Learn me Welders

Like the title says, learn me welders. The fiancee and I just got our offer accepted on a home with a garage! I'd like to pick up a MIG machine to learn with and make cool stuff. The garage isn't wired for 220 so I'm stuck with 110v. The garage does have its own panel though, so that's nice. 

Congratulations. I would really recommend a 220 over 110. If you have a panel in your garage just budget putting in an outlet . 220 machines are much more capable on thick metal if you are doing sheet metal only one 10 is fine

Lincoln Miller esab Hobart find the best used when you can and you won't go wrong

I have a Hobart 210 that has done everything I've asked for the last 5 years and never given me a problem.  It can do 110v or 220v.

Lincoln 180 Dual MIG welder has worked well for me for many years. 
 

If you are going to buy any MIG welder, get it from a local welding supply house and not a big box store, the machines are constructed differently.

Pick the color you want.

Buy it from an actual welding supplier, not a big box store.

If you're not putting 220V in the garage right away, at least get a welder with multi voltage option (will run on 110 or 220) you may think 110V is sufficient now, it is for a lot of automotive stuff, but you'll find yourself wishing you could stick larger stuff together in the first 6 months. 

Don't forget accessories, you'll need a helmet (don't cheap out you've only got one pair of eyes) other PPE, i.e. gloves, maybe a jacket, a cap is handy if you're doing a lot of overhead welding, some welding blankets, clamps, pliers, angle magnets are handy, and if you're MIG welding you'll need a bottle of shielding gas.

Get the biggest shielding gas bottle you can afford/transport, running out mid project sucks, and you'll always run out 10 min before your gas supplier closes.  Most gas suppliers won't sell it to you if you show up in a car, won't let you transport any bottles in an enclosed cabin.  One supplier I know used to let you sign a waiver and let you load it yourself in the trunk of your car, but I think corporate found out, and shut that down.  Depending on how far you are from your supplier, usually they'll deliver.  Mine actually delivers for free, but I'm ~3 miles away.

Buying at a local welding shop, you're probably going to be able to get your welder, gas, and accessories, one stop shopping, and work out a package deal.  Almost all of them finance too.

A word of caution, welding gas bottles aren't like a BBQ propane bottle that you can exchange anywhere that sells propane.  When picking a welding gas supplier, understand that all of the suppliers treat their competition's bottles like they're radioactive.  For example, my local Welsco won't touch an Airgas bottle and vise versa.  So if you're moving anytime soon, plan accordingly.

As a one man band, hobbyist, you're better off buying your bottle than leasing.

Lincoln pro mig or weld pak 140 for 120v 

I've never found myself wishing I had a 240v  mig machine.  

I used a Hobart Handler 140 for a lot of years and built everything from trailers to roll cages. 

I have used Hobart and Lincoln in 110 powered varieties. No real complaints.

The suggestion above of a Hobart that goes both ways (110 and 220) is a good one if you can swing it. I would suggest buying more welder than you think you need, you can/will grow into it and will be ahead in the long run. Only reason I didnt go that route is a killer deal on my Lincoln. 

Just, get a bigger name welder. Lincoln, Miller, Hobart.   You will be able to get parts for them and keep them going for a loooong time.  same cannot be said for amazon/harbor freight cheapie. 

With 110 powered MIG, you will not have the power for roll bar tubing and heavier work if you are using gas shielding. The welders CAN do some thicker stuff, but the tradeoff you get is that you have to use FluxCore to get the power and it wont be as clean/uniform of a weld as it would have been with gas shielding.

As far as getting started. There are good youtube videos, heres an example series that has been helpful.

When you buy your welder, there are two extra items to buy.  A fire extinguisher (at LEAST one to stay right beside the welder) and a bucket. The bucket gets filled with water before the welder gets turned on. The extinguisher is of course for the OH-SHiii fires, the bucket of water is so you can splash the small fires to keep them from being the OH-SHIii type of fire. 

