New Welder-Suggestions/Perspective/Pointers/Tech Info

[snoboy]

Duke, I pretty much based my entire input off of this portion of your criteria, which seemed to say alot to me
" I do not have an out building to store this equipment in so space is a consideration. Cost is important but value is critical."

My thinking is you'll be working outside frequently which would set the standard to Stick welding, MIG using solid flux core (no gas) or OA (oxy-acetylene). Limited storage space means limited tools so my thought process was to get you outfitted to cut,grind and glue metal together in the simplest but most efficient manor. Mig welders and chop saws take up a fair amount of space Torches use alot less floor area and an angle grinder can go in the bathroom vanity if need be, ha ha. OA welding is a very plausible compromise and actually quite rewarding, and when you can get down working with molten metal all the other forms of welding will fall right into place. Again my .02

snoboy

 

[snoboy]

One other thing Duke. You wont generate alot of scrap with OA, your welds just wont be real pretty at first.
If you do decide on a wire feed I would follow the advice of the others and go with at least a 220v model. If you went stick you would still need 220 any ways. I'm a Miller guy all the way for wire feeders! But Home Depot and Lowes have pretty good deals on the Lincoln 175s. That would be a real nice unit. You'll still need a good angle grinder which BTW the Ridgid 4 1/2" is an excellent grinder. Most agree it's a re-badged Matabo which is top-o-the line. The Ridgid will be my next angle grinder. Hit Home Depot and 1 stop shop! Keep us posted. I'm a fairly new welder and have been welding my butt off for the last few months and am addicted. If you practice frequently you'll get reasonbly good pretty fast. Get your self a decent welding book to help you trouble shoot and the manufacture's sites have a wealth of info too. Which ever route you take best of luck to you.
snoboy

 

[sandman2234]

I thought there was an unwritten law on the books that said everyone with aspirations of welding was required to buy a Tombstone welder:>)
There are many many many of them out there, and the old ones were built like a tank! (almost as heavy too!)
David from jax

 

[john_bud]

One other thing Duke. You wont generate alot of scrap with OA, your welds just wont be real pretty at first.
If you do decide on a wire feed I would follow the advice of the others and go with at least a 220v model. If you went stick you would still need 220 any ways. I'm a Miller guy all the way for wire feeders! But Home Depot and Lowes have pretty good deals on the Lincoln 175s. That would be a real nice unit. You'll still need a good angle grinder which BTW the Ridgid 4 1/2" is an excellent grinder. Most agree it's a re-badged Matabo which is top-o-the line. The Ridgid will be my next angle grinder. Hit Home Depot and 1 stop shop! Keep us posted. I'm a fairly new welder and have been welding my butt off for the last few months and am addicted. If you practice frequently you'll get reasonbly good pretty fast. Get your self a decent welding book to help you trouble shoot and the manufacture's sites have a wealth of info too. Which ever route you take best of luck to you.
snoboy

Snoboy,

One thing that used to be true. Might not be anymore, but the welders sold by the big box stores were very stripped down models. There was an extra letter tagged on to indicate that most of the features were removed. Learned that from a direct comparison between the box store and a welding supply house.

Got a Lincoln 255 mig and a set of Victor torches. Brands seem to cycle back and forth on features and cost but the big names all have decent quality. (Unlike my first 110v Italian mig with a wimpy duty cycle).

jb

 

[Duke4AZ]

Thanks for all of the information from each of the contributors. In the past couple of days, between this forum, a couple of welding forums, and discussions with people I know, it has pretty much been like drinking from a fire hose. But it still tastes good.

So the Rents are down from MN this week, just got in today. Father has been welding since he was 17, I am almost 1/2 century, so you can do the math. After talking with him and throwing a lot of your inputs, suggestions, and experiences at him, and basically discussing what I want to do, his recommendation was the MIG. While I have him here we are going to run the 220 line around the garage and get set up to burn some wire. The actual model and size is yet to be determined. I have previously stated the features I want and will start doing the comparative shopping this weekend, like tomorrow. Should be up and running in a week or so.

