Hey Fellas I want to go buy a welder for work on my 53 ford and was wondering if you all have a preference for a guy with little experience and a limited budget.Although I dont have experience I pick stuff mechanically very good and remember not having much trouble in high school with the old stick.Harbor freight has some good deals on welders and was wondering if you could suggest one of theirs since my market here isn't very large.Thank You DJ

 

DJ ??

do you want something that will do frame/suspension/heavy welding AND sheet metal ??? or just sheet metal ??? or what ???

hard to recommend without some idea of what you plan to do..

stick is good for heavy stuff

mig or tig is better for sheet metal... (less than 3/16)

john

 

Well John I only plan on heavy welding the frame once for the front cross. it seem like most of my friends have a big old lincoln stick in their garage they havent used for years.My biggest concern would be doing alot of brackets,steering ,brake line to rear end brackets stuff like that.I plan to do the mustang gas tank like you did . Welding like this !!! Thanks DJ

 

DJ

disclaimer..... I am a novice at welding, truck building, most things mechanical, and most things that require other than opinion... that being said...

A stick machine does an excellent job on 'heavy' stuff.. i.e. 1/4" and better and can work down to 1/16 with the proper rod and an experienced hand...

I have one a Lincoln 225 ac/dc machine.... and I can stick rods with the best of them...

A wire machine (of sufficient amperage) can do up to 1/4" but also down to 22 gauge with one wire type, one gas and a little practice... and produce much better welds without the heat and warping usually associated with stick machines...thin material and rookie welders

If it were me and I had "X" number of dollars to spend, I'd look for a wire machine around 175 amp (or up) and use a 25/75 mix gas... standard wire (not flux core) and have a ball.

The new wire machines will run you 500 and up which is higher than the stick machine but much more capable and easier for the rookie to use... You can sometimes find great buys on rental or leased machines at the larger welding supply houses (i.e. AirGas or Linde Gas) where they have been pulled in off lease or rent and reworked and sold... I got a 100 amp Hobart 'suitcase' welder for less than 300 bucks... Also watch the auctions and the machinery/tools column in the classifieds for used wire machines. My latest purchase was a Millermatic 200 amp machine that I stole for 200 bucks.. with a full roll of wire.

A bottle of gas can be leased from a gas supply house fairly cheap and a refill cost around 20 bucks.. it will last you several months unless you're going into production work...

Flux core wire is good for windy locations (outside welding) where the shielding gas would be blown away... it welds the same as plain wire but leaves more splatter to clean up.. a good investment for flux core is "splatter spray"... you spray it on around the weld and it keeps the splatter from sticking so bad.

I'm sure you'll get more info from others... another good source of welder info is the Hobart Welding Forum... good info on machines and techniques and projects... it's at

http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/....php?forumid=5

do a search on "welder types" or "Mig" and you'll see tons of info on how to make choices

another is the Chaski site

http://www.chaski.com/ubb/postlist.p...&Board=welding

and the miller site

http://www.millerwelds.com/education/library.html

or do a google search on 'mig welders' or 'welding' and you're covered up with data

hope it helps btw... I haven't had my stick machine on since I bought the wire machines

john

 

I would be wary about buying off-brand and Chi-com equipment. You might not be able to find parts for it in the future.

 

DJ,

I bought a used 110V Dayton stick welder in a flea market nearly 30 years ago for 50 bucks and it still works great. I have done two Mustang II suspensions with it, a four bar rear, several routine rear end changes (spring pads and hangers), made all kinds of brackets (motor mounts, alternator and A/C, etc.) with it and have even welded exhaust pipe with it (carefully, as it will burn through if you leave the stick in one place too long). I'm currently using it to put the Chrysler T-bar in my 48 F-3. Some people don't like 110V welders because they say you don't get enough penetration, but I have never had any of my welds break, so I think it's the welder more than the welding machine. I can't ask any more of a welder than this one has provided.

 

I own one of the Harbor Freight Chicago Electric brand mig welders (Fluxmig 140). It's a 220V Flux core or gas unit. I have it setup with gas and it works fine. If you look in my gallery you will see the mods I've done to my truck and all of the welding was done using this machine. I never welded before I bought this machine. I have learned alot but it took alot of "Seat time" to be comfortable that my welds would hold up. I've welded everything from sheetmetal to 5/16" steel. Though I do agree that you get what you pay for, I could only afford this level of machine at the time and would do it again if I had to. Some day I will upgrade to a Miller or something like that but not until I find some "extra" cash.