Seriously, more accidental fires happen from welding than just about anything else. HOT sparks and globs of molten metal WILL be thrown about. Mind your surroundings, move all flammables far away and preferably inside a cabinet which is preferably metal. Take the trash out. Dont weld beside cardboard boxes, etc.  I may sound alarmist, but you would be surprised what can happen. I legit lit the crotch of my pants on fire welding on Gimp's Camaro years ago (I am SO glad noone was there to shoot video of the resulting jumping about and smacking the fire out session).  (No injury requiring a medical professional, THANKFULLY)

Oh yeah...  Leather sleeves and apron are good buys too...  

hazards aside, its an awesome thing to get into and very rewarding tool, skill, ability.  

In reply to Apexcarver :

I don't know if i could disagree with anything you've ever said more than the comment about not being able to do roll bar tubing with shielding gas and 110v.  If you can't do some .120 tubes and get excellent penetration with a 110 then you shouldn't be welding roll bars 

I really like my Lincoln MP210. Bought it since I was stuck with 110v at my first place but the new house has 220v so I can run it hotter. Handles mig duty pretty well, havent had a chance to test the other functions.

I know nothing, but I was told that as you get better you will want to be able to use a shielding gas, so get that option.

Everyone else has the bases covered, so I'll just add that I love my 3M speedglass helmet. It's one of the auto darkening jobbies, and they have rebates on them once or twice a year.

I've got a Lincoln weld pak 3200 110V and a 220 V Matco 260 D I got fairly recently. Although the Lincoln is one of the big box store welders it's worked just fine for many years and spent several of it's early years getting daily use in a collision shop before a bud gave it to me when he upgraded. The Matco is probably more welder than I'll ever need and has aluminum capability using a spool gun. I just got a bottle of Argon and a spool so I can start learning aluminum.

When I want to run the 220V machine I unplug the AC air handler (which happens to be in the garage) and plug it in there. Many laundry rooms also have a 220 outlet for a dryer and may be close to the garage. I've made heavy duty extension cords and run 220 V welders that way also. As long as you're not pushing the amperage limits or duty cycle on the 220 machines they work fine with the heavy duty extension.

Patrick (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Apexcarver :

I don't know if i could disagree with anything you've ever said more than the comment about not being able to do roll bar tubing with shielding gas and 110v.  If you can't do some .120 tubes and get excellent penetration with a 110 then you shouldn't be welding roll bars 

Well, I guess you are right in a way, but I would alter my statement to say that many 110 machines wouldnt be able to do roll bars. 

for instance, my Weld Pac 3200 is rated to 0.075" in the manufacturer recommendations, you would have challenges with penetration in single pass welding past that, which may compromise the integrity.  

Now, I could get away with it on my F500, but most tin top stuff calls for a bit thicker stuff. 

Without question you are running up against the upper limits of many 110 machines on the market, there may be some that can do it, but its not a blanket statement, whereas most 220v machines would have the amperage to handle thicker materials. 

The basic mig pak lincoln 140 is showing 3/16 single pass with shielding gas and .025 wire.  

Thanks everyone. I'll see where the nearest gas supplier is for the bottle fills. Good to know that competitors bottles probably won't be filled. I've got a truck so getting a tank home shouldn't be a problem. 

My two pennies says that yes - the big boys make better stuff, and the fact that you can get local support is important, but.... I'm leery of the cheaper offerings of the big boys. Case in point, the Miller Econotig was a POS. If you are going to cheap out on a new machine, I'd recommend something like HFs Vulcan line. It's really a nice machine.  If you are willing to commit more bucks, by all means visit the Miller/Lincoln dealer, or grab a good used machine.  

What I'd do here would be to have a dedicated 50-amp 220 line run to the location of your choice.  That opens up your choices in welding equipment and possibly other things that use 220, and keeps you out of any situation where the welder + other stuff in the garage combine to trip the breaker.  Sure, I suppose you could have a dedicated 110 line run, but why would you?

I have a Lincoln 155, which seems to have been enough for most jobs over the years.  It's good for something like 30% duty cycle at 130A.

Norm

get your SCCA membership card out and call Lincoln. They sell off lease machines from pro race shops for 1/2 price to club members. I got a dual voltage unit that looked like brand new.

In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :

Oh really? Is that deal through SCCA's website or what? Sounds like I need to renew my membership from last year...