Welders....what do ya got??

[Busta Nut]

Well....as some of you know...I'm going to need a welder pretty soon.....

 

I've narrowed it down to two brands...Miller and Lincoln appear to be the best by word of mouth and reviews...

 

A lot of people say the Miller 250 is a great one to have.....I'd love that but it IS expensive.

 

Wondering what you guys are using out there???

[erichwaslike]

ive got a millermatic 210 and i love it. but then again i use it for building cages and frame work and running a shop

[Busta Nut]

I don't need one to run a shop...but I do believe in "you get what you pay for".....I buy Snap On cause I don't like my shit breaking....I would like to meet in the middle if it's possible....

 

 

.....where price and quality meet.

[datzenmike]

We have about 10 posts on welding and discussing welding including what people are using... http://community.ratsun.net/topic/457-welders/page__hl__welders

[erichwaslike]

well i will tell you, i work for snapon, my company is owned by them. the shop i run is an after hours gig. ive used just about every brand of tool out there, and they are al about equal when you stick with bigger named brands. snapon, craftsman, cornwall, mac and matco all work the same, and all break the same. ive prolly brokken more snapon ratchets than craftsman. and at the end of the day a broken craftsman one you run to sears and they give you a replacement, snapon... you gotta wait till the tool truck comes by and fight with the guy weather or not it was abuse or simple wear and tear and its his choice to replace it or charge you. and the initial craftsman price is half of snapon. get qaulity, but theres no need for a solid gold welder. the millermatic 210 is the industry standard for fabrication. it was repaced by the 211 and the 212 which i hate cause the digital readouts and the knobs arent directly connected to the read out, if you spin them fast it barely moves the voltage and wire speed so the arrows will change position from a specific reading to a diff position at the same actual setting. my 210 has actual dials that control it not a motherboard. when i point them in the same spot as last time i have the same setting. evferyone i know has hated the digital ones. if you want a good welder id go with a miller, lincoln, or hobart. 3 main guys. then decide what you want to be able to do. you can most likely get away with a 110v, you can still do cage work with a 110v. or look into a dvi(dual voltage input) they cost more but its a smart machine that knows what you plug into and resets itself to that so you can take it to a buddies that only has 110v not 220v and still use it fine. the duty cycle is just less on a 110v when welding heavier stuff, but if you are doing sheetmetal a smaller 110v is actually what you want so its not too powerfull and makes welding it a delicate job. my 210 on "1" voltage and about "20ish" wire speed w/ 0.035 wire still blows holes in datsun sheet metal if you arent careful, for an amateur it makes it near impossible.

[DaBlist]

 

Hobart Handler 115V/135Amp MIG made by Miller. Bought it ten years ago, now they sell a 115V/140Amp instead. I used to go to a lot of body shops for work and would ask the body shop guys what they recommended. 3 of them had these at home and loved them so I bought one. Great for thin body work or cars chassis. I have even done heavy gage steel on farm equipment by V grooving the joint and making multiple passes, held great.

 

If you can buy a full MIG setup and not just a wire feed. Night and Day difference.

[Farmer Joe]

my harbor freight chicago electric brand works great.

 

my buddy had one too, and it worked great.

 

ive got the 220v model with the on and off and the power 1 and 2 switches.

 

i know you dont get alot of adjustability, but they work awesome...

[Busta Nut]

We have about 10 posts on welding and discussing welding including what people are using... http://community.rat...ge__hl__welders

 

my bad mike...I wasn't thinkin'

[datzenmike]

It's time for an up date anyway.

[bilzbobaggins]

How about a welder or tool sticky to try and avoid this??? For those who see the sticky's :)

[72240z]

my harbor freight chicago electric brand works great.

 

my buddy had one too, and it worked great.

 

ive got the 220v model with the on and off and the power 1 and 2 switches.

 

i know you dont get alot of adjustability, but they work awesome...

 

Ya I have a 110 hf that I got used no less that does nothing but work well every time I use it lol. With the stock chinese wire it sucked pretty bad but I replaced is with some Hobart .30 flux core and never looked back.

 

Expensive welders certainly have their place. I used to love tiging/ heli arc at my old job on their ridiculous set up but most novices dont need even half what they get nor do they even know how to properly utilize what they paid for.

[dennis]

I have a Lincoln Pro Mig 140 that I use on sheet metal. I also have a Miller Econotig but I dont have 220 in my garage yet. I am probably going to sell it and get a Miller Syncrowave 200

[flatcat19]

ive used just about every brand of tool out there, and they are al about equal when you stick with bigger named brands. snapon, craftsman, cornwall, mac and matco all work the same, and all break the same.

 

Agree to disagree.

 

ive prolly brokken more snapon ratchets than craftsman. and at the end of the day a broken craftsman one you run to sears and they give you a replacement, snapon... you gotta wait till the tool truck comes by and fight with the guy weather or not it was abuse or simple wear and tear and its his choice to replace it or charge you.

 

Your Snap-On guy sucks.

Or you haven't bought enough tools.

I have never been questioned about use/abuse.

I even get drill bits and taps replaced through my Snap-On guy.

 

 

On topic...

We have a Miller at the shop. Love it. Best I have used.

I have used Lincoln, Miller, HF, others.

[sergent]

ive got a little lincoln sp125 plus, works great for most anything. has a gas hook up for hard wire or use flux core fore a little more penetration. runs off of 110v too so its very easy to plug in anywhere.

