getting a welder

[jeepmedic]

Well i want to get a welder so i can build some things in my heep. but i am not sure what kind to go with i have little experience w each kind so i know how to do it, but metals, thickness, and what to use them on has got me stumped. any who i will be doing mild things putting in new floor, and building safty hoops, and brackets for front and rear bucket seats. which would be the best kind of welder?? feedback is great i want to know what you guys think between a flux wire, a mig, and an arc welder!!

[4.3LXJ]

If you are going to work on your floor and frame, get a MIG. They are the best for that kind of thing. It takes a lot of experience to do that kind of work with a stick. Flux wire is OK, but why beat the slag off all the time if you don't have to.

[rguignard]

mig it can weld anything but a broken heart :thumbsup:

[tbone]

Most migs are set up to use gas or flux core, can't go wrong there. :thumbsup:

[alwaysxj]

i have a mig with flux core right now that i will convert over to gas hear soon. i love it i have made bumpers and sliders with it with no problems.

[cheap jeep]

I have been a production welder in 2 factories for a combined total of 35yrs. Find out how thick of steel the welder will work on in the instructions,usually 1/4 steel is thick enough unless you are planning on building something really heavy,like a trailer or something.I'm talking about a mig.

[BlueXJ]

I have a Lincoln stick welder for real heavy stuff and a Miller 180 with gas for the standard stuff. Never learned ti TIG.

[Melissa]

I say go for a wire feed welder, miller sp 250 or miller sp 175 :thumbsup:

I have them both, fantastic welders :patriot:

[rguignard]

I say go for a wire feed welder, miller sp 250 or miller sp 175 :thumbsup:

I have them both, fantastic welders :patriot:

hay melissa your not jessi combs are you ?? a girl that can weld and work on her own jeep :thumbsup:

[4.3LXJ]

I have a buzz box with 50 foot leads I haven't used since I got my LTec 250. I am really spoiled.

[Melissa]

hay melissa your not jessi combs are you ?? a girl that can weld and work on her own jeep :thumbsup:

I will tell you, my welds are not very pretty :smiley-scared002:, but they work. The only things I weld are my steel feeders and gates when they need repaired, saves me alot of money.

[4.3LXJ]

I will tell you, my welds are not very pretty :smiley-scared002:, but they work. The only things I weld are my steel feeders and gates when they need repaired, saves me alot of money.

How about your irrigation pipe when it freezes?

[Melissa]

How about your irrigation pipe when it freezes?

I blow them out every fall , I have not had one freeze in a very long time, but the cows have been known to scratch on the hand lines and horses..........friggin horses put the holes in them, but I cannot weld aluminum, I have tried in the past and lets just say it was a massive FAIL :rotfl2:, I have to leave the aluminum pipes to the "prefessionals" otherwise they are worse off and it ususally ends in me having to replace the pipe I tried to fix :D

[jeepmedic]

can you weld tubing together with a mig welder, cause thats the other big thing i will do. and my dad has a lincon stick welder so i could use his, but that would be good if i decide to make the bumpers right??

[Mudderoy]

can you weld tubing together with a mig welder, cause thats the other big thing i will do. and my dad has a lincon stick welder so i could use his, but that would be good if i decide to make the bumpers right??

I thought Lincoln made a MIG welder as well.

[rguignard]

can you weld tubing together with a mig welder, cause thats the other big thing i will do. and my dad has a lincon stick welder so i could use his, but that would be good if i decide to make the bumpers right??

yes you can weld tubing with a mig :D

[4.3LXJ]

can you weld tubing together with a mig welder, cause thats the other big thing i will do. and my dad has a lincon stick welder so i could use his, but that would be good if i decide to make the bumpers right??

Yes. It is easier with a MIG than with stick.

[4.3LXJ]

I blow them out every fall , I have not had one freeze in a very long time, but the cows have been known to scratch on the hand lines and horses..........friggin horses put the holes in them, but I cannot weld aluminum, I have tried in the past and lets just say it was a massive FAIL :rotfl2:, I have to leave the aluminum pipes to the "prefessionals" otherwise they are worse off and it ususally ends in me having to replace the pipe I tried to fix :D

If you are good at gas welding, you can do it that way. They make a special flux cored rod for that.

[xjoverkill]

I've been pondering the same question myself. I have always used
a stick welder but with all that needs to be done on my jeep i believe
iam going to buy a mig welder and just learn how to use it. Iam
an alright welder with a stick but i just dont think i want to use it on
my sub frame.

[4.3LXJ]

Once you use the MIG, it will spoil you. I haven't fired up my stick welder in years. But I keep it around because there are a few things you can do with a stick you can't with a MIG

[cheap jeep]

Melissa.have you tried plastic pvc pipe,if it gets broke, you just cut out a small piece and just glue a coupler in. This is the kind of pipe that is in most houses now for pressure and drainage.

[Rev D]

I'm partial to mig. I welded with it in a shop for probably 12 years and loved them. The one I had there had a boom arm over my table which was really slick and could use the really big spools of wire. It was a OLD power unit by union carbide but you couldn't kill the thing it was probably 20 years old when I first started welding on it. We also had a pretty nice lincoln (all 220v welders of course) with stitch and such that was really pretty nice. Went to another shop and as we were just doing light sheetmetal used a few 110 v hobarts that really worked well. When I did my Zcar project I had bought a lincoln 110v from Home Depot with the flux wire. It actually did pretty good up to 1/4-5/16" steel but was obviously dirtier than gas shielded, that said it was better outside if you had any sort of breeze. I did the entire exhaust on the car along with the rear crossmember for the 6sp tranny and it worked fabulous. Just an opinion, but once you use MIG its hard to use anything else. I'd love a tig but just to expensive. We used stick in the shop for some things, one of the old lincoln tombstone buzz boxes and for some things heavier it was pretty good, but to be honest we'd crank it up, put a bigger rod in things and use it for cutting. :D Go mig and try to get one of the bigger three brands, miller, lincoln or hobart (which I think miller owns I don't remember), theres a few other major brands I'm forgetting I'm sure, but with the major brands you can get cones and tips and stuff easily. If you go like Harbor Freight sometimes those disposable parts can be tougher to get and the duty cycle of some machines mean they overheat and you have to give them a break before continuing.

Regards,

D.

[4.3LXJ]

Hey Rev, so you are a welder by trade, or at least were? I was a millwright (as opposed to a millwrong) for a number of years. We are tossing around the idea of having a fab section here. I am sure you would bring a lot of expertise and a different dimension to it.

[Rev D]

Thank you, yeah its been a while but its like riding a bike. Health has me sidelined right now, but I'd be honored to give any input I can I enjoy that sort of thing, thanks for the invite, nice forum by the way!

Regards,

Don