Consider Lincoln Weld Pack 100. It is available for under $300 if you shop around. Upgrade to the gas for another $150 when you have more dough. It does the job. It welds quite thick, maybe not over 1/4 inch. Check the specs on Lincolns webpage. I am surprised what it does with 110 volts. If that is too little, the weld pack 150 will be all you need, but it is more $. For body work the 100 is awesome. I can weld thin stuff like a champ, being quite new to the art!

George

 

I agree with you George.
I've welded everything from door skins to crossmembers on my 55 with the Weld Pak 100.I can take it anywhere and its very inexpensive.

 

Wal-Mart Has a very good welder for $200 I have it in my garage I bought it when I was 18 and I never had any porbs with it. It is not the greatest one in the world but it gets the job done and is really nice for the price.

 

I really don't think you're going to find a high quality welder for anything less than $550. Unless you were to buy on used. I work at a welding shop, and I advise you to stick with Miller or Lincoln. The others make small welders cheaper, but that's exactly what they are....cheap.

 

After selling my ESAB. I bought used equipment.
Mill Thunderbolt XL AC/DC $150 w/all accessories.
If you have a portable generator preferably 10kw you can power this machine to full capacity. 5kw you can run 3/32 rod through all the heats.

Linde VI-200C mig welder $200 w/all accessories. Heavy machine but it comes in real handy. Use C02 and Argon.

Oxy Acetylene setup $100 used included cart and full tanks.

I'd recommend stick for starters and pick up a mig welder when the needs there. Stick is more portable. You can quickly change consumable materials to weld out of position. You can weld out in the weather. Get a AC/DC machine. The other things that will be needed are steel cutting tools, grinders, clamps etc...6013 reverse polarity was rod original developed for sheet metal work/body.

Ray

 

In my opinion,for good penetration on heavier steel is a stick welder for the home user,i work at nuclear facilities all the time on outages & building them,they "always" want stick welding done on any heavy steel,much better pentration & controlled heat.
There is some mig welders they use on the plant grounds,but its mostly just used for sheetmatal,duct work,ect
Most of the work done is either stick for heavy metal & TIG & stick for pipe.
Ive had an old lincoln 220v buzz box for years,i gave it to my son for his garage,runs 1/8th E7018 smooth as you can get,& it only cost around 200$ to 250$ at lowes,sears,home depot,ect ect & very dependable.
It always depends on what you want to be welding & the $ you want to spend,i have a hobart gas engine 250 amp machine i bought at sam's club for 1600$ brand new,runs real good,put it on a trailer to haul to places & also got a good deal on a used lincoln deisel 450 amp digital from a company going out of bussiness,paid 2000$ because they thought the engine was bad but was only a fuel pump injector,150$ & fixed it,but,just like any other thing,depends on what kind of $ you want to spend & how much you will be welding & the quality you need

 

I've been comparison shopping for a 230V MIG welder and went to a welding supply store here in Lincoln and was looking at Miller and Hobart. The salesman told me that Hobart was made by Miller, but the Miller brand had more adjustability as to amperage. The Hobart had about 4 positions on it's dial, the Miller had about twice as many.
Decided to go with the Millermatic 175. Gonna get it next month.