Hi guys im looking at geting this welderhttp://http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/search.do?Filter=Price%7C%2440-600%5EType%7CArc+Welder%5EPrice%7C%24110-210%5E&cat=Electrical+Shop&displayTarget=Subcategory&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Welders&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/search.do?Filter=Price%7C%2440-600%5EType%7CArc+Welder%5EPrice%7C%24110-210%5E&cat=Electrical+Shop&displayTarget=Subcategory&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Welders&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes)

I was wondering if it is going to be enughf to build sliders and mabey a bumper? Any suggestions on this one or another good one? My max limit is $250.:cry

Critique this one too please:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00920686000&subcat=Gifts+Under+%24300
Sorry to half hijack

Big Blue...

If your going to go with a Welder and you aren't too knowledgeable with welding, wire feeds are always the better route to go. The Rod makes all the difference in the world with ARC welding, and you have to have a feel for it to get a nice weld laid out. In my opinion, AC ARC welders aren't worth much, DC is much more controlable.

Plus it only welds up to 3/16" steel, i am not sure what their making sliders out of, but i would think it's more than 3/16. You could probably weld thicker steel with it, but then your looking at double beads, and then it's really hard to make them look nice, especially without experience in ARC welding.

Stupid.

I think Lincoln is making Craftsman Welder's now. Unfortunately what your doing is paying for the Craftsman name, and not as much a welder. You're getting a lot of accessories with that one. So that $299 isn't so much welder as it is, mask, cart, etc...

The Three Big Welder Makers:

Miller (my personal favorite)
http://www.millerwelds.com/

Lincoln
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/

Hobart
http://www.hobartwelders.com/

If your looking for a 110 wire feed, Miller makes the Millermatic 135, it's a 110volt, gas fed wire feed welder. I have welded 1/4" steel with it, it's what I use at work. Very user friendly. I don't know if they have Linde Gas ( http://www.linde-gas.com/international/web/lg/com/likelgcom30.nsf/docbyalias/homepage) stores around you, but they have access to all three types, go there and tell the clerk what your looking to do, and they'll be able to help you out.

I'm also looking at a Hobart handler 135, but the duty cycle is only 20% compared the craftsman's 40%. I need all those accessories the craftsman comes with too, I've got nothing. I'm a rookie biyatch when it's comes to welders, thanks for the advise.

please please please dont waste your $$ on those.Welders if you want to call them Welders like that are only good for sticking soup cans togather if that.Save your $$ and get somthen in the $500 to $600 range first trust me

And if it says it can weld 3/16 or 1/4 its bullshit it will only be half that on its best day

please please please dont waste your $$ on those.Welders if you want to call them Welders like that are only good for sticking soup cans togather if that.Save your $$ and get somthen in the $500 to $600 range first trust me
I *hope* your talking about the reference to a Craftsman welder, cause all but there buzzboxes are junk! Otherwise, if your statment is about the Handler series, you make me ****ing laugh! :goodfinge

lol

I've been a Pipefitter and welder for 25yrs. i don't know how good you can weld but the best machine for the novice welder is the Lincoln tombstone. Thats the lincoln they show on that site the little red lincoln that looks like a tombstone. I just bought a new miller 275 trailblazer cost 4000$ bucks but im starting a mobile welding company, the tombstone will pretty much weld anything you want to weld in the garage. As far as a wire feeder if you never used one you might have some trouble plus you have to get a gas bottle for it, that flux core wire that you don't need gas for is garbage. Buy the way Miller bought Hobart Welders about a year ago that's why you see hobart has changed it's color to Miller Blue. Good Luck don't set nothin on FIRE CHUCKD43:goodfinge

OH YEA I was gonna tell you that if you got a Lowe's nearby they run sales on the Lincoln tombstones or Tractor supply but Lowe's has always been cheaper CHUCKD43:goodfinge

i am sorry if i am hijacking, but didn't wanna make another thread about this subject, i have a wire feed welder at work, can't recall brand, will look tomorrow, but i am wanting to do some body work, like welding in some sheet metal were cancer is, first off, is a wire feed welder good for this? they have the gas with it. also, how hard is it to weld dissimilar metals, i have what i think is stainless steel sheet metal, or its aluminum, and the body is steel

and as you guys have said before, that welding anything thicker then 1/4" is crap with a wire feed, is this true? i was thinking of making a custm light bar.

