looking for a basic welder.

[whitebassbenny]

Well Im looking for a basic welder to fix some things on my truck like the radiator support and maybe make a bumper. I have not looked into alot but lowes had one Lincoln Electric
Pro Core 125 Welder it was on sale for about $390 which seemed like a good deal. Also found one at harbor frieght 230 Volt, 160 Amp MIG and Flux Welder for alot less. If i was to make a bumper it would be 1/4" but more like 3/16 all around. But i want it mostly for exhaust work and fixing the body mount and just messing around with. What do you guys think those above. I don't think i would use it alot for 1/4" though inless i do the bumper.

 

[rboyer]

I have heard a couple of people complain about those Chicago Electric welders not lasting too long but of course i'm sure that user-abuse could have something to do with it. I would personally go with the Lincoln if choosing between just those two. Believe it or not those cheap Campbell Hausfeld welders that you can buy at walmart actually hold up to some abuse. I bought their 110v arc welder for like 100 bucks five years ago and use it for welding stupid little things where I need a more portable welder than my gas mig. I have far exceeded the duty cycle just about every time I used it and it still works just fine. I have a friend who has one of their flux core mig welders and he actually took it into work and used it for a while on a daily basis. I think they cost around the same as the one at Harbor Freight.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Check into the Lincoln Mig Pak 180.

Excellent welder for the price. I got mine new for $599 Canadian.

 

[fx2prerunner]

mig pak 180, or millermatic 180, I got a millermatic 140 and I wish I had bought the 180. That being said if the heaviest thing you weld is 1/4" the 140 will be fine, I have welded 7/16 with mine by heating the steel with a torch first with no problems.

 

[metalmacguyver]

220V or bust.

 

[Welder0800]

Miller Rules

I have a Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC. Try to get DC if you have the means because it lets you weld thicker metal. The thing with those lincoln "Tombstone" welders is they have alumian coils. Also you can only adjust 10 amps at a time

By the sticks the way go! 6010 root 7018 cover

 

[MrE_Powers]

if you get a chicago electric welder that works for under 60$ you are getting a good deal other wise steer clear and look for something better. i had one but i would not buy another one. except to flip it for a profit. their problem areas are the guns suck, and the gas lines leak bad.

 

[coffee]

mig pak 180, or millermatic 180, I got a millermatic 140 and I wish I had bought the 180. That being said if the heaviest thing you weld is 1/4" the 140 will be fine, I have welded 7/16 with mine by heating the steel with a torch first with no problems.

I feel your pain. Did the same thing.

 

[That Baker Guy]

hey i found this little welder here, from the reviews it seems to be what you are looking for in a welder. me and one of my buddies are considering buyin a welder to fool around with this summer and this is one that caught our eye.

 

[Will]

I can't imagine welding 1/4" with a 120v welder. I like big, heavy, deep one-pass beads. I think you need a 240V/225A simple stick welder for the big stuff and a small wire-fed flux-core for the exhaust and thin sheetmetal. I think $400 would come close to meeting both needs.

 

[JohnnyU]

I think you need a 240V/225A simple stick welder for the big stuff and a small wire-fed flux-core for the exhaust and thin sheetmetal.

That's basically what I have. I have an old Lincoln 225 "tombstone", and an older MATCO 135 that I picked up brand-new/never used from a buddy for $200. It suits my needs for now, and I do use both machines. Would I prefer to have a much larger 220V MIG, sure but I don't need it.

 

[coffee]

That's basically what I have. I have an old Lincoln 225 "tombstone", and an older MATCO 135 that I picked up brand-new/never used from a buddy for $200. It suits my needs for now, and I do use both machines. Would I prefer to have a much larger 220V MIG, sure but I don't need it.

Exactly. I have the 140 Millermatic and the old faithfull "tombstone". I still get better beads with the stick welder. Mainly that's what I used for 35 years and just haven't had enough practice with the mig, but it's gettin better.

 

[budro]

Be aware of the duty cycle on the smaller cheaper welders. I too have one of the cambellhausfeld's cheap walmart welders. I use it alot for tacking and light weight welding. But the duty cycle is not very long. Meaning you cant weld to long of a period in a row without it cooling back down again.

 

[canyoncritter]

weldingweb.com lots of good info. like TRS is of ranger's.The eeven have alot of info on the harborfart stuff.

myself I would look in to the hobart line, like the 135/140's that you can hook up gas to,if your looking to do body work and trying to keep it on a budget.

hobart 140's can be picked up for 450 from tool king



http://www.toolking.com/hobartwelders_500500a.aspx

 

[chris_brown09]

I have a small lincoln welder thats flux core and i've built several bumpers and an A-frame for a flat bed that picked up about 7 thousand pounds daily for the past 6 years and never had any trouble. I usually run 3 passes on thicker stuff