Beginner welding equipment

[mike diesel]

If your really on a tight budget and want something brand new, maybe you could look into a harbor freight setup...i know i know, its no miller or lincoln setup but for the beginners on a budget, they actually work pretty good. My first welder ever was a little 110v wire feed from HF and all i ever used was flux cored wire. In he 8 years i owned that little welder, i used up probably 100 rolls of the flux cored wire and never once had an issue with the welder. I finally ended up just throwing it in the garbage cause it wasnt worth anything to resale.

I "upgraded" to the harbor freight 170 amp 220v welder a few years ago and am actually extremely impressed with it. I also switched over to solid wire and added gas to the mix. That alone turned the welder into a new machine and it does a fantastic job on just about any home project you could think of. Ive welded long arm kits on huge dodge trucks with it and built countless sets of traction bars and just about everything in between. Ive owned it for about 3 years now and have never had an issue with it.

Only downside of there welders are the duty cycles arent very high. I think on mine, on the 140 amp setting, it only has a 30% duty cycle.

The huge miller at my work has 100% duty cycle on the 300 amp setting

 

[mackthehack]

The Home Depot and Lowes specials have plastic internal parts which is why they are cheap. I bought a little 110v Lincoln from Home Deep Throat back in 08 to do the sas on my truck. I used inner shield wire with root and cover passes for good penetration and to give myself a warm and fuzzy. It worked well. I even beat the shit out of my truck at an off road park. After the hours of beating on the suspension. And before I drove home. I looked at all the welds and everything was good.

 

[JoshH]

If you're looking to save money, I'd keep my eye on Craigslist. Last month, I picked up an older Miller Syncrowave 250 with a water cooled torch and a cooler for under $2k. It was very well take. Care of and has worked great for me so far. It came with all the hoses, leads, and a foot control.

 

[Osubeaver]

Another possibility could be http://victortechnologies.com/index...interface-15-amps-more-tig-welding-power.html I don't weld much at all, but have one and it works well. One of my friends who knows how to weld was chastising me for not buying a Miller until he tried it. The guy at the store where I bought it (sells mostly Miller) said it would be just fine and save me a little money and it is.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[Evan@InglewoodTrans]

We have Everlast 200dx at the shop and it works great. It gets used a lot and so far so good. The are also easy on the wallet.

 

[jmaz268]

Bumping this up.

Decided to buy a MIG to learn with.

Pretty sure I'm going with a Hobart 140 or the 210. That way if I absolutely suck at it, i'm not out too much money and the wife doesn't kill me.

the internet isn't being very friendly to me today, trying to get some prices together for Tanks.

Not sure if I should buy or lease.

 

[LWATSON]

buy a tank from the nearest welding supply store. Leases aren't good if your volume of use is low. I lease tanks for my shop only because the contents in a leased tank is cheaper and the tanks are much larger. I buy the smaller customer owned tanks for gasses that I don't use often that just sit for weeks at a time.

 

[Dirtymaxx03]

My GF bought me a MIG from Northern. It was $89 and works pretty damn good for anything I need it for.

 

[FC5452]

I think you'll be happy with that 140, I was in the same boat as you, didnt want to break the bank, I used that for my front shackles on my truck and the welds are holding strong on hard launches, Albeit I did it with multiple passes. Loaded the stainless wire and started on some 409 pipe to get my skills back to snuff.
Tig would be the way to go though I haven't burned thru yet LOL...

 

[MAXX IT OUT]

Bump this up.....I am getting ready to start a body project on my 71 c10. Have been looking at a Hobart Handler 125 at 330 or a Handler 140 at 490. I am manly looking for portability and doing things at home. If I need a big welder I have one at work, so is it worth the extra 160 buck for a little bit bigger welder.