I want to teach myself how to weld

A 110v flux core will get you started, but it isn't overly versatile.  It won't do thick stuff (not enough current to get heat through) and it also isn't the greatest at thin sheet metal.  Since the flux burns from the inside of the puddle out, the puddle itself tends to be a bit hotter and sheet metal will have a very fine line between bonded and blown through.  There can also be porousity in the weld as the flux boils out.  If not done properly, a flux core weld will look like pumice or swiss cheese.

I graduated to a Northern Tool 220v mig with gas.  I can do a LOT of stuff with it.  I'm still not very good with thinner stuff, but that isn't the welder's fault.  You can always turn a 220v unit down.  You can't turn a 110v up past max.

Now that I am starting down the same path will the new 220v inverter stick be enough to weld a plate of 1/8 to the carrier of the Lexus?

ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) said:

If its name brand and in good shape I don't see any reason not to buy used. Make the seller demo it to prove it works.

 

Very true. My only problem is used Welders are like used Hondas-either beat to E36 M3, or the price of a new one.

I have a box-store Lincoln 140 at home, and it's pretty good.  Not quite as polished as the welding-store Miller 140 at work, but it does the job fine.

I have heard a LOT of good first-hand experience with Everlast welders.  They were just coming onto the scene when I was buying my welders, but they seem to be proving themselves good.

So what are some brands yall recommend?

So far,

Hobart, Miller, Lincoln, Everlast...

I  always recommend a stick welder to learn welding on. Learning mig is too easy. 
 

you can usually find an old stick welder for free-very cheap, but they are almost all going to be 220. I still actually just use a homemade 10 gauge "extension cord" to my dryer outlet to run my welders and compressor. I'll be wiring up a dedicated 220 circuit soon in the garage just to make it easier. If your dryer is relatively nearby. 

If your budget allows it, spend the money on a good auto darkening hood from Miller, Jackson or Speedglass. More than one welding instructor has told me that " if you can't see it, you can't weld it"

I always start my students on stick welding first.

I hate stick welding.

I do have a TIG that will let me do stick, but I really, really, hate stick.

Interestingly, the frame in my '61 Chevy pickup looks to be stick welded together.

yupididit said:

In reply to jamscal :

Why Hobart 190 as a minimum. And for hobbyist who only have a 110v, there's nothing you recommend? 

Hobart 190 because it's 220 and a decent brand. I don't have any experience with that unit specifically.

I've used a miller 110v that was OK (just tested a guys welder one day). I've used another 110v for bodywork that was OK when it ran but sputtered so much that it was very frustrating.)

I wouldn't recommend any personally but I do recognize that they're fine for certain projects. 

(So I'll back off on my non-recommendation :) but I believe 110 welders cause frustration in 75/100 welders.)

If your rental has a dryer or stove plug a 220 extension cord can be made.

Hobart handler140 here.

I have yet to remove from the box because I still don't ever have decent wiring to run it.

Appleseed said:

Is there any value in used? Is it a crap shoot where you'll want to bring a welder buddy to help check out, or is the general concensus buy new, because it hasn't been berkeley with? 

Buy used to save money. Google the brand if it's something strange before you go look. Check if there are parts or forum complaints about it. 

Chinese stuff and older harbor freight stuff can be hard to find parts like liners or rollers for, but at least the harbor freight stuff is pretty well documented, including mods to make them better. 

Name brand stuff, in my local experience, only loses about 25% of the price vs new. 

I still haven't hooked the gas up to my 220v harbor freight flux/mig, but it does a great job for what I paid for it. 

I have a lincoln 140. It is a 110v. I can run gas or flux. I use to use gas but being able to grab the box and bring it to the thing that needs welding has really mad flux my go to wire. With practice you can weld thin stuff as well as 1/4 inch stuff. It just takes practice. You have to learn your welder.  I have welded trailer axle brackets to the axles and I have welded oil pans. I made a set of trailing arms for a expedition. I have welded up cracks in Porsche unibodys. All with flux core wire and my 110v Lincoln 140.  It has been a fantastic tool. Perfect for my needs.  
 

Again there is no substitute for practice. You want to be melting the two pieces together while adding enough metal to fill the remaining gap.  I find that most people run to cold. 

You might check your local community college/vo-tec for classes. They were inexpensive at $50 to $150 per class.  I did classes in stick and Mig a few years ago which I think would help me enormously when I finally commit to buying the tools.  

yupididit said:

In reply to jamscal :

Why Hobart 190 as a minimum. And for hobbyist who only have a 110v, there's nothing you recommend? 

I'm building MonZora primarily with a Hobart Handler 125 using flux core wire. Since I have a bottle of Argon now, I might change over to the full MIG experience. Anyway, another vote for weldingtipsandtricks.com and yes you can do it!

