im kinda new to the fabrication hobby but i really am interested in it. i am looking at buying a welder for my garage. i plan on just doing basic welding roll cages bumpers some frame work and chassis fab. any ideas on a good mig or tig or mig/tig welders? i would like tokeep the price kinda low, hopefully have a good duty cycle and be able to weld anything for body panels to 1/4 inch plate steel or more. any advice on buying a welder would be greatly appriciated.

adam conter
sgt u.s. army

 

First, I would recommend doing a search on this forum, as this has been discussed before. Sounds like you would probably want a mig, around 200 amp if you want to weld 1/4". Stick welders are fine for big stuff, but a mig is great for sheet metal work, once you learn the tricks. A tig is also great for smaller stuff (the best, IMHO) but they are expensive and harder to use. I find mig easiest. I had an HTP 200, and it did everything I wanted, from body work to over 1/4". Now they are almost the same price as Miller or Lincoln, and I would recommend one of those two, simply because any welding supply place will have parts and consumables. I've never tried flux cored wire, but I don't imagine it is as clean and easy as using shielding gas. I'll be buying a Miller 210 within a year, I hope.

 

TIG is harder to use - but only if you'v never gas welded!

 

Welding "roll cages, bumpers and frames" is not your "basic" welding, you need to go to welding classes and learn the proper techniques to have structurally
strong sound welds. With a quality Tig and Mig machine that has power, not a 120 volt Mig you will have $6,000 invested, I ***** you not. Good welding.
.....=o&o>.....

 

You need lots of practice before you build a roll cage. This is something that your life can depend on in a bad situation.
Having said that, you need TIG for the highest strength welds. Stick is almost as strong, and MIG is way back in third.

 

thanks for the info. i do have experience with mig and stick. welding on tank hulls(steel) personel carriers(aluminum(pain in the ***)) and various crap for the army lol. i have enough training to feel confident in my abilities to knock out a roll cage and bumpers. basically i am looking for a good quality welding machine something better than the crap i use here in the army. thanks for the input though and keep it coming!!!

 

The cheapest mig I have found with a 200amp rating is a Clark, found it at a local hardware store, the cost was $1000. This cost does not include a sheilding gas tank, which cost around $300 if you want to title the tank. Another option is to rent a tank from a local dealer, this costs me $7.00 a month not counting the gas.

Not sure about the reliability of the Clark machine but the price is very inviting when a good Miller will cost about $2500.

My preference is Miller, I have a Syncrowave 250 in my garage. I also have a 115V wire feed welder with gas capabilities. I use the TIG or Stick(on the Syncro)to weld heavier materials and the wire for small stuff like body panels and exhaust.

 

Shop around. I bought my 300amp Miller from a local supply house for $1800 new. Again no bottle/gas, but it will weld 1/2 steel in one pass.

Stryder

 

Pass on the clark! You can get a brand new Miller 210 for under $1300 and that's a hell of a lot nicer machine. To be totaly honest a miller 175 would be perfectly fine for what you're doing and you can get those under $700. The duty cycle is lower then the 210 but for the work you're describing you'll never have a problem.