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  • Falkor
    Junior Member
    • Feb 2013
    • 4

    Needs advice

    hello im looking to figure out what welder is best to help my buddy fix up his 92 GMC sonoma truck bed its rotted away and needs to be repaired. ive found a few reasonably priced welders but i need to know what would be great for this job. im not an expert on welding but i have welded in my home garage growing up. we used a gas mig welder and it got the job done fairly nicely. now im looking to purchase my own. what would be best for our project? gas mig or the gasless flux? ive never used a flux and i have no idea what its capable of. all input is welcome
  • shovelon
    Senior Member
    • Aug 2010
    • 1238

    #2
    Well, if I were me, and I am, I would find the smallest conventional 220 volt mig that uses C25 gas, and has a very short lead to the torch. That way I could load Esab EasyGrind .025" diameter wire. This wire is very soft,, and intended for bodywork as it is soft, melts smooth, bends and grinds easy. I use it for mig and tig.

    I have .030 easygrind wire loaded in my Lincoln SP170T, and love it. I do sheet metal enclosures on occasion that have to have the seams ground off.

    The Hobart Handler 190 is and excellent choice to run easygrind as it starts at 25 amps for that small wire. A plus is that it comes spoolgun ready. Tractor Supply has them for $650.

    The Miller180 autoset is ok, but mig is so easy I don't think idiot restrictions are necessary.

    Last edited by shovelon; 02-09-2013, 01:51 PM.
    Nothing welded, Nothing gained

    Miller Dynasty700DX
    3 ea. Miller Dynasty350DX
    Miller Dynasty200DX
    ThermalArc 400 GTSW
    MillerMatic350P
    MillerMatic200 with spoolgun
    MKCobraMig260
    Lincoln SP-170T
    Linde UCC305 (sold 2011)
    Hypertherm 1250
    Hypertherm 800
    PlasmaCam CNC cutter
    Fadal Toolroom CNC Mill
    SiberHegner CNC Mill
    2 ea. Bridgeport
    LeBlond 15" Lathe
    Haberle 18" Cold Saw
    Doringer 14" Cold Saw
    6 foot x 12 foot Mojave granite

    Comment

    • Falkor
      Junior Member
      • Feb 2013
      • 4

      #3
      http://www.sears.com/metal-man-fc125...2&blockType=G2 i was thinking something like this for the job at hand. you know more about them then i do would this specific one do the job?

      Comment

      • shovelon
        Senior Member
        • Aug 2010
        • 1238

        #4
        Originally posted by Falkor View Post
        http://www.sears.com/metal-man-fc125...2&blockType=G2 i was thinking something like this for the job at hand. you know more about them then i do would this specific one do the job?
        Oh helt not!

        Firstly that is a cheap chinese knockoff 115volt flux welder. Arc striking on sheet metal needs to be quick, smooth and precise, without drive motor lag, not eratic. There is a voltage drop the second you pull the trigger, and the last thing you need is that to affect the drive motor, hence 220. You see there is not accesories but the crappy Chinese autodark.

        115volts, especially budget models just don't give that precision start the 220volt models do with the big transformers. You see in the description that it does not even list the .025 wire size, so forget about bodywork. They don't even give voltage ranges.


        Do you have 220volts?
        Last edited by shovelon; 02-09-2013, 02:08 PM.
        Nothing welded, Nothing gained

        Miller Dynasty700DX
        3 ea. Miller Dynasty350DX
        Miller Dynasty200DX
        ThermalArc 400 GTSW
        MillerMatic350P
        MillerMatic200 with spoolgun
        MKCobraMig260
        Lincoln SP-170T
        Linde UCC305 (sold 2011)
        Hypertherm 1250
        Hypertherm 800
        PlasmaCam CNC cutter
        Fadal Toolroom CNC Mill
        SiberHegner CNC Mill
        2 ea. Bridgeport
        LeBlond 15" Lathe
        Haberle 18" Cold Saw
        Doringer 14" Cold Saw
        6 foot x 12 foot Mojave granite

