Advice on a First Time Welder?

Hey, folks.

I could really use some advice and hope I landed in the right forum. Having a lot of corrosion-related problems with the 1992 Ranger Supercab that I picked up a few months ago. The body mount bushings are all shot, so I ordered a new set of prothane ones. Unfortunately, the new hardware for them adds up to hundreds of dollars through LMC, so I’m going to try to make due with some grade 8 stuff from Tractor Supply. To do this, I’ll have to plan on some minor welding to make up the washer nuts. On top of this, I noticed that the center holes in some of the brackets have started to widen out due to wear against the bolts and I can’t find new brackets anywhere, so I’m thinking to weld some 1/8” plate on the tops and bottoms of the brackets, so that the bushings have something solid to rest on. Finally, I tore up the old rotten carpet, only to find that the floor pan is completely rusted through in several spots and will need to be cut out and replaced. I’ll also need to replace or fabricate some new seat brackets, as they were also rotted away, due to contact with the rusty mess.

So. I’m not a welder. I tried years ago with a stick welder and managed a few spot welds that held, as well as some burn-throughs (I was just f’ing around, with no instruction). I don’t know if I have the potential to weld or not, but I am pretty handy. Most shops around here don’t like to work on old vehicles (can’t really blame them), so I’m considering putting some of the money I’d have to pay someone into buying a MIG welder and learning to use it on the projects mentioned above. The place I’m currently renting only has house current (110 volt, I believe), with 20 amp breakers.

Does anyone know if the Lincoln welder below would do the jobs outlined above? How steep would the learning curve be? Seems like it gets great reviews. Finally, the listing mentions the need for a cylinder of “shielding gas.” I read a bit on wiki about what this is, but can anyone tell me where it would be bought and how it would be used?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lincoln-Electric-120-Volt-Mig-Flux-Cored-Wire-Feed-Welder/999972168

Thanks so much in advance for any input. I know that helping a newb isn’t much fun, but we’ve all gotta start somewhere, right?

I have a lincoln weldpac 100. I really like it. It has about the same specs as the one you linked. I would suggest going to a college night school course, it will help a lot.

Thanks, Floored. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what would the main difference/advantage be between that one and this one?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lincoln-Electric-120-Volt-Flux-Cored-Wire-Feed-Welder/3499872

Is it basically just the fact that you can hook up a bottle of shielding gas to the first one, for better quality welds? Also, I just read that MIG welders are rarely used outside, due to the tendency for air movement to lead to lower-quality welds. Where I’m living right now, there’s a small garage, but to get power to it, I have to run an extension cord about 20-25 feet from the house. Should I assume that the extension cord will lead to a big enough power loss that the welder won’t run?

Thanks again, all.

Why not get a basic stick welder? Works outside, inside, don't need gas, you can buy rods (electrodes) for just about anything.

There are plenty that will run on a 120v house current.

The local craigslist here has plenty of welders for sale too.

planeflyer21 said:

Why not get a basic stick welder? Works outside, inside, don't need gas, you can buy rods (electrodes) for just about anything.

There are plenty that will run on a 120v house current.

The local craigslist here has plenty of welders for sale too.

Click to expand...

Hey, ‘flyer. I thought of that but they don’t seem very versatile (I could be wrong about this). While I’m sure that I could probably weld up the mount brackets with one, I think they’d burn right through the sheet metal on the floor boards. Plus, there’s the gobbiness to contend with (nothing like a nice clean weld bead, right?). Maybe I’m overthinking it.

I did check Craigslist too and and will continue to do so. I also found that Home Depot has the same welder I was looking at for about $30 less, though it’s not currently in stock here.

I've not done it on auto body but it can be done. Of course the rods you need won't be availabe at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Not car body sheet metal but there is good info in the comments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oyNpHLoJTA

Between the 2 I would pick the first. It is more versatile. The first one will weld from 24 gauge to 1/8, the 2nd from 18 gauge. 24 gauge is thinner. Also both are flux core but the first has the option to use gas. Flux core is better for rusty metal and where there is a breeze, like working outside on exhaust. Flux core leaves a lot to be cleaned up after which is where using gas shines, pun intended. Gas is better when doing panels because less cleanup.

Where I see most problems with beginner welders is they don't know what or how to control the "puddle". Learning oxy/acetylene teaches puddle control. I strongly suggest a course on welding.

