Body Work & Welders

I have been doing all of my body work with a 120V Lincoln mig welder. It has been perfect for all of the sheet metal and lighter welds (like seat brackets). But even working on sheet metal I have it cranked up to 3/4 power. I am getting ready to buy my own and have picked out the 220V Millermatic 175 (Lincoln makes a similar model as well). It will do everything that the small 120V will do, plus weld anything else on a jeep that I would ever need to weld. So far I have not ran into any one who welds like I plan to and purchased the 175 and wished they stepped up to the

210 model. The best prices I have seen so far is at cyberweld.com (free shipping as well), but the welders are $700US, so you may have to save up a bit longer.

You'll have to up your budget a bit to get a respectable machine.

I went through the low budget welder search a few months ago and I wouldn't buy the Deca for half the price. Avoid the Lincoln Mig-Pak 10 and 15 because you have to buy the gas hook up separately at Canadian Tire (extra $100). Consider nothing less than the Hobart 140 or Lincoln SP135T for 110 machines and Hobart 180 or Lincoln 175T for 220 machines. You won't get a comparable Miller machine in the same price range up here. The Lincolns have a "Plus" series in the 135 and 175 which offers continually variable voltage control. This is nice but I couldn't justify the price difference. If you're prepared to pay the difference, consider the Millers.. they have continuously variable voltage and are just a bit more than the Lincoln Plus series. Not to mention, they have a better resale value if you are looking to upgrade in the future.

The 110 machines above will perform any bodywork you choose to do and it's easy to learn how to use them. They will also weld thicker materials (1/4" multiple pass with regular wire, single pass with flux core). There is no doubt the 220 machines will provide cleaner single pass welds on thicker materials using regular wire so consider what you have planned for this welder beyond bodywork.

You'll be lucky to find a small bottle for $100 (maybe empty). Before buying a bottle consider the fill cost. Fill costs include labour, the labour is the same for a small bottle as it is a big bottle. A small bottle will cost roughly $30 to fill and last one long day while a big bottle will cost $50ish but you get 4x as much. Look at all your options for gas, including renting. I can rent a big bottle for $60/yr + fills but I elected to buy the medium bottle ($190 on exchange program). I can fill it anywhere and exchange it from the point of purchase when it expires. The renting option is a good deal but I bought the 110 machine with portability in mind and the big bottles are too much to lug around-hence the purchase of the medium bottle (twice the capacity of the small, half of the large).

Plan on spending $800 for a 110 machine with bottle purchase or upwards of $1000 for 220. Don't waste $600 on anything less than Miller, Hobart or Lincoln.

I use a Lincoln 135T ($500 open box deal) CAR40 Bottle ($190) and a Princess Auto Mig Cart ($55 on sale) and I have been extremely happy with the setup after exchanging the small bottle for the medium. After welding in new floors, I feel the setup has paid for itself.

-Brian

You will find a 120vac mig welder with optional gas hook-up will be all you need I have use one for many years anything bigger you just blow holes in the metal this is the model I use.

In that price range, You'll either be looking at a very cheap MIG or a used one unless you get one of the lesser-featured HTP welders. They're good machines and the parts availability problem of the past is ancient history since they make almost everything compatible with Tweaco (sp?), Miller and othe name brand parts these days.

Check out:

The prices listed in the catalog I have are $749 for the 140 and $919 for the 160. HTP has a 120 for $409, but it lacks the stitch and spot weld features that the bigger ones have. Once you use these, you'll wonder why every welder maker on the planet doesn't include them in their own line. Then again, maybe the 120 would be a good first welder for someone.

I'd recommend staying away from anything sold at the hardware-store level. Most of them (no matter whree they're made) are really low end and have duty cycles that can be awfully restricting. I've seen Lincolns that have a 15% duty cycle. Pretty frustrating welding a 6" bead and having to wait a couple minutes before you can continue because the transformer in the welder is about to go thermonuclear and the fan in it is smaller than the one in the computer you're using right now. ;)

Welding tanks aren't very expensive - here are a few I found on eBay:

on how much gas you use and what you're welding, it might be better to just rent one. You won't need argon unless you're welding aluminum. CO2/argon mix is good for almost anything steel and is a LOT cheaper than pure argon. For home welding use, I'd recommend maybe about a 40 to 80 cubic foot tank. That should last a long time with occasional use.

