welders and processes seen on American Chopper

[dcsound]

I am thinking about purchasing a Miller MIG for general purpose use and was curious as to the specific welders and processes seen on American Chopper and Big.

[tackit]

I wish I could help but I can't say I have seen an episode where their machines could be accurately identified.

I believe you'll be better served If you explain to the experts here what you plan to weld before you buy any equipment, this is a great place to get advice.

[dcsound]

General purpose light to medium duty use, such as sheet metal on my trucks and trailer, repair of stage lighting truss, including aluminum, steel brackets for rigging, and other related items that I'm tired of sending out to have welded. I spoke with a certified welder/fabricator who I have worked with, and he recommended a Miller Mig. I was thinking about a Millermatic 175. I do have some stick welding experience on an ancient Lincoln that belonged to my grandfather, however this machine is no longer safe to use and draws so much power even when properly supplied that it make the lights in the whole neighborhood go dim. I own an auto darkening helmet, gloves, and jacket, and am aware of the proper safety precautions. It is my understanding that purchasing a MIG would afford greater versatility than a stick although if this is not the case I would also consider a Thunderbolt. I referenced American Chopper and Big because some of what I need to weld with sheet metal and tubing appears very similar. Thanks for any information you are able to provide.

DC

[BCarlucci]

It's great to hear that your intersted in a new miller mig welder. Coming from a distributor/user. And from what your saying a millermatic 175 does sound it could fit your needs. Personally i would recommend the millermatic 210, it's the same 208/220v and it has a better duty cycle then the mm175, also it has the pin set up for the option of the spoolmate 3035, for purchase later down the road, where as the 175 you have purchase a control box to use the spoolmate 3035. This is just a sugguestion but the mm210 would be worth looking into for your needs. Good luck in your search.

BC

[fun4now]

choper

most of the copper work is don with the mig .the thin stuff like the tank and fenders are tig . if you start with a mig if you can aford it go with the 210 if you intend to get into alunimum as said it is set up to take the spoolgun the comtroler fo the spoolgun runs around $400-500.00 so if you can spend that upfront on the 210 go 4 it. on big they use bolth when you see her welding and she is using a torch and adding wire thats a tig if she just points the thing and shoots thats mig i believe that the lady on big is the only 1 that uses the tig the guy's all use the mig no real skill needed. keep in mind you will go from stick to mig no problem tig on the otherhand takes a lot of skill and is much harder to lern (self teaching wont do it at your stage you will need help to lern) im shoure that if you have stick welded you will get mig easy.if you have no real need or want for aluminum then the 175 will be fine.you can spend $700.00-800.00 to get a spoolgun or gust run aluminum through your gun that comes with it although if doing lots of aluminum you will want the spoolgun as it can be a pain to run aluminum wire through the normal gun
good luck and happy welding

[klsm54]

Welcome to a fellow Pennsylvanian dcsound.. I too would reccomend the Millermatic 210 for your applications. You mention trucks and a trailer, that means that the potential is there for some heavier welding, something the 210 will handle very well. Also you mention aluminum. The easy, plug-in, spoolgun capability of the 210 will be a great help in achieving that end. The added arc voltage of the 210 over smaller machines will be a big help in aluminum welding also. Keep in mind when making your decision, you can turn a bigger machine down to handle the thin stuff, but once you reach the top end on a smaller machine you are done. You mention some items that you want to weld that are of a critical nature, welds that have someone's safety involved. For that you never want to be lacking for enough machine.

[ASKANDY]

Welcome aboard DC.

I think they all hit it right on. It sounds like with your skill set, the MM210 or 175 would be the way to go. American Chopper does also use some inverter Tig units but those will be a bit pricey to start with and the learning curve longer. I fear you would be disenchanted after trying to get the hang of it.

Good luck!

Andy

[Wheat]

American Chopper I think uses the MM251. You can see the digital display. Anybody out there know what tig machine they use?? Gotta love Miller posters all over the walls...Now if they only practiced welding safety.

[ASKANDY]

MM251, Dynasty200, Spectrum 625

A-

[fun4now]

safty

they realy are seting a bad example for all the new welders out there .as im shoure they have gotten many people into the ideal of taking up welding its just too bad they are starting them off with bad habits. and we all know its harder to unlern then it is to lern.

[fun4now]

posters, banners, posters oh yea !!!!!!!!!

oh yea the posters everywhere are definetly cool wish i had all thouse to hang on my shop walls (give me a reason to build a bigger shop as i would need more walls LOL )

[dcsound]

So if I'm reading this and the online literature correctly, in addition to more providing more current, the MM210 has the capability to accomodate a spool gun for aluminum welding without any adaptation and to have a spool gun, mig gun, and dual shielding gasses connected at the same time. The MM175 requires an adapter for the spool gun and must be manually converted between mig gun and spool gun usage. The 210 appears to be about twice the cost and weight of the 175, but is more powerful and convenient.

As far as the OCC crew, I totally agree with you guys about the bad example for welding safety that they are setting. Although I am really not that experienced, I am well aware of basic safety precautions. For the most part they weld without a wearing a heavy coat and gloves, and with other people in the area. I mentioned in my earlier post that about 10 years ago I had used an old stick welder which is no longer safe. I was attempting to weld thin steel with a small electrode. The amperage dial was so out of calibration without me knowing it that I ended up putting the full 300 amps through, thereby pretty much vaporizing the work and the electrode and splattering all over the place. Fortunately I was making a test weld on scrap and wearing a heavy canvas Carhart coat and thick gloves. One episode like this will really make one think about safety.

[Wheat]

Can't speak too much for the 175-180 class machines. But yes an adaptor is needed to use the spoolgun. The 210 is easy to use the spoolgun. It just plugs into a built in spoolgun socket in the front of the machine. No changing gas solenoids, the machine automatically senses what gun you are using. HTH...

[DDA52]

By the time you buy the spool gun and SGA controller, you could have payed for the MM210. You are looking at $1315 for MM175 and spoolgun and $1199 for MM210 ( $1715 with spool gun). You'd get more bang for the buck with the 210 ( if you're doing lots of aluminum ). Lots more capability and power.

My two cents
Don


BTW, those numbers are from B&R Welder current specials.

[Paul Seaman]

Don:
Right on, you include the prices, that makes you da man!

I love my mm210 w/spoolgun,