I am looking to get some welding equipment for my garage mostly for car related use. I am looking to get into open wheel racing and figure it may be good to be able to weld and fabricate certain things. Im not looking to make full roll cages but more medium to small scale work.

What is a good welder to get that can tackle most car-related work? Make brackets and minor other things? I'd like to hear any experience you guys have.

Thanks

 

Ive heard the Mig 180 by lincoln is pretty good and affordable for a 220v. Its what im looking to get for my garage this spring

http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/...ws/reviews.htm

Link to a local store that sells it

 

If you'll never do a roll cage or larger metal then the 120v can get you by, but it's nice having more settings on the expensive machines that are 220v to get better welds.

 

220v gas shielded MIG, miller, Lincoln, Hobart.

 

I just picked up a welder from harbor freight. Works great, and its cheap. http://www.harborfreight.com/180-amp...der-68886.html

 

i bought the lincoln it works great i even do exhaust on the low settings and it will burn right through 1/4 inch turned up

 

I have a 120V Miller mig that I use. It works great for me. I have used the small 220V Miller migs though and they are real good.
Make sure that whatever you get that replacement tips