To give you an idea where I'm personally coming from with my opinions, I have a Lincoln 240 amp Arc (the big red doghouse that can burn holes in army tanks) and an older Century MIG as well as a Victor gas setup. I'm thinking about getting rid of the Century just because it's not as versatile as the newer HTP's are. The Century has been a great welder for everything I've ever needed to do body work wise. Maybe you should think about getting a used MIG and a used arc as well. Between the two, you can do just about anything short of opening your own welding shop.

Good luck, - Jeff G

I know who paid for the stand ..lol your old machine worked wonders on re-skinning the one rocker panel, at least now it has a metal surface. I should have used a bit thicker metal though, lots of burn through, mind was my first welding work in about 20 yrs.

Snow...

That's a pretty remarkable little machine when you get the hang of it! I'm glad you're happy with it.

-Brian

see

honestly though you couldnt give me a 220v microwire welder selling for $500. welding equipment isnt an area where you want to cut corners.

Thanks for all the info and input! I'm not looking at the following:

Lincoln 135T or 175T (175T on sale for $600 CDN plus regulator and bottle) Hobart 140 and 180 series.

I'm leaning towards the 175T ...about $850-$950 after I'm all done with accessories/taxes. Double what I'd hoped to spend but from the sounds of it, it's a pretty decent machine for a beginner doing bodywork on a rusted CJ ...unless anyone thinks this welder is a mistake? Also, how much of an advantage is the 220V over the 110V ...is it worth the price difference (about $150-200)?

I will give you one vote for the Lincoln 175T. Plenty big to weld auto parts with, will be great for body and sheet metal work. Yes it is an investment, and yes it is more than you wanted to spend originally, but with this option you will have a useful tool that you will not soon outgrow. You just can't get enough heat (amps) out of a little 110V welder for jeep / fab type work. The 220V opens you up to take on those type of projects. That price sounds like a good deal, is this from an online place or a local shop?

Find out if the 175T is refurbished for that price, that's a heck of a deal. Nothing wrong with refurbished, same warranty etc. just nice to know up front when comparing prices. I'm not positive about this (double check before basing a decision), I think Miller/Hobart warranty work gets shipped to the US while Lincoln is performed in Canada. This is not likely to be an issue. I'd rather spend $600 on a 175T than a 135Plus (around the same price).

-Brian

You will find a 120vac mig welder with optional gas hook-up will be all you need I have use one for many years anything bigger you just blow holes in the metal this is the model I use.

heh....i advise never making that assumption....not with welding equipment.

no, but hopefully the bumper and skidding you build will be. its not just about maximum penetration anyway. you have to leave yourself room to grow as a welder and fabricator. buy a quality machine to begin with, i advise at the very least a miller 175, and preferably a 210 (if you cant stand the cost of blue, buy the comparable hobart unit). no matter what you buy, take a course first! get quality instruction on all welding processes so youll know what works best for you. i recertified as recently as june of '03 for d1.1 and i plan on taking the same courses over again hopefully this summer. by taking many different courses at many different schools i learn something new each time. its the most fun youll ever have in school.

heh....as to be expected. :-)

i feel your pain. i sold off over a dozen machines prior to moving to montana. i just didnt have room to haul them and i wasnt going back for them. these days im just getting by wtih:

and i gotta small tig rig but dont tinker with it much. im hoping to acquire more eventually.

1/8" if it is clean, prepped and an idea set up. How often is that reality? Sometime those extra amps are need to make up for the dirty area, or less than perfect ground, or a variety of other issues.

I hold several military and civilian welding certificatins and have use the

175 to fillet weld up to 1/4" with no inclusions, Also, I am certified in NDT, X-ray and magnaflux. If you are an experiance welder all you need is the 175 for the hobb lobby stuff especially what Bill had said Auto body/unibodies along with frames are thinner than 1/4". You can also use what is called Core-10, 1/8" plate is as strong as 3/8' miald steel plate. Bigger is not always better but can be fun.

HarryS