Welder advice

[weasel]

I am looking to buy a welder i just want to build a lightbar bumper etc.I do not want to sound rude but like ebody money is tight i dont have 500 bucks to throw down nor want to get the ya get what ya pay for realy just need advice on what to get by on till i strike gold lol and also please dont say well ya can get one for 700,000$ lol just lookin for around 200 or 300 bucks for now and btw great site thanks for any help again dont mean to sound rude just tryn to get by thanks :thumbsup:

[denverd1]

rude?!? savin a buck don't make ya rude.... welcome to the site.. :thumbsup: i don't have much to offer other than I'll be watching this thread cause I want a welder too. i'd like to think frame stiffeners are in my future :rolleyes:

[prerunner1982]

Here is the one I am looking at: $299 at Lowe's
It's a Lincoln K1170 stick welder.
http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/015082/015082011707lg.jpg
http://www.lowes.com/pd_98103-1703-K1170_0__?productId=1115275&PID=1319015&cm_mmc=AFF_CJ-_-Shopping.com-_-1189274-_-10926682

[gary63]

I have one it was my dad's and he biult alot of race cars cages with it. I have used it for roll bars and bumpers.I also have a harbor fraight wire feed not the best by far but it does work and it was $100.00 on sale. so you don't need a realy nice one just a good grinder and wheels to clean up and prip. and practes on scrap metal the same thickness.

[denverd1]

http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/mig-flux-welders/90-amp-flux-wire-welder-68887-8494.html
How thick can you go with this one? I know the "frame" is really thin so would prolly work for stiffeners. Could you weld 1/4" DOM with it? 3/16" bumpers?

[prerunner1982]

From the Harbor Freight website:
Welding capacities 3/16" To 18 Gauge

[gary63]

i have the next size up and it will do 1/4.I have been looking at the eastwood tig i have there plasma and it works good and it was cheap when on sale. it cuts 3/8 amd smaller and it will cut thicker but missy.A friend picked up the tig and he realy lokes it.the one thing i like about hf is you can get a 2yr warrenty witch the real good one will sometime come with but you will pay alot more for and is ok if you are useing it alot and you know what you want.

[weasel]

I thik im goin give the hf a try if its a bust oh well somebody will need it for sumthin and if it works great. IM fine with multi pases and prep and clean up so ill find out in next lil bit

[4.3LXJ]

The question of welders comes up often. I personally have a 220 amp MIG. But I have only really cranked it up a few times. So for the average guy the smaller welders work fine. The less expensive wire feeds come in two types. With and without gas shield. There are advantages to both types. The cheapest is the type that use flux core wire. They work, but you have to beat the flux off afterwards. You can also weld in all positions. With gas shield, it is cleaner and the welder costs more. However you cannot weld in all positions easily.

[weasel]

I have read read read and read :sign0181:and asked wich one and decided on a Hobart Handler 140 any of ya got one ? any opinions will be apreciated i fig instead of buyn a el cheapo twice i would just get a decent one it runs around 500 bucks although it means no bumper for a while cause ill hafta save more and eat more bologna for a bit:p but oh well tell me what you think

[Brasscatz]

I have read read read and read :sign0181:and asked wich one and decided on a Hobart Handler 140 any of ya got one ? any opinions will be apreciated i fig instead of buyn a el cheapo twice i would just get a decent one it runs around 500 bucks although it means no bumper for a while cause ill hafta save more and eat more bologna for a bit:p but oh well tell me what you think

I don't know anything about welders, but I've gotta ask... did you sing the Oscar Meyer song to spell bologna? ..... cuz I did! :spongebob:

[msmoorenburg]

I have a hobart 140 and love it. I was able to burn in my frame stiffeners without problems. they say it will do 1/4 steel, but you can tell the difference jumping up to a 220v unit.

[weasel]

cool all i wanna do is basic jeep stuff and like i sai tc or horror freieght is cheaper and might just work id rather do without and wait and not have a prob and be ut 150 bucks and a restraining order from the store lol n btw my wife still singin o s c a r

[4.3LXJ]

You won't be sorry. Nothing like good tools

[XJ Wheeler]

The Handler 140 is gonna be my choice when i get the money and well, a real need for one. My brother has the smaller 125, hasn't let us down yet but can't do what the 140 can. The 140 seems like the perfect moderate home builder to me.