OH YEA I was gonna tell you that if you got a Lowe's nearby they run sales on the Lincoln tombstones or Tractor supply but Lowe's has always been cheaper CHUCKD43:goodfinge

We had one of those at work. It was a good welder, til the previous maintenace guy fried everything in it.

With a stick welder you will want Dirrect Current for most fabrication work. AC is easier to burn but your penetration isn't as good. You will want at least a 220 machine for most Fab work IMO. On the other hand. If you want to do body work then a little 110 machine is the ticket. You'll want to go with a wire feed for that one. Get one that will accept the Argon gas mix and you'll be stylin. One problem with wire feeds while using the gas to cool the weld is that if there is ANY wind whatsover then it'll steal the gas and you'll have a fugly lookin' booger weld with lots of perosity. The 220 stick I have works well for me because of that problem. Any time I need to weld on the rig it doesn't matter if there's a Huricane nearby I can still achieve a good weld. Granted then you have to chip and wire brush off the slag but nothing's perfect. In an ideal world I'd have my 220 stick machine, a 220 wire feed. and a 110 wire feed. Gas cooled wire feeds take alot of work out of the whole process and you can but everything I could prefab in the garage would be done with that tool. Then I'd go outside and weld it to the bronc with the 220 stick. Unless it's a really calm day here which is rare and in between. I hope I helped. Keep posting with more questions as you have them. If you can stick weld then wire welding will be real easy for you. TIG and Oxy/accetlyne welding are both art forms IMO. :)

what about the dissimilar metals, is it hard to do this with a 110 wire feed with argon? i'm talkin like 1/16" to 1/8" stainless or aluminum to steel body

i am sorry if i am hijacking, but didn't wanna make another thread about this subject, i have a wire feed welder at work, can't recall brand, will look tomorrow, but i am wanting to do some body work, like welding in some sheet metal were cancer is, first off, is a wire feed welder good for this? they have the gas with it. also, how hard is it to weld dissimilar metals, i have what i think is stainless steel sheet metal, or its aluminum, and the body is steel

and as you guys have said before, that welding anything thicker then 1/4" is crap with a wire feed, is this true? i was thinking of making a custm light bar.
Yea man i had to quote you so i knew what you asked. First a wire feeder will work for repair work on sheetmetal, but u can't weld Aluminum to steel, Alum to Alum. you can weld stainless to steel but you can't do it with a wire feeder. You need the right welding wire 308 stainless rod i don't think they make 308 wire only welding rods. If they do it will be $$$. just pick up you're sheet metal if it's light it's Alum. if its heavy it's stainless, but you can only weld Alum. to Alum.CHUCKD43:goodfinge

ok, ty thats what i needed to know, i guess i will just go to this parts truck down the road and start chopping away at the not so rusted body, take it to work, sand it to bare metal and then weld away.

what about the dissimilar metals, is it hard to do this with a 110 wire feed with argon? i'm talkin like 1/16" to 1/8" stainless or aluminum to steel body
Yea that will work get some 70S wire if work does'nt Accomadate it for you, just adjust wire speed and heat on a piece of scrap till you get a SWEEEEET bead:goodfinge

Chuck is the man. I'm just a hobbyist. One thing to remember if you ever weld stainless steel is to wear a respirator. The fumes produced when burning stainless will make you sick (Chemical induced bronchitus) or worse. The stuff burns green when you weld it. Naturally I was holding my breath. :doh0715: Didn't work, I got sick.

ok will do, i think i might make the light bar with stainless and just use counter sunk metal screws so it looks good, and that way i can get it done without a 220 stick welder, but i will start savin for 1, is there an adapter for the 220's to plug into a normal jack, like 110 plugs?

oh wow bignorm, thank you for warning me, i think i might have to do that when i start cutting the stainless i have now for skid plates, i have heard of that gas before, but wouldn't hav eremebered when it came time to do the work with teh stainless. thank again bignorm and chuck

