'll need about 100 hours of practice welding in different positions to get really proficient. Then you can learn aluminum which is it's own bag of snakes. Pick up an angle grinder and a tiger paw while your there. Like painting.. metal prep is 7/10ths welding as well.

Let me break down duty cycles for you. It's the percentage of minutes in a 10 minute period that the machine can operate at x amps which is usually 75-90% wide open. So a 10% duty cycle means it would run for one minute and need 9 minutes to cool. A 60% would be 6 minutes and then 4 minutes to cool. When you actually use the welder it's highly doubtfull your going to be welding for a minute straight if it's for hobby work unless your like building a trailer in your garage. you can usually move about 16-20" a minute with regular material. I doubt your going to be doing a 7 pass weld on 1/2" plate but if you do then yes you would probably want a bigger welder.

[Oleh]

^ :love:

my first welder was a Lincoln SP135T...take a welding class before you pick up a welder. practice on their equipment then decide..Stick with lincoln or miller.

[killer240]

hobart is the cheapest i can find brand new.
im just a noob. so i think this will work for me until i get really into welding

[HAWAII]

i have a miller 140 w/ Autoset, hooked up to a gas mix. It welds great no complains at all.

If you are a newbie, go take a class, welding is not that easy to a newbie without proper instructions. There are ways to make your welds hold better. You might think you have welded something together good but then a couple of hits with a hammer and the welds will break off.

there's a lot of good quality welders for sale at craigslist. check it out