Like c-10 says, if you ever intend to work with chromoly it will need to be TIG'd & about using a MIG, be careful, it is real easy to make a great looking bead that won't hold shit...especially for a beginner.
OK, so fitment with a TIG is a consideration. Then again, if you're tacking with gaps, you're probably building trailers, and MIG is great for trailer building. Cosmo
I'm picking up a Hobart Handler 190 from Tractor Supply for $585 before tax, and that seems like a great deal to me. I've used an old Lincoln sputter box for more than 35 years, just welding tractor implements back together, and I've read everything I could find on the H.A.M.B. about welders, so at my rudimentary skill level, I think the MIG is my next best step. Thanks to all of you with the skills, experience and knowledge who guide us less experienced. Soon it will be time to practice, practice, practice.
Do you want to be a proudly boastful weldor, or get your project done, in a timely, cost-effective fashion?
Both Miller and Lincoln make quality, reliable welders. Compare inside a Lincoln side by side with a Miller. Lincoln uses more copper and has epoxy potted components. Where Miller uses some aluminum and open components. Both are very good welders. Ago
I hope you are not tacking without a hood with your eyes closed, like OCC. I tack with Mig finish with Tig. Ago
I have a similar welder question...can I use the regulator from my Mig welder bottle on my TIG bottle? What is better, a normal two gauge regulator or a flow meter?
Miller is way to go.If you are new to trade mig will be your best bet once you learn how to work a puddle then give tig a shot. Miller has a 230/ 180 machine with auto setting great little shop machine from tin to 5/16. For around a grand machine, bottle & regulator it will last a lifetime.
One thing that I would recommend is don't be tempted to buy a cheap machine because it is in your present budget. Save up for a commercial machine. Maybe a used one instead of a toy. A foreign made toy may work for a while to learn how to strike an arc but will it last. Will you have to spend more money later will you have an expensive toy that is worth nothing? I say go to a welding supply house and work up a relationship. If you are buying a welder buy one for a lifetime.
Do not go cheap. wait and save if you have to. i did and i got a big welder that i can weld almost anything with. it actually has other attchements i could have got that would have allowed me to stick and tig with it. i just wish i would have bought them at the same time. one of these days i will.
i just got back from chicago motorama where gene winfield was chopping a top for the crowd to watch he was using the eastwood mig welder and torches he is gene winfield so all his welds were beutiful, i asked him how it held up and he said its been great!! !mig is probably the best for beginner name brands is easier to get parts for but dont rule out the eastwood,,, also ive had a home depot lincoln 5 years now and its done several body jobs and roll cages without any problems,,, think i payed 375 on sale
I use mig,tig and stick.The job dictates what welder to use.For instance,dont think anyone is going to tig weld a car trailer together.
I agree. I tig everything because i sold my mig<wish i hadnt done that> Sometimis it seems to take for ever to weld something. And like 31Vickey said, If your fitup isnt just right it can be troublesome to tig a joint shut especially on thinner material. Rod
As 31Vickey said "YES" both argon and argon/c02 use a CGA580 regulator fitting. A real tig welder usually will say you need a flowmeter regulator with the tube. I say the important thing is to just make sure you have gas coverage what ever you use. Rod
That's the Millermatic 211 - I just upgraded from the Millermatic 140 to it. It is so much better of a machine. It also allows me to take it somewhere (buddy's house, etc) that doesn't have the proper 230v hookup. Love it!
Dude my miller was my first welder ever. Made me look wayyy better than i really was when i started. Best thing i ever bought, thing works flawlessly Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Every welder I own is blue. I earn my living welding the things I design. Coincidence? Not on your life.
I was not talking about the windings, it was other connections. It really doesn't matter much, they both are quality welders. Ago
My Lincoln 175 has made me very happy. It has just started on its 21st 10# spool. That's 200 lbs trouble free. No issues besides consumables and the ground clamp or the occasional "5 min $0.00 fix" I do about 15-20 mins of routine and PM when I change spools.
I work in the welding industry as well, stay away from cheap eastwood stuff. Don't waste your money I'd only buy from Lincoln, Miller or Hobart... I have a Hobart 175 handler 220V welder (awesome) and a Miller 375Xtreme Plasma cutter (the best investment ever) I'd own Lincoln also but it's hard to justify cost to the wife.... they are all three great! We have 385 440V machines where I work and they are a combo of Red and Blue machines. I think i'd go with a Mig machine as they are much more versatile ( i've been doin this for 20 yrs.) just my .02 cents worth. But I would recommend a 220V machine also trust me you will be much happier, just remember you can always turn down the voltage on a 220V but you can only turn up a 110V so far....
I have to agree don't be cheap buy a good machine I went with a Miller matic 200 back in the day still have it today I have done hundreds of jobs with it. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Buy a TIG. Unless you don't have a torch. That should be first. If your a hobbyist, and want to learn to weld. Really learn, then don't start with a MIG. MIG is great. Good production tool. ....But people seem to think it's too hard to learn TIG or gas. Not true. People also seem to think since MIG is so prevalent in the body shops then they must be a great machine for light material. Also not really true, or at least in part. The reason MIG is used in modern body shops is because of the hardened sheet metal used to make the structural parts. Gas and TIG are not allowed. MIG or resistance welding only, because of the very rapid heating and cooling, a MIG weld has a smaller heat effect zone. So less weakening of the surrounding metal. Don't get me wrong, I love my miller 175 MIG. But if I had it to do over again, for my home shop I would have bought a TIG, no question. But I already have a torch Sorry I got a little long winded, but if you learn to gas weld, or TIG first you'll never regret it. I teach collision MIG welding. We don't have much time, so I have to push my guys to learn, but the more I make them gas weld first, the faster they learn MIG. It's pretty easy and fast to learn how to weld half assed with a MIG. But like everything else getting good and really understanding it takes time.
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