The gas used is for inurt process it doesn't cool the weld it takes all the oxygen from around the weld. The wind blows the gas away from the weld and enters oxygen which causes the perosity:goodfinge

juGGernaut Where in N.C. are you at:goodfinge

Why the finger? The weld's still cool isn't it. I've already said you know more than me on this. I pick up yon stick and weld. I don't figure out the earth's rotation while I do it.

i use a miller trailblazer with mig suitcase package

i use a miller trailblazer with mig suitcase package

oh sorry, wasn't watching this thread, i live in frisco, part of the outer banks, why how far away are u from me?

Chuck is the man. I'm just a hobbyist. One thing to remember if you ever weld stainless steel is to wear a respirator. The fumes produced when burning stainless will make you sick (Chemical induced bronchitus) or worse. The stuff burns green when you weld it. Naturally I was holding my breath. :doh0715: Didn't work, I got sick.

Thats Galvanized steel that burns green, not stainless.

Thats Galvanized steel that burns green, not stainless.
Listen to these guys! They know what they're talking about! :toothless

Why the finger? The weld's still cool isn't it. I've already said you know more than me on this. I pick up yon stick and weld. I don't figure out the earth's rotation while I do it.
Yea man it does cool the weld , but the main objective is to inurt the weld, the same way that Flux on a welding rod does, been doin it toooooooooo longCHUCKD43:goodfinge

when i do this welding on the body, do i go for the dime look like rods, or totaly diffrent with the wire feed?

when i do this welding on the body, do i go for the dime look like rods, or totaly diffrent with the wire feed?

body work with a stick welder is a pain....the process is slow....burn a little, let it cool, burn a little, let it cool....and so on. It's the same deal with a wire feed, it's just easier since you have a trigger and you don't have to start the stick every time.

So what u guys are saying is I shold save up some $$ and get a good ewelder insteads of a cheapo?

I consider mine a good welder but it's also low end. It cost me $400. I've got a miller thunder bolt which is an AC/DC machine with a 20% duty cycle which pretty much means in 10 minutes you should only do 2 minutes of welding. 2 minutes is a pretty long time with a stick since you consider that you have to stop when the rod is used up. Then you have to chip/ wirewheel the slag away. For my needs it's perfect. I'm in agreement for the body work that you should have a low voltage wirefeed machine. Like he said it's easy to just weld a spot, let off, repeat repeatedly. In the future I'm going to have to tub my wheelwells and before I do that I'll need the 110 machine. I'll probably go for a cheap wire/gas MIG machine. Probably a Hobart. IMO Lincoln and Miller Electric are the two top name brands.

Good call on the galvanized. I don't know how I mixed that up with stainless. My roof rack supports are galvanized because that's what I had to work with. The green fire is kinda spooky when you're welding.

So what u guys are saying is I shold save up some $$ and get a good ewelder insteads of a cheapo?

For the money your going to waste on a cheapo and trying to get it to work with you, it will be just as easy to save up and get a good one. 220volt wire feeds are super nice....but more $$$$ than the 110's.

Good call on the galvanized. I don't know how I mixed that up with stainless. My roof rack supports are galvanized because that's what I had to work with. The green fire is kinda spooky when you're welding.

I found that out when i was about 23, working in a fab shop. Was following the prints when the foreman came over and was looking at me. I stopped welding, and looked at him. He said "Are you trying to die?" then he explained to me what it was all about.

When I finally decided to buy a welder I also decided that I only wanted to do it once. I bought a Miller 175 and it's one of the best purchases I have ever made. It's more welder than I'll ever need, it's easy to use and bullet proof (for my needs).
I say if you're going to buy a welder & really use it, buy something decent. I went 220 and didn't even consider 110, but if you can find a used Miller or Lincoln 110 volt welder for cheap, go for it. taking your time and honing your skills is more important than the piece of machinery you're using.

This cage and suspension on this truck was welded with a Lincoln 135 wire-feed.

http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/269993/fullsize/ttps03-final9021505.jpg

http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/269994/fullsize/5-23923-P1010485.JPG