One other little bit of information that helped push me to the MIG was that I stand to inherit a set of torches and a stick welder in the very near future, like as soon as I can get my butt to Minnisota and pick them up. I suppose doing that math on that one with respect to gas prices is not going to result in such a great deal, but they are Dad's and that is worth something.

Thanks again to everyone that has helped here. If you think of something else, please feel free to post here or direct email. I will repost the results as soon as I git 'er done.

Any suggestions on AD helmets? That just seems like a lot of technology that needs good practical backup. I don't want to trial and error something like that.

 

[swines]

Since you live in the SW, I'd look at RRAM sales (Fresno Oxygen / Barnes Welding Supply) Fresno Oxygen / Barnes Welding Supply

They sell Miller, Lincoln, Hobart, and Weldmark welding equipment. I've purchased a lot of equipment from them over the past 15 years. They'll ship any item or order over $50 for free to western states.

The little 115 Volt MIG units can weld up to 3/8-inch steel with careful joint preparation and multiple passes after the root pass. The Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC and Lincoln "buzzbox" stick models are a good welders - but heavy at 100+ pounds.

Miller also makes some 115/230 Volt self-linking (auto voltage) stick and MIG units. I have the Maxstar 140 inverter welder (the new version is the Maxstar 150) - which is a stick welder that can be used for DC TIG work also. Many people don't understand how the inverter welder works. It's a diode bridge that splits the AC current into two halves and adds them together for final DC final output. This makes a much higher effeciency than transformer-based welders where much of the voltage is lost in the transformer as heat.

Even on 115 Volts, the little Maxstar can easily weld 3/8-inch steel. I have it because it's so portable (about the size of a child's lunchbox and weighs about 11 lbs) - and can run on 115 Volts - making repairs and installations at any location much easier as you don't have to find or rig a 230 Volt outlet. In fact, I have rented it on several occassions to a local machine shop for repair work - including installation of an I-beam for a 3-ton overhead crane. It is a serious piece of welding equipment.

The easiest welder to use will be a MIG. MIGs make poor weldors look good and good weldors look great. Making good beads with a MIG is about 10x easier than with a stick welder.

For reference the welding equipment I have: 300 Amp multi-process ESAB setup as a MIG; the Maxstar 140 stick; a Thermal Arc, Arc Master 160 setup as a TIG; ESAB 500 plasma cutter; and an ESAB Pureox gas welding outfit. I use a Jackson EQC Professional auto-darkening helmet - but today, I'd probably get either the Miller auto helmet or the Jackson NEXGEN as they will go to 13 and I do a lot of TIG work.

As for grinders - I have two Bosch grinders, a Milwaukee grinder, and a Porter Cable grinder. They all work about the same. Just make sure you buy a quality grinder.

 

[Joee]

Hi, I stick welded for years and finally bought a, Millermatic 210 mig, its a very nice 220V machine.

It will do you right.

Joe

 

[Sully2]

The easiest welder to use will be a MIG. MIGs make poor weldors look good and good weldors look great. Making good beads with a MIG is about 10x easier than with a stick welder.

You got that right!! Im still practicing with .030 flux core...and even though about 1/2 of my welds LOOK like ****....I cant beat the 2 pieces apart with a 2 pounder...so at least they are "glued together" pretty decently!

I can do NOTHING with a stick welder!

 

[horseman1]

If I was in the market for a new Mig for 1/4" or less material, I'd probably take a close look at that Hobart 187. I havent figured out if it would be worth the trade up from the 175. Probably not, but I want one anyway! Reviews can be found on the Hobart Welding Forum site Mad posted. Have fun with your new welders!

Kurt

 

[JoeJ]

Duke,

Be sure to take your dad with you, and do the compare'n at welding supply stores, not Home Depot!!!!!
You want to hands on try each machine, and that won't happen at the box stores!!
I'm not big on it just for principle, but if you find what you want and can get the exact same thing at the box store, ok.