Looking for a welder...

Well since I am very close to buying a cab and really determined in every bit of me to build my dream rat, I figured I would at least need to be able to tack weld and work with what I have as far as that goes, trying to jump in head first so I figured I better buy a welder. Have a good close friend who is a professional welder look up a couple of deals on some welders and figured I might ask you guys what your thoughts are for me being I'm a newbie at all this... we found a Lincoln mig 135 amp with an argon cylinder for $600 comes with a cart, mask, gloves, shirt and all that... I also have a bid at a solar welder 2175 with no gas or accessories for $450, and a Hobart with a cart and argon and a mask for $800, all a bit more than I really want to spend being I need as much cash I can to put into the rod being I'm on a bottom dollar budget, what do you guys think sounds like the best deal?

When it comes to a welder buy the absolute best and most powerful you can afford. Cheap welders are junk. They will only frustrate you and inhibit your abilities. The straight argon cylinder is useless unless you are welding aluminum, and even then most larger cylinders must be under contract to be refilled, so that is likely not a purchase factor. You will need a 75/25 cylinder for most steel work.

Blue Eyed Devil said:

When it comes to a welder buy the absolute best and most powerful you can afford. Cheap welders are junk. They will only frustrate you and inhibit your abilities. The straight argon cylinder is useless unless you are welding aluminum, and even then most larger cylinders must be under contract to be refilled, so that is likely not a purchase factor. You will need a 75/25 cylinder for most steel work.

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Well to be honest I wasn't looking for something to finish weld with, more along the lines of something I can tack, mock, minor fab, and work with what I have and have someone I know finish weld it and bring it up correctly so its safe, I have a local hot rod builder I know who is cheap labor and a bad ass welder, so I figure if I could get him to finish weld (I have a full enclosed trailer so transport isnt anything big to me) then as long as I could go through with the general build and basic fab work I would cut a lot of my costs out of it... its also my first time getting into anything like this but the want is just too much for me to not wanna scratch the itchm btw I called your buddy back he never gave a ring back

You are being very smart in knowing your limitations and having someone else finish weld the stuff for you. That is what I always did because my welding is not exactly good.

You are on the right track, looking at stuff like Hobart and Lincoln. You are always better off with a name brand because it will last for a lifetime and give you troublefree service.

With the economy a lot of welders are starting to show up on Craigslist used for sale. I bought a vertical metal cutting bandsaw on Craigslist and I absolutely love how nice it works.

Good luck in your search. There are some very good welders on here who can steer you into the right model.

Don

BTW, do you have 220 service or only 110?

donsrods said:

You are being very smart in knowing your limitations and having someone else finish weld the stuff for you. That is what I always did because my welding is not exactly good.

You are on the right track, looking at stuff like Hobart and Lincoln. You are always better off with a name brand because it will last for a lifetime and give you troublefree service.

With the economy a lot of welders are starting to show up on Craigslist used for sale. I bought a vertical metal cutting bandsaw on Craigslist and I absolutely love how nice it works.

Good luck in your search. There are some very good welders on here who can steer you into the right model.

Don

BTW, do you have 220 service or only 110?

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110 but you can run 220 on it (dads an electrician I dont know the details lol) but he said to look for a 220 if I can, being the garage project is still open and being worked on we can wire it for whatever we want anyways its not a big deal

I appreciate the positive feed back all the guys give me on here, I have never built anything like this and the number 1 thing I want out of it is for it to be safe next is to be drivable and third to look exactly how I want, but the second two I will sacrifice for the first one, so having someone whom I trust as a welder rather than it being my first project and slapping it all together is just a better idea, but I figure if I can tack it, and build the majority of the frame, weld some of the bracketry in place, basic suspension stuff, it will save me a lot of money in custom labor time and I can at least say that I put it together

Then my suggestion would be to get a 220 volt welder. You will never outgrow it.

Don

donsrods said:

Then my suggestion would be to get a 220 volt welder. You will never outgrow it.

Don

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Well as you say that, my neighbor who is a welder for a company doing sprinklers said that at a school he teaches they got a bunch of new sp 125 lincoln migs donated and they only run stick welders so we might barter for one of them, he also said he would finish weld for me if I wanted as long as it didnt have to be beautiful welds (I.E. he wants to stick weld my frame and whatnot) of which I would greatly accept lol

Although I understand u're just looking to tack stuff up now... that might change sometime in the future & if u're gonna spend that much $$$ anyway... u might as well get something you can grow into later. My Miller is both 110 & 220 depending on which plug you use on the cord & self identifies which one. I have only used the 220 part once in the 4 years I've owned it but am fixing to weld up a new frame & am really glad I went that route when I could afford it!

