The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest welder

Ok, so I was reading Lareoke's account of welding his rust holes with zero experience and got to thinking that I can do that. I have some really minor welding to do like a fender tear, minor work on tail gate etc. Nothing heavy.

I know most will recommend buying some big hawg of a welder but what would be the minimum I could buy? I see welders starting at $100

You might be able to pick up a good used gas welder for $100 and with work get good at it. The easiest to work with is the mig with gas (argon/co2), arc welders are ok for heavy steel, not good for body work.

I got a LIncoln 110 mig for a song about 6 yrs ago ran it without the gas for a while then splurged on the gas conversion.It was like night and day,Look around pawn shops,swap meets they can be bought pretty resonable

I shopped around and bought a small mig/gas welder from lincoln. I was very satisfied with what I could do with it. I've used up 3 coils of wire on 2 different projects and it still works like new. Get some nozzle anti-spatter and use the gas. Good luck.
Jim

I spent $400 on mine, on sale, but I got the nicest 110V Lincoln Mig welder you could get at the time. It's a Migpack 135. It goes up to 135 amps, can weld 1/4" steel in one pass. It works great, has nice features, and is a breeze to use. All I needed to get was a gas bottle and a decent hood and gloves.

One thing to look for on the cheapies is a cold tip gun. The cheap ones do not switch the arc current, only the gas/wire feed, so it is a pain to get the arc switched. The nicer welders have a gas preflow that starts the gas a bit before you strike the arc. That keeps the weld ends nice.

You really do get what you pay for in a welder. I wouldn't spend less than $300 on a setup I was using on sheet metal, which is relatively difficult to weld. You need good control. I would stick with a name brand because parts like tips, rollers, wand jackets, etc. wear out and require replacement. You may also wish to add an aluminum kit later, which is only available for certain welders.

It sounds good. I think I would have to pay someone about two or three hundred to do the bit of welding I have so might as well learn to do it myself.

I've said this before, so at risk of sounding like a broken record ( or a CD in my stinking Taurus) get some training. I got our local community college/tech school to offer an evening community ed class. Seven weeks and you can learn a ton without trashing your welder or junking your parts. A little schooling will help you do what you need and want to look for more. Without it, you may get ticked off and give up.

Good Luck!