Most major brand migs are a good start. There is a chart somewhere on the welder, or at least in the user guide. Follow it to get your bearings. Clean the metal, no rust, oil, dirt. Have a set of wire brushes. Get a decent auto dimming helmet and position and light your work well. Move slowly, watch the puddle. You can't learn to weld blind. Do test articles, hammer them, cut them, check your practice work. When everything is working right, it should sizzle like bacon, not sputter.

Safety...  This tool is the single greatest fire hazard you are ever gonna work with. Protect yourself from burns. Get the heavy gauntlet gloves. Don't wear shorts or open tied shoes. Dont wear nylon jogging pants (one spark and that's gonna SUCK).

Again, this is the single greatest fire hazard you are gonna work with. Get ALL the flammable stuff away from where you are working, I mean all of it. Have a fire extinguisher? Check the charge lately? Go get another one to keep by the welder. Also a bucket of water for getting that small fire before it becomes abig one. You know, that fire that is so small you don't want the mess and replacement expenses of using the extinguisher for... Have a plan for more water. Enough garden hose to get to where you are working might be a good idea. At least be able to go fill that bucket I mentioned.

I can't recommend such a mickey mouse tool, but the $100 Harbor Freight flux core welder is worth every penny, and the kind of thing you can find used.

My Mom's got one. Perfect for just dipping a toe.

I've got a Hobart auto darkening hood that has been great.

$100 for the big window(recommended), $70 for small

Harbor freight is your friend for gloves, sleeves, aprons, etc, but buy a good grinder. I like Porter Cable. I stick with the same model, and keep a junkyard for parts.

John Brown (Forum Supporter) said:

Now that I am starting down the same path will the new 220v inverter stick be enough to weld a plate of 1/8 to the carrier of the Lexus?

You have enough  power to weld anything. The key is material  preparation.  You can weld 12 inch plate with that if you groove the joint ,bevel, and make multiple passes.

Using flux core or stick welding you must drag the electrode which means point where you have welded. If you point where you are going pushing the weld you will get slag trapped in the weld. I would not hesitate to use a good 110 volt wire welder. When I was teaching at the local College corporate services got in touch with me and General Motors local Assembly Plant needed to train their repair line men to weld in the overhead position. I had two guys come in on a Friday to the college and we welded all day overhead. the following Friday I went to the assembly plant to help them with the actual job. They were having a problem with an automated machine stripping threads off a stud that was inserted through the floor of the truck to hold the seat in. I showed up expecting a big beautiful new welding machine instead I had an old beat up Miller 110 with no markings for the settings. So we got some scrap figured out the setting that worked use a Sharpie to Mark the settings on their machine and we fixed floor studs for the entire day with that thing and I have never been more impressed with a piece of crap looking welder

I have two Hobart handlers, a 125 I have had for @20 years and a 140 that's newer.  The 125 used to be able to upgrade to gas with a kit, which mine has, but it pretty much made it as expensive as the 140 and I don't know if you can get that kit anymore.  That puts the 140 at the sweet spot for versatility and price, and I haven't ever needed more because if I'm welding thicker than the 140 will handle I just tack and break out the stick welder. 

The handler 190 used to be offered about 3 times a year with the optional aluminum spool gun essentially thrown in for free. That was a pretty compelling freebie if you had aluminum aspirations, but with TIG prices dropping all the time getting an Alpha TIG makes more sense for aluminum. 

Last I looked you can get the 140, a bottle, a HF cart, and a couple of HF grinders for the price of the 190, and that's where I would spend the $.

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:

I can't recommend such a mickey mouse tool, but the $100 Harbor Freight flux core welder is worth every penny, and the kind of thing you can find used.

I have one of these.  Would I weld precision stuff with it, or a cage?  No.  Non-safety structural items?  Probably.  Exhaust & general repairs.  Yes.

Flux core is messy but works pretty well and you don't have to deal with gas.  FWIW, I think the next level up ~$180 welder is supposed to be *significantly* better than this one.  If I were buying one, I'd go that route, but a friend passed this one onto me for something silly like $20

Fluxcore is tricky stuff. It's very sensitive to the angle and it is also very sensitive to the distance between the tip and they work piece. It needs a 10 degree to 15 degree drag angle. And depending upon the size wire can be anywhere from a quarter inch to an inch and a quarter stick out . If you are too close the flux does not burn completely and does not Shield the weld properly. This results usually in porosity and a rusty-looking color. If you are too far away the wire gets too hot and doe8s not put the heat into the weld joint and you do not get penetration. Flux core is wonderful stuff for welding heavy structural pieces I will send a picture of my flux core unit soon

In reply to yupididit :

I went to Home Depot and rented a welder to make the headers for my GM powered Stag.  Rented it 4-5 times and then decide to just get my own welder.  I have a copper pipe plumber background and figured that welding would not be all that different from soldering a pipe joint.

My wife feeder set up for FCAW, flux core.

The innards

The power source,  a Lincoln 250 GXT