[braveops]

i have a m200 like this with a spool gun and i am very happy with it http://www.bc4x4.com/pr/2002/m200/page2.cfm.some guys i know had some miller tigs and now have gone to these ones any they really like them. http://www.everlastwelders.ca/

[wayno]

I have two welders, one is a harbor freight (220V), and the other is a millermatic passport plus(110/220V), they both have there advantages, I put my whole 521 kingcab with the harbor freight unit, it's great for spot welding/tacking, I didn't even use my helmet, and I used flux core wire, I used the miller for the 520 project, it worked the same as the cheap unit, both were gas equipped, but the miller was the only one with a bottle, I like flux core a lot, I can use it outside without worrying about the wind, the gas bottle makes everything difficult to move around.

I use the miller for everything now, it's just so portable with flux core wire.

[oldskoolvws]

I agree with Wanyo above. Many moons ago I used to weld on nuclear reactors for the Navy. EVERYTHING was TIG. In welding school we had to learn all the basic SMAW, GMAW and TIG practices but TIG became my discipline. Well I got out of that after about 8 years and was reintroduced to the wonderful world of GMAW or as most of you know it, MIG. Both have very practical applications, but which to use is decided by product being welded and its application.

 

For the flux core or at times, solid with 100% argon MIG, I have a Lincoln WeldPak 140 I picked up from Home Depot. Excellent machine for the price. Penetration is decent, strength is good. I even made a set of car ramps with it. Good for all those minor tasks.

 

For my TIG / Stick needs, I went $pendy. I have a Miller Dynasty 200 DX. To me, best out there right now for the home guy / small shop. Water cooled TIG system, runs on 120V to 480V. Good peneration and obvious strength. Long leads and HF start with included foot pedal.

[oldskoolvws]

BTW, I saw Everlast Welders last year at SEMA. Very impressive equipment for a huge cost reduction. Technology today is making even the Chinese ebay stuff somewhat decent. So much, I am even starting to look at plasma cutters on ebay. I want one of those $400 ones.

[braveops]

the everlast tigs that those guys got are the plasma/tig all in one they said they work real good.i would get a everlast tig or miller if i was to buy one if and when i can afford to

[Busta Nut]

Thanks for the input guys....

 

.....I dug up this old welder from our shop storage....boss says he never really used it....probably needs wire and some gas.

 

 

is this thing any good??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@Erichwaslike......no offense but your Snap-On guy sucks......I've NEVER been questioned about abuse...we're mechanics...of course we abuse our tools.

 

My buddy went took engineering and in one of his classes he was asked to design a tool or make one better...he came to me asking about my tools...when he went back to class and asked the teacher about my recommendations he said it would cost too much to biuld a tool like that...they were gearing their market for Home Depot and Osh(Husky and such..)

 

First Matco ratchet I ever bought broke on the second day......took three months to fix....and by then the chrome had faded from the socket set that came with it.

 

Never broken more tools than I have with Mac.....and again....getting replacements took time......if you could find a truck.

 

Snap-On rarely break and when they do it's replaced within' a week or two....NO questions asked.......even my Air Hammer bits are warranted after I've ground them down.

 

 

Time to get a new Rep....

[Farmer Joe]

yeah id have to agree about the snap on rep.

 

i have a blue point 1/4 drive set, and i twisted the 1/4in part off the little little breaker bar in the set.

 

showed it to em, and they just handed me a new one..

 

file a complaint on his ass. he doesnt need that job, if hes gonna be a dick. way to get sales, eh?

[izzo]

Have a lincoln 125 110v mig, and a lincoln 220v stick machine.

 

Speaking of, i need to get my welder back from freaky so I can get to work on my rides lolz.

[BenTerrible]

I stand by Miller...

 

[Ranman72]

Thanks for the input guys....

 

.....I dug up this old welder from our shop storage....boss says he never really used it....probably needs wire and some gas.

 

 

is this thing any good??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@Erichwaslike......no offense but your Snap-On guy sucks......I've NEVER been questioned about abuse...we're mechanics...of course we abuse our tools.

 

My buddy went took engineering and in one of his classes he was asked to design a tool or make one better...he came to me asking about my tools...when he went back to class and asked the teacher about my recommendations he said it would cost too much to biuld a tool like that...they were gearing their market for Home Depot and Osh(Husky and such..)

 

First Matco ratchet I ever bought broke on the second day......took three months to fix....and by then the chrome had faded from the socket set that came with it.

 

Never broken more tools than I have with Mac.....and again....getting replacements took time......if you could find a truck.

 

Snap-On rarely break and when they do it's replaced within' a week or two....NO questions asked.......even my Air Hammer bits are warranted after I've ground them down.

 

 

Time to get a new Rep....

looks like you need to find a welding supply house get some wire and get to work

might need gas too

I use argon co2 75/25

that machine should work fine you have a great boss to stash that welder in the back room for you like that

reviews on line are soso seems it can weld 1/8 inch ok with a 20% duty cycle from one report

if it works use it its free if it doesent then you need to go shopping

home depot has a lincolin welder that is decent for the price I like gas not flux core because gas is cleaner but if welding outside in the wind flux cor is better and will penetrate deeper

[DanielC]

I got this MIG machine,

Still learning how to use it.

I also have an Ox-Acetelene setup, that my dad bought years ago, and he also left me with a Miller 225 Amp AC only arc welder.