        Comment

        • Falkor
          Junior Member
          • Feb 2013
          • 4

          #5
          lol see this is why i came here first for info you prolly just saved me a heart break haha i was also looking into crafts man welders i have a budget of about $300-500 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...20Weldersmv=rr here is another one i was looking into and ty again for telling me not to get the other one lol

          Comment

          • Falkor
            Junior Member
            • Feb 2013
            • 4

            #6
            i looked into your hobart welder you sent me and thats almost exactly like the one i grew up on using i found this one from sears http://www.sears.com/hobart-handler-...6&blockType=G6 this one here is almost to a T on what i used to use

            Comment

            • HomerJSapien
              Senior Member
              • Jan 2013
              • 155

              #7
              Don't buy anything from Sears (my opinion, of course). They're overprices on just about everything. I purchased my first welder there a couple of years ago. It came with a cart too. The whole package cost about $425. I kept it about a week. It couldn't weld (or I couldn't with that welder anyway) thin sheet metal and everyday when I went into my garage, that "Made In Mexico" label hit me right in the face! I took it back and got a Hobart Handler 140. Cost me about $40 more without the cheap cart. Great welder. Hobart 190 or the 210 mvp are even better. I've learned that you don't always get what you want, but you ALWAYS get what you pay for!

              Comment

              • cruizer
                Senior Member
                • Oct 2004
                • 8681

                #8
                Personally, I'd visit an auto wreckers and try to find a box simular and in much better condition. Then do an R/R on the exsisting. Welding a wreck is kinda pointless.

                Comment

                • Cgotto6
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2012
                  • 685

                  #9
                  I agree with cruizer. Almost always cheaper and easier now days to find a donor.

                  If you do go with a mig for bodywork I would stick with the millermatic 140, 180, or 211. Or equivalent models from Lincoln, Hobart, or thermal arc. Look on Craigslist. Great deals on small migs for days. Don't be enticed by cheap off brand welders, you will regret not spending a few hundred more to to get something you can use for years.

                  Comment

                  • Broccoli1
                    Senior Member
                    • Dec 2007
                    • 3179

                    #10
                    Originally posted by HomerJSapien View Post
                    Don't buy anything from Sears (my opinion, of course). They're overprices on just about everything. I purchased my first welder there a couple of years ago. It came with a cart too. The whole package cost about $425. I kept it about a week. It couldn't weld (or I couldn't with that welder anyway) thin sheet metal and everyday when I went into my garage, that "Made In Mexico" label hit me right in the face! I took it back and got a Hobart Handler 140. Cost me about $40 more without the cheap cart. Great welder. Hobart 190 or the 210 mvp are even better. I've learned that you don't always get what you want, but you ALWAYS get what you pay for!
                    Homer, the last sears link is a Hobart Handler 149
                    Ed Conley
                    http://www.screamingbroccoli.net/
                    MM252
                    MM211
                    Passport Plus w/Spool Gun
                    TA185
                    Miller 125c Plasma 120v
                    O/A set
                    SO 2020 Bender
                    You can call me Bacchus

                    Comment

                    • Broccoli1
                      Senior Member
                      • Dec 2007
                      • 3179

                      #11
                      Northern has the 140 a little cheaper

                      Ed Conley
                      http://www.screamingbroccoli.net/
                      MM252
                      MM211
                      Passport Plus w/Spool Gun
                      TA185
                      Miller 125c Plasma 120v
                      O/A set
                      SO 2020 Bender
                      You can call me Bacchus

                      Comment

                      • HomerJSapien
                        Senior Member
                        • Jan 2013
                        • 155

                        #12
                        Just my point. It's overpriced. You can find it cheaper at a variety of places. Whenever I check prices and I look at Sears, they're always higher than anyone else. Just my observation...

                        Comment

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