Looking to purchase a Welder

[priobe]

I am looking to purchase a Welder. I am novice with welding and dont know too much but hoping to learn.

I just puchased a set of mufflers for the cobra and if I am good enough will weld them up. If not I will tac them in place and send it out for a better weld since you will see them.

Here are the specs

The price has been reduced in my local Sears to get it out of here $225 from $465

What do you think.

Here are the specs:

Product Overview:

Item Weight: 90.0 lbs.
Welder Type: Wire feed, MIG welder
Welder/Cutter:
Min. Gauge: 24 ga.
Max. Gauge: 3/16 in.
Welder Duty Cycle: 40 percent @ 60A
Torch Length: 8 ft.
Power:
Type: Electric
Electric Rating: 120V AC
Circuit Amp Rating: 15 amps
Cord:
Cord Length: 6 ft.
Installation Requirements:
Setup: Assembly may be required
Included with Item:
Welding Wire: Yes
Welding Cart: Yes
Brush: Yes, hammer/brush
Face Shield: Yes
Welding Tips: Yes

[Three Peaks]

Can you give a link to this unit on the Sears website?

[ERA649]

Make sure it has the hookup for shielding gas, without the gas set up your welds will not be as nice.

[Hank F]

If your mig welding,I would make sure it has gas,220 powerline. I would not buy anything from Sears,no service.
Stick to the major mfg`s,Lincoln,Miller,etc and a local dealer.
Hank

[alfy65]

Mig has its place for sure but look first at a tig unit 175 amp or higher.Better control and greater ability with stainless and aluminum...I have all units gas,mig,tig,stick and they all serve a purpose..

[Jerry Clayton]

Lincoln, Miller----they have some nice suitcase inverter deals--tig is what you want for anything that the weld is in plane sight---

[ERA649]

I have to agree Mig is nice but Tig is nicer.

[Paul F]

60 amp is enough capacity (if that's the maximum output) for light-weight steel such as muffler pipe. Questionable for pipe-to-flange weld. You will be very disappointed.

As already said, get a Lincoln or Miller 220V input, 150amp (minimum output) MIG welder. MIG is easy to use, but for that type of project, a novice will have trouble making a good-looking weld. MIG is great for general-purpose welding.

For maximum control, appearance and flexibility, get
TIG. It is very expensive and more difficult to learn. But once you know how, you will really like it. TIG is much more versatile, being able to do excellent steel, stainless, and aluminum projects

[Tim Brewer]

Get a MIG, practice until you're consistantly good. You can weld your pipes just fine with the MIG. When you finish welding your pipes with the MIG, you can can use a flapper disc on your grinder to make your welds look even beter. Someday after you are completely confident with MIG welding, find you a deal on a TIG. I wouldn't suggest anyone buying a TIG for a first time welder, that's silly.

[Barnsnake]

If you're looking at a MIG, don't ignore Hobart. It's made by Miller and generally less expensive.

[FIA-ERA]

I had a "cheapie" mig welder for years. It did pretty good but only had a limited amount of settings. Example: power switch up or down, hot or cold. It could weld up thick stuff BUT anything like body panels it would just burn through or gum up! It finally broke and I shopped around and every time I kept coming back to a Miller unit. I ended up getting a Miller mig 175. It is just amazing the amount of control and adjust ability you have with this really baseline unit. You must have the reistat control feature to control the heat range. I welded up some valve covers and the welds looked like tig welding because I could adjust the heat range and speed so closely. Looked like stacked dimes! They also have probably the best service and parts repair out there. To me the Miller was a perfect fit. I almost chose the Lincoln unit but it didn't have all the little accessories available AND my local guy has Miller stuff in stock. I think they are just a better built unit. If you can swing it a tig welder is the best BUT it does come with a lot more learning curve on how to use it. If needed I could use my unit to weld aluminum with a different gun and gas. By far the best purchase I've made for my car! Good luck, Matt.

[priobe]

Thanks for the feed back.

I will being to look for a tig and see what they go for.

I am still thinking of getting a mig to at least tack the mufflers in place and take it to a pro for better looking welds

maybe something cheaper like a harbor freight for $100

[tool time George]

Tig for a novice ? not such a great idea. I have a lincoln sp175 w/gas, a must, anyway i'm extremely happy with it and would recomend it to anyone.It's at least 6 years old and not one lick of trouble with it.

[Paul F]

Priobe, don't be put off by suggestions that a novice should not consider TIG.
MIG, TIG, stick, and torch all have their uses and all can be the first welder a novice owns. None of these techniques are rocket science. A few project attempts with any of them and you will be very happy you bought whatever you do choose.
TIG certainly would be considered an odd choice as a first welder mainly because of cost. Once you have one, you will wonder how you worked without it.
I think your range of projects will determine what you want as your first welder.
By the way, TIG welders also work as stick welders. You usually get a stick cable with your purchase (one expensive stick welder).

I have all 4 types of welder. I use them each depending upon application, but I use TIG the most for my needs.

Here is a TIG weld. Nothing was done to it but polishing. No grinding, no sanding.

[Ant]

I bit the bullit about 18months ago and purchased a Miller 150STH Tig welder, it also doubles as a stick welder, I am reasonably experienced with Tigs as I used to work as a stainless steel "Sail buggy fabricator, it takes a bit of time to get the speed etc right as the Tigs penetrate quite well its a bit of an art to avoid undercutting but I prefer a good weld and some undercutting doesnt bother me as long as the weld is strong, on reasonably thin metal its quite easy to see the weld penetrating right through the material.

This welder doesnt do aluminiumm and to be honest I dont want to learn to do aluminium when I need to do that I get the experts to do it. Miller make a nice Mig that you can automatically adjust for different jobs and it would be good for doing light panel, chassis and heavier work like 5/16" plate, and if you are a novice I would concentrate on not moving fast and getting a good hot weld, as its all to easy on heavier metal to get a weld that just sits on the surface and virtually falls off.

Having said that if you are doing heavier work and a lot of tacking the Mig may be better, but I love my Tig, so the answer might be to have both!

[Jerry Clayton]

sign up for a welding course at a junior college---you'll get to use all kinds of equip and then you can make up your mind--you probably could do the pipes there as a project and get the instructor or an advanced student to help

If you buy a welder for a home shop/garage---get a 220volt/ 60 amp input as most garage / house wiring won't take the higher power units---the 120 inputs are a joke

[Paul F]

Jerry's right. The JC is a great way to get some hands-on experience with each type of welder, and talk to an expert about the pros/cons of each.

Ant also makes a good point. If you do consider TIG, make sure it has DC (steel) and AC (aluminum) capability.

[COBRA427]

My recommendation is first of all, buy "quality". If you are truely serious about your car and the build, then you should not even be looking at Harbor Freight or similar welders, IMHO. I have a 175amp Mig, a 180amp Tig, and plasma cutter, all by Miller and all are 220V. I feel your first welder should be a Mig, you'd get the most use out of the Mig in general welding, as it's very easy to learn and does a nice job. If after, you need to get a Tig welder, first go to a J.C. and take a Tig class and learn the right way.
Also, years from now, if you ever decide to sell your welder, you will recoup more of your money back than if you had a Brand X welder.

[Scott S]

Don't overlook oxy-acetelene welding, if you want to be great welder learn how to do that first. O/A welding on light steel and exhaust pipes can look as good as tig or mig.

Scott S

[autobody prof.]

Probably the best welder for a beginner is a Miller 140 Auto Set. It will work on either 120/240 volts. The auto set fucntion will make weld like a pro.