BoB

A welder is really not a purchase so to speak, it's an investment. As long as you take care of it you will always be able to get your money back.
To be honest the smallest welder I would even think of owning is a Miller 150 or equivalent.
I invested in a new MillerMatic 200 in 1985 for $1350 without a minutes trouble and is still worth what I gave for it.
When you buy a mig don't rent the cylinder buy one, a 125 cubic foot is plenty for a hobby shop, most of the time you can buy a used one, from the welding supply company, for half what a new one runs.
When it's empty the welding supply co. will trade you out a full one for the cost of the gas and you won't have to wait for it to be filled.
Just my 2 cents worth

On the tank thing, be careful on the date stamp, some(most) places wont fill them if they are out of date, someone help me on the length of time they are good for from the stamped date?

Dirtyrat said:

On the tank thing, be careful on the date stamp, some(most) places wont fill them if they are out of date, someone help me on the length of time they are good for from the stamped date?

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Dirtyrat, you're right, that's why I suggested he git it from the welding supply company.
You don't have to worry about the expiration date that way

A ton of great info guys! I have a lot to think about on this. I really don't see myself being much of a welder like I said I just want to be efficient enough that if I wanna build this thing, that I don't have to buy the cab then save cash to get a frame made, then some more for suspension, if I can tack it I can at least move along and build the basics, and when it's ready to finish weld well then no problem neighbor said he'd weld it he's got a big 60 amp 220 welder

I am right there with you I have never welded really in my life besides some nasty stick welds on a tractor.

I just want to be able to tack it to keep moving on the build. I have been watching videos on YouTube. There are one pretty informative ones.

Now I am trying to figure out what to get. There are a bunch of Lincoln welders her by me for around 400 so now to find out if that is good or what a good starting welder would be.

The gas suppier I use won't fill anything pass 8 years, It cost me $40 to trade out my old bottle for one of theirs. Also some places will let you buy up on bottles. I started with a 40ci traded with some cash kicker into a 60ci then went to 120ci and pay the extra for mix. The guy next door to me runs a millermatic250 I use that for anything over 1/4". I get the same weld on 1/4" with my lincoln 140c just can't use it hours on end like the bigger welders.

Well it's looking like I may get my hands on a brand new in the box Lincoln sp125 for free essentially so I'm gonna try to make that deal happen, like I said I have my neighbor willing to stick weld to finish weld all my work so it's a matter then of getting it all tacked and setup so he can come in to do what he's gotta do

XtremeS10 said:

Well it's looking like I may get my hands on a brand new in the box Lincoln sp125 for free essentially so I'm gonna try to make that deal happen, like I said I have my neighbor willing to stick weld to finish weld all my work so it's a matter then of getting it all tacked and setup so he can come in to do what he's gotta do

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That is awesome man.

Old Iron said:

Dirtyrat, you're right, that's why I suggested he git it from the welding supply company.
You don't have to worry about the expiration date that way

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Yep, just wanted him to be aware that tanks do have to be re-certified and that a tank isn't always a good part of a deal, I probably missed something in the posts there, sorry!

Free is great! Good find [cl

There is nothing in the world wrong with stick welding, it is just that this method has been passed up in recent years because of migs and tigs coming on the scene.

I mentioned before that when I modified the model a frame under my 27 (this was about 25 years ago) I tack welded the boxing plates and crossmembers then took it to a pro who taught welding at the votech. Mig welding was the new buzz word so I told him I wanted it migged. He said he was going to arc weld it, and when I protested he laughed and said "Believe me, you will be happy with how it turns out."

When I picked up the frame it looked like a welding machine had done it. The welds were perfect and didn't even need much grinding if any. So an arc welder in the hands of someone who knows how to use it can be a great way to join steel together.

Don

donsrods said:

There is nothing in the world wrong with stick welding, it is just that this method has been passed up in recent years because of migs and tigs coming on the scene.

I mentioned before that when I modified the model a frame under my 27 (this was about 25 years ago) I tack welded the boxing plates and crossmembers then took it to a pro who taught welding at the votech. Mig welding was the new buzz word so I told him I wanted it migged. He said he was going to arc weld it, and when I protested he laughed and said "Believe me, you will be happy with how it turns out."

When I picked up the frame it looked like a welding machine had done it. The welds were perfect and didn't even need much grinding if any. So an arc welder in the hands of someone who knows how to use it can be a great way to join steel together.

Don

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He told me essentially mig is fantastic as long as structural integrity is a massive concern, he refuses to weld anything mig like a frame simply for the strength aspect, aside from that I like the way raw welds look anyways, so to me I'll get to show off a traditional rod welded in a traditional way and show off that kinda stuff, I dig it when I get to see stuff like that, so I have no problems with it!

Got myself a nice free brand new in the box lincoln SP 135T welder, 110v 90a output not sure if I want to get a tank or just use flux core, but its def enough for me I really only want to do small work.... maybe I'll make myself a nice set of step rails for my new ram hmmmm