[Dredwolf]

If you are torn between the discount HF welders and the more expensive Miller, Hobart, check out the Northern Tool branded welders, I bought one because it was on the shelf, on sale, and I needed it NOW.

It has surprised me time and again what a 110v welder can do, especially with flux core on thicker stuff in bad conditions

[cpttuna]

What kind of welding experience do you have? do you want 110 or 220? Stick or something else? If you go with stick ,try to get a unit that is both AC and DC. One big thing to remember: if you go to small initially, are you stuck with it if you need bigger later.

[weasel]

i have enough experiance to get by the prob is i probably wont use it after the bumper and roofrack maybe a panel repair unless i get bord n weld my buds doors shut lol thats why im torn between em i have also looked at tsc jobsmart i really like it and i dont have 500 o spend on one then not use it but ..... plus i would prob never get a tank of gas i was goina rent one but around here it cost 140 bucks if ya have it more than 4 hrs so i could buy a cheaper one for that price so this where my head hurts

[weasel]

plus the hobart 125 and jobsmart are almost identical specs and jobsmart is made by them also

[gary63]

I bot the hf one becouse it was on sale and I needed one at the time it has work just fine so far but I thought I wasn't going to use it much well after I got started I"m finding out i have other things to weld up. custom tools fix freinds trailers biuld things around the house so I can get time to go wheeling.so now I"m looking at better ones that can be used on more things.

[weasel]

ANYONE HEARD OF A DAYTON 295 ARC WELDER? I have a friend sellin one cheap it works great i just think noah still has the oter one lol i know its grainger but just curious on some info i cant seem tofind any and also it would be alot cheaper than a mig again all im doin is goina be weldin bumpers n sliders and would like to door some floorpans any more help will be apreciated just not sure to take this deal or let go of 400 dollars on a new mig thanks again

[prerunner1982]

can you post a pic of it?

[LizardRunner]

nothing wrong with a stick welder, Mig without gas (flux core wire) is just an auto feed stick welder. I've used Stick, mig and tig welders and like each for certain things.

[weasel]

i just cant decide lol all i want is to build some 3/16 bumpers and a floor pan and then my welding days are over i am leaning toward a new a hobart 125 i realy like without gas but then i read more and cant decide i will prob go with the handler and if i get burnt then oh well so be it hmm i said get burnt

[prerunner1982]

then my welding days are over

That's what you think... you will get those done and be like ohhhh what can I build next.

[Dredwolf]

That's what you think... you will get those done and be like ohhhh what can I build next.

That's how I ended up with a plasma cutter and.....stuff

[weasel]

well here it goes i went with brand new hobart 125 with co2 tank kit plus free cart for 300 dollars withh 5/3/1/ hobart warrenty and befor you say ill wish i went bigger yea it would been nice but i just dont have the option to buy or need a 500 $ plus welder like ppl will say shoulda just spend a few hundred more and get a... you go do that sinse you have all that to blow lol the reason for co2 is in my area only one gas co for argon limited hrs unreal rental and wont refil other tanks the joys of country living but hey im used to it now for co2 as mentioned country kids shoot the hell outa some paintballs so extra tanks cheap and plenty of refil places and better hrs plus after my passengers floorpan i prob wont need gas but if so i gots it and can always upgrade if a argon tank falls in my yard oh and for craigslist that you say i should check mostly consist of battery hooked to jumper cables and electrodes im out on that lol plus again nuthin realy around here the few that are on cl pple wont your first born reference a dremmel tool was listed for 59 bucks used no accesories so yea that route didnt work so ill let ya know how this works out after i get some metal glued up thanks alot for reading this and all the info you gave and dont take offense to some things i say just hard times and doin what gotta do so go do sumthin im done :smiley-talk024:

[4.3LXJ]

As I said somewhere else, you can always make two passes for the heavy stuff. Congrats