I burn holes............

I'm considering getting a welder and burning my own holes rather than paying someone else. I don't plan on trying to build a cage or anything to technical. Retirement may be coming up and I took welding way back when. Could anybody advise me on Mig welders and Plasma Cutters.
I do appreciate your imput good or bad.

Terry:? :? :?

 

don't bother with a 110v welder unless all you plan to do is sheet metal.

200amps is a good size

 

i agree with raskal on the amperage. if you plan to buy a plasma cutter be ready shed some weight on your bank account. it's really ok, all your buddies will love you for it. I'm in the military and I just talked my boss into letting us buy one. it ran just over 2K with the discount. Thanks for working cause were putting your tax dollars to good use!

 

Thanks,I kinda thought a 110v unit sounded a bit under powered.Get what you pay for. I really don't plan on the plasma cutter $$$$$$$$ just wanted to know more about it other than what the suppliers put on their sites unless I hit the lotto. Going to get a welder though. Watch Me Burn
Ditto on tax $$$$. Local government sucks.

 

If I were to buy one right now I would buy a hobart handler 175. They can be had for reasonable bucks and will weld anything that you would want on an early CJ5. I wouldn't buy anything bigger than that unless I planned to do production work. I think I can get a factory referb localy for around $400. It is essentialy the same welder as the miller matic 175.

That being said, for the last 10 years I have used a menards special 110v wire feed. It is some italian made thing but it has served me well. I welded plow mounts with it that held without issue. The biggest problem with it is duty cycle. When welding thick stuff it needs a "cool down" pretty often. One other issue was the grounding clamp that came on it. What a POS. I replaced that right away.

 

Be sure to buy one with gas I own a Miller 210 and love it but i do a lot fab work At work we have a smaller Hobart and its OK it 's fine for body work but it has a short duty cycle you weld 5 min. and wait 20 min.
I have been shopping for a plasma cutter but will have to sell some more junk befour i can buy whwt i want..

 

Thanks guys, I've decided to take a class this fall but was thinking about a good book and/or DVD on MIG. Any suggestions?:?

 

:iagree: The 110v welders tend to get a bad rap because most of them are in the "cheap-o" catagory, such as Harbor Freight's Chicago Electric brand. (of which I own one) As mentioned, the duty cycle tends to stink. As a negative bonus, if you trip the duty cycle enough, you risk wearing out the contactor and making the unit useless. I solved the duty cycle problem with the simple addition of a 110v computer fan. The grill slots were already in the case, and the contacts on the switch were already there. Guess they omitted the fan to save a couple of $$$. Anyhow, the dang thing is nearly 100% duty cycle with the fan, and I've welded up LOTS of bigger stuff with it. Such as THIS and THIS. Just be sure to use a 20amp outlet, and you can do plenty with it.

Don't let the cheaper units scare you, but don't run out and buy one if your budget is a bit more "champagne".

And, oh yeah, the plasma cutter is N-I-C-E to have. I don't use mine too often, but when I do use it for some oddball project, I'm glad I have it!

 

I'm not certain of the mechanics behind it, but basically when the welder is in use, heat is built up in the transformers and such. Getting too hot is bad, so they throw in a "thermostat" of sorts to shut it down when things get too hot. In the summer, welding up big stuff, this shut down time is painfully long. The fan helps by flushing out the hotter air, and keeping the components cool. That's why you haven't run up against the duty cycle monster.

 

The Lincoln we just got rid of did. 110 works fine for smaller projects and can serve well depending on what you do with it. I know I will never buy another one, but I do a ton of welding from time to time. From what I have seen, you get good welders and bad welders from every brand name out there. I have never had a problem from Hobarts/Millers though.

 

Same here on the harbor freight cheapo. Ive burned through dozens of spools of wire with no real problems...havnt even had a duty cycle problem. Fixed everything from sheet metal to spring mounts. Also agree though if you have a higher budget go better. The bigger the welder and more features it has the more you will use it. Oh ya get one with gas option. Flux core wire is a messy thing.

 

Oh I have found that duty cycle switch on my Harbor Freight cheapy. Then again it was about 100* and I had the sun directly on the welder so I am sure I was close to the switch temp before I even started welding. I plan on adding a fan to mine when I get back into the swing of welding.

 

I have to disagree on this. The rotisserie I built (See tech section under body and exterior) was welded with a Lincoln Weldpak 100 (110 volt, 100 amp). The stanchion tube (.120" wall thickness) is welded to the rotator sleeve (.203" wall). Also, the cross beam receiver (.109" w.t.) is welded to the base arm mount (3/16" thick). I think if you stick to Miller, Hobart or Lincoln, 110 volt welders are o.k. FWIW.

tommy b

 

I have a Miller 135 110V MIG. The thing works GREAT. I've welded up to 1/4" with it. I bought it probably 5 years ago for I think about $700. I've had zero issues with it and have run dozens of spools through it. The thing I like the most about it is that it has infinite heat and wire speed controls. Some of the cheaper models only have a few setting for each. If you aren't welding anything huge, something like this will work just fine for you.
For big stuff I have a Lincoln Weldanpower welder generator

 

I have the same machine. Very happy with it. I bought mine because I didn't want to wire in a 220 outlet. Besides when would you need to weld anything bigger than 1/4"?

 

I have a Lincoln SP-175, and I bought it on sale when they had that big NASCAR promotion. Wish, I had bought a bigger machine, well actually the only time it ran out of heat (should have pre-heated the area with a torch) was when I was welding on some spring pads to my DANA 44 housing that I built using 1/2 DOM tubing for the axle tubes. The tubes sucked the heat out of the weld area and I could not get the puddle to flow and penetrate correctly. But, it welds 3/16 fine all day.