I need to do some minor body work on my Jeep Wrangler. What kind of welder to buy MIG, TIG or MMA? The reason I ask is because there is a sale going on at Harbor Freight and I think those are good deal for the money. Let me know…it’s for my garage, so nothing exotic!

 

Dont get the stick rod welder form there. I got the same stick rod arc welder from northern that harbor freight had and it wouldnt weld much even on high setting with the smallest diameter rod it would still stick to the metal. Now the blue cased wire fed non gas welder I got from Northern for $100 works great. I think you can get the same blue cased one from Harbor freight. If so I would go with that if the wire fed would work good at body welding but I know it worked good at welding small delicate pieces I had.

 

Wire feed would work fine for that, but get a machine that is gas capable. If you don't, you will be kicking yourself later.
Eastwood has a new line of welders you should check out, here's the 110v one:
MIG Welder 110VAC/ 135A Output

 

I always thought MIGs were for more thick steel and support structures...are they good for sheet metals too?

 

Migs are the most common welder used for thin sheet metal in the auto body world. As mentioned above, we have a line of quality welders now that are definitely up to the task.

Mig Welder ? Mig Welders Equipment - Mig Welding Cart ? Mig Welding Machine & Supplies From Eastwood

 

Mig technically isn't a structural process, although it is frequently used as such. Most actual wire fed structural work is either pulsed Mig, or dual-shield which is a special flux core wire used along with a shielding gas, typically 25%CO2/75%Argon.

 

Sorry to go back and forth: here is what I'm looking for:
#1
120 Volt system. 2xx volt system is absolutely ruled out. I will be using in my garage.
#2
Avoid gas bottle if possible but like you guys mentioned, having it as optional is "ok"
Also, where can I rent gas? home depot, lowes?

 

Renting a bottle is expensive. You can buy a smaller bottle for $150-$175 with the initial fill and then it's just $20-$30 to refill (exchange usually). Praxair is a nationwide welding store chain, usually you can get their bottles from Napa or Parts Plus stores as well.