A bit of subject but relates to hobby

[peewee2you]

Asked for a mig welder for Xmas? Hop'n Santa comes thru question for those of you that have a vast knowledge or experience in welding.
I have a moderately priced Lincoln in mind, and there are 2, one is electric, and the other uses Gas? which is a better method, and why, I'm thinking gas is better? I had some work done on a VW and the fabricator used gas? that's really all I based it on. I have never read nor done any welding but want to read up and give it a shot. Yeah, if Santa provides...

[ford3]

lincolns are good but millers are much better, two kinds of wire welders, gas and flux, flux is like stick welding rods, flux wire has a coating on it to protect it from the atmosphere, gas welding uses the gas for protection flux wire splatters like stick welders do when using coated rod, gas welders dont splatter (or very little), flux welding wie is good for welding out side where there is a breeze, gas welders dont do good out side in a breeze because the shielding gas is blown away and its almost impossible to run a bead with out the gas shielding the weld, and besides the flux wire really smokes, just like stick welders, i would get a 110 volt welder because you can plug it in any where, in your bedroom if your wife is understanding, 110v welders will weld 3/16" inch metal in one pass, 220v will weld 1/4" metal in one pass and cost almost a $100 more and need to be near a 220v outlet

[19Fordy]

Get a Miller MIG with gas. Avoid flux core. Just my opinion based on use of both.

[ford3]

19fordy,i have miller, a peach of a welder, never used a flux one, seen them used, didnt like the smoke or the splatter left when the weld was finished, to much extra work to clean up the project

[Seth Swoboda]

Get the one that uses gas, 75/25

[Bruce/CT]

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Miller Dynasty MIG will let you use 110 & 220 volt. i thinks it's model 140.. Sells for $ 900- 1000. it is GAS but I believe you can use flux if you buy that type of wire.

[ford3]

i did a search on the net and see them advertised for $700 and free shipping, gas model

[cmbrucew]

I have had a Miller-matic 200 for over 30 years, still going strong. I put the spot attachment in soon after it was new. Never had a problem with it.

Bruce

Works good
Lasts long time

[1930pu]

I don't know how much Santa plans on spending, but I bought a Miller 211 last year and love it, it was about 1000.00. You can use regular mig with gas or flux, it has 2 ends for the plug 1 is 110 and the other is 220 machine will run on 110 till you get to heavier steel then use 220, I also bought the mini spool gun for aluminum for about 225.00 plugs right in and works great!!

[john hamilton]

My Miller CK with 75% argon/25% co2 works really well. I don't think anyone mentioned getting a welder with the capacity to weld what you are working with. The CK is only good for about 1/8" so I had to get a stick welder for the 1/4" stuff.

The flux core spatters all over everything so gas is better. There is an anti-spatter spray and weld-through paint that are helpful.

[Model A Bill]

Another vote for the Miller.Had one for 20 years without any problems.I have to use a Lincoln with flux wire at a second job and if its exhaust or small stuff I would rather torch weld it.Another thing to consider if you decide to use a welder with gas 75/25 consider buying your tank outright if its in the budget.You pay more upfront but don't have to pay the yearly rental on the tank espically if your not using it a bunch.


Happy welding

[deuce lover]

I just bought an Eastwood 110V Gas MIG to replace the Miller that was stolen.Needless to say I am very satisfied with it especially $299 + 122 priority shipping from PA on sale.Miller 110V here(Hawaii) are $750.

[bluardun]

All the above information is correct. Santa was probably wanting to buy a red lincohn from Home Depot or Lowes for around $225. These are good machines to repair things with. Not a bad starter welder. Good for small jobs. The Millers are a bit more pricy but superior, in my opion.
Generally both machines are capable of running flux or bare (co2) wire. With the flux you can plug the machine in anywhere and go right to work. The bare wire requires a CO2 bottle attached via a hose and regulator to operate. Not as portable. You must reverse the polarity between flux verses CO2. If the polarity is backwards using the flux system you will get ALOT of splatter.
Hey; a welder is better than a bucket of coal. Good boy !!

[jkeesey]

I just recently got a Forney through my local carquest as a full kit with cart for $350. Its a "Gas/No Gas" so it can be easily converted from flux wire to gas by switching 2 wires. its worked perfectly fine for the repairs ive needed it for. I wouldnt trust it on finish frame work though. Its built in Italy instead of china so that was a bit of a plus for me.

[peewee2you]

Thanks to all that responded, and especially to bluardun only because I told the mrs. lincoln, and I am just starting out, I will check on Miller, and their prices and if need be take it back Santa definitely won't be upset...I think I'll stick to gas tank because most of it will be indoors and I already have a tank cart.

[bige386]

At work I use a Miller which is a nice welder. At home I have a 120/240 HOBART with gas and it weld pretty darn nice also. I bought it at tractor supply, I think I paid right around 500 bucks for it. I will say Miller is a far superior welder but the Hobart is a pretty good little welder for the buck.

[J Franklin]

A class in welding at your local community college pays off big in the long run. I learned stick and mig in one 4 Mo. class and the technique on the two was a bit different.

[G.M.]

Just a little bit of MIG history. Back in the late 50's I designed a full line of MIG welders. Miller made the power source but no wire feeder and had a large system of dealers around the country. I sold the dealers the wire feeders and guns. Nels miller passed away and his wife Margaret ran the company. Margaret and her sales manager inivited me to dinner at a welding show in Montreal in about 1960 and wanted to buy my company but I was haveing to much fun developing new products and declined. Later Miller purchased Auto-Arc of Cleveland that also made wire feeders. After a year or so Elliote Cornell, Auto-Arcs chief engineer called me and said he didn't like the big company enviroment and came to work for me. We made the first body shop welders called the Fender Mender. We brand named them for a lot of other companies in the welding distribution area. Same we made with differant sheet metal and painted them their colors with their name on them. We also made some for Forney a name mentioned in a post above. Forney also made airplanes along with farm welders. We made a light weight 1 lb spool gun which we sold to Hobart and I think Lincoln bought some also. We also developed a line of MIG welders for Snap-On Tool Co in the mid 70's. I sold the company around 1980 and they are still makeing them for Snap-On. When I started makeing them for Snap-On they had 3,500 dealers with their own trucks I suppose that number has grown. The Fender Mender sold for $495.00 retail through welding distributors. Dealers got about a 25% discount depending on how many they ordered. The body shop suppliers started pestering me to sell machines. There are manufactures reps, wholesalers then the body shop supply companies. This is the supply chain. So everyone wants their cut and the selling price to the body shop go's to $1,295.00 for me to get the same $375.00 as sold to the welding supply co.
These were heavy duty industrial type machines and as the years went on cheaper machines with low duty cycles came along as the demand and use expanded. Snap-On prodicted in 1980 that there would be a lot of manufactures and prices would decline. Which is what happened. You won't go wrong with a few extra dollars if you buy a Miller. Look on eBay to see how used prices hold up on good machines. If you ever want to sell it later you will get a lot of your money back if you take care of it. Unplug the machine once a year, remove a side panel and blow it out good and you should never have a problem with it. G.M.

[zoegrant]

how about preferences of MIG vs TIG ?

[Brendan]

Pete, you don't have 220 in your shop, you will need to put in a new pipe from your panel at the house to your shop. so when you get a welder maybe a 120 volt one.
Brendan