looking for a afordable welder

[90CB7EURO]

I'm going to be using it for exhaust and minor body work.I'm doing a wire tuck on my car and would like to do a shave on it to.do you guys think any of these would get the job done. http://www.tractorsupply.com//Produc...categoryId=178. http://m.homedepot.com/p/PRO-SERIES-...-203005206-_-N

[foamypirate]

A stick welder will stuck for exhaust. You will want to use a MIG welder. A Hobart Handler 140 would be a good start. You can use both gas and flux core with it. If that's out of your price range, the Handler 125 is flux core only and a bit cheaper. Both run on 110v and are great welders.

[90CB7EURO]

Hmm...will any of the welders I mention be good for shaving a engine bay,I might just leave my exhaust work to a shop

[illinois_erik]

they have these new welders Ive seen on ebay and supposedly they have "name brand" ones at home depot etc. Theyre badass, theyre 3 in 1 units. Plasma cutter, arc and tig. You could do a lot with those and situations where youd want to mig you can get by with arc and a grinder or even tig. but a quality mig that can do flux core and gas would be nice too.

[GhostAccord]

You do not want to buy a stick welder. You would want to look into a MIG or TIG. TIG is very expensive to setup. I have come to find that 90% of the flux core only suitcase welders are no good for welding thin body metal. Gas and thin filler wire is required for a good MIG weld. Getting a machine with fully adjustable wire speed and heat settings (dial amps) is also key.

These $100-$300 MIG flux core only machines are garbage for doing anything on a car. I'm also not sold on those $1k 3 in 1 machines ether. Usually in a machine like that they are better at one thing and the other 2 suffer. I have heard claims that they aren't really all that good at any of the 3. They are all equally poor at doing what they are supposed to do.

[wed3k]

ive used my eastwood mig on 220 no problem. welded tons of exhaust parts and i aint very experienced.

[GhostAccord]

I find the 220v vs 110/115v is night and day. A 220v machine with gas would be my weapon of choice for a home shop. Love my Lincoln 180. I also still have my original Lincoln 140 (110v) with gas and it was good enough for most automotive applications. The 220v is much easier to dial in and it also allows for heavier welding and good aluminum welding as well.

[toycar]

I wouldn't waste any money on either of those welders. You can get something on craigslist that is quality for $150-$300 and you'll be able to handle just about anything you want from there.


As Ghost said, flux only = bullshit on cars. Nobody uses them for anything that has welds that look better than a pile of buggers. Seriously. My thoughts anyways.


With welding you really do get what you pay for. You'd be better off getting a quality used unit vs buying a new cheapo. New cheapo was never capable, used quality unit might just be used but perfectly functional. Difference? Quality unit is capable.


Basically it will either work or it won't with welders. Its not like there is a 1-10 scale.


Its like 0, 6, 10. Good better best. There is no "It'll do I guess" tool for welding without creating a big fucking hassle for yourself and producing a generally crappy product. It all has to do with control and penetration. If you cannot properly dial in the power welding is pointless. My thoughts anyways. You either burn through shit, or don't penetrate deep enough, or end up with a weld that looks like a pile of buggers when you use a cheap ass welder.

Using a shitty welder is like trying to tune a car running a narrow band O2 sensor.

It just doesn't work worth a shit and you should never do it.



Consider renting one?

[steelbluesleepR]

I used flux core for some of the shaving I did in my engine bay, and even though it all got ground down smooth, I wouldn't recommend it. Like other people have said, you want a good gas-fed MIG welder from Miller, Hobart, ESAB, Lincoln, or similar. Craigslist is a GREAT place to find good, cheap stuff.