opinions?

Doug, you can buy a small MIG welder for not much more than that. I'm close to buying a welder and after talking with welding gurus I trust, I'm limiting my choices to MIG. Plus it's easier to weld with MIG than that rig you posted the link to. :) (Dang, I tried to just send this to you privately but you have your email address anti-spammed)

Jerry

Jerry Bransford did pass the time by typing:

Yea.. sad side effect of the spammers out there. try douglas dot wilson at cox dot net.

Two reasons I'm looking at that over a mig is that it is portable (doesn't need power) and I can cut with it. For just welding I agree the mig would be best.

Doug; Jerry is right you can't go wrong with it. I have one and I've used it to fix the rust on my Jeep to making a couple of hard top lift's. To you name it. You wouldn't regret it. Jimmie:

Boy Nat you sure did that up nice. Did you miss any thing? L.O.L. Good Job. Hay I am missing South Dakota Really Bad. Jimmie

thanks jimmie. nice to see i hit my mark.

you and me both. sucks especially bad when youre paying for a house for nothing. we'll most likely be taking my mom with us when shes able to go.

Nathan Collier did pass the time by typing:

Aw nuts.. now I have more to think about.

Guess I could pass on the cutting ability, that's easy enough with other tools.

foo.

That also means I will have to install a new breaker box out back as I used the last connection (destined for a 240 outlet) to power the washing machine. Then again a new panel isn't that hard and I'll be able to switch over to newer (and much cheaper) breakers.

certainly! there are a lot of areas where ill cut corners but welding equipment isnt one of them. you _do_ get what you pay for with welding equipment.

nope! see also

Nathan Collier did pass the time by typing:

True. I could just unplug the dryer and building an extension cord is easy enough. The original idea was to have an outlet right by the front of the garage. I've got the 110 there now and it's so handy for trouble lights, drills, etc.

I'm not terribly familiar with mig welding, but with gas it's just a matter of getting the parent metal up to the melting point then adding a bit of filler. Is it a problem with migs laying down too much metal?

Here's my ugly welding.

you could easily power a millermatic 135/175 with the 120v you have now. a millermatic 135 is plenty for most anything you could build for a jeep anyway.

welding doesnt get any easier than with a MIG setup. you take the size base metal and the size wire youll be welding with and you look at the handy chart for the settings. see this small video for MIG basics.

L.W. (ßill) Hughes III did pass the time by typing:

Wonder what the total cost would be or if the bottles are lease vs. own. Not having much luck looking for bottles on the web so I'll call a few local shops tomorrow.

Nathan Collier did pass the time by typing:

Coolness. That might just be the answer then.

Thanks for the vid. I'm starting to change my mind about gas vs mig.

Wonder what santa is going to get me for xmas this year...

as your friend and professional welder i can tell you with assurity that a small mig setup would be the way for you to go.

spend the bucks and buy blue....in the end youll be glad you did.

many thanks roy. i figured i should make a one size fits all welding page.

lincoln lost me when they replaced their copper windings with aluminum. if that wasnt bad enough, they shipped their entire manufacturing plant to mexico. millers are still built in wisconsin by american blue collar guys just like me. im sure they could cash in like lincoln and charge the same for machines built in mexico but theyve stuck it out here and upheld their commitment to their american employees. that means more than a few bucks to me.

Nice job Nathan!

But I have to laugh at your great love for Blue (Miller) How about some red ( Lincoln)???

I think I'd quibble a bit over the general tendency to go with bigger (and more $$$) machines. EG an AC/DC thunder bolt is a nice machine but a Lincoln AC only tombstone does a good job on Jeep related bumpers and such.

Cheers.

Nathan Collier wrote:

I don't think you would like it for long. Your cutting time would be limited to the 5 to 10 minute range before you would need a new O2 tank. The welding side lasts longer but you would need it to get any reasonable sized weld done.

These th> Yes, I know it's a small rig but I just don't weld that much (or have the space)