I have used a Miller " MiniMig" ( Miller-Matic is what I think it is actually called) at least that's what we call it. a Small, portable, wire fed machine. It's a Flux core welder that does NOT need any gas. The flux is in the wire, so outside welding isn't an issue. about the extension cord, as long as it's a Heavy Duty (12 or 10 gauge) cord you shouldn't have a problem.

I build and install awnings and we use this machine as an " On Site " welder. Not always pretty welds put it gets the job done

welders are awesome tools to buy and i think everyone should own one? i do not suggest using a stick welder on anything automotive. it looks bad, greats lots of hot spark which could damage surrounding components if youre working in small areas and just all around isnt ideal. mig welding (with gas) outside is perfectly fine. just cant do it in high winds as the wind will blow your gas away. but if youre in a light breeze nothing will happen.
i have personal experience with this welder here. used it in the desert running off a honda generator to fix a front i beam that i had broke. it welds really smooth and had some balls for the 3/16" plate overlays i put over the cracks. i own the slightly larger "180HD" but am not recommending that one because it can not be ran off 110v

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/equipment/Pages/product.aspx?product=K2514-1(LincolnElectric)

^^^ that link takes me to a site map, no pics or description.

alwaysFlOoReD said:

^^^ that link takes me to a site map, no pics or description.

Click to expand...

my apologies, try this link

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-140-Amp-Weld-Pak-140-HD-MIG-Wire-Feed-Welder-with-Magnum-100L-Gun-Sample-spools-of-MIG-Wire-and-Flux-Wire-115V-K2514-1/100670934

That's an updated version of the one I own, a weldpack 100. Like I said earlier, I really like mine.

JOLENE_THE_RANGER said:

welders are awesome tools to buy and i think everyone should own one? i do not suggest using a stick welder on anything automotive. it looks bad, greats lots of hot spark which could damage surrounding components if youre working in small areas and just all around isnt ideal. mig welding (with gas) outside is perfectly fine. just cant do it in high winds as the wind will blow your gas away. but if youre in a light breeze nothing will happen.
i have personal experience with this welder here. used it in the desert running off a honda generator to fix a front i beam that i had broke. it welds really smooth and had some balls for the 3/16" plate overlays i put over the cracks. i own the slightly larger "180HD" but am not recommending that one because it can not be ran off 110v

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/equipment/Pages/product.aspx?product=K2514-1(LincolnElectric)

Click to expand...

Thanks for your input, Jolene. $524.00 is a bit outside of my price range, but I’m sure she’s sweet. I feel the same way about stick welders by the way; my old man has one and it’s fine for making some gobby welds to fill a hold in an exhaust manifold on an old Farmall for putting around the fields. Just not really what I’m looking to do. Nice to know that MIGs can be used outside, so long as it’s not too windy...

Keep your eye on Kijiji or craigslist. I recently saw a lincoln weldpak100 for $200.00 canadian - about $150 US.

Hey, guys.

Any thoughts on whether I’d be able to use this one (Craigslist) for my purposes? It’s been a while since I started this thread, so to re-iterate, I need to be able to weld up some body mount brackets on my Ranger, as well as to weld in some rust repair panels in the floor pan:

https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/tls/d/century-80gl-mig-welder/6619236050.html

According to the specs I found on Amazon, it can go do 18 gauge to 1/8” steel. That listing is here: https://www.amazon.com/Century-80GL-Flux-Cored-Welder/dp/B000QFMB60

It’s about a third the price of that one I was looking at on the Lowe’s site. It’s located about 45 minutes away, but my mother lives in that town, so I can easily make it a combined purchase/visit trip. I know it’s a lot less versatile, but even if I could only use it for these two jobs on the truck, I’d be totally thrilled. I know that a really good welder is a solid investment, but I’ve just had to buy a bunch of tools (grinder, hydraulic jack, jack stands, impact & sockets, etc) and still need to buy a drill press, sheet metal, sheet metal bender/break, body mount hardware, and a ton of other stuff. So not trying to cheap out, just trying to keep the cost of the job from hurtling too far beyond the value of the truck, since money’s tight.

As always, thanks for any insights.

PS - I know that ‘FlOoReD (who has given me lots of great advice) mentioned that gasless welders like this one require more cleanup. I’m imagining that this entails wire-brushing and wiping off the burnt flux, yeah? Is this usually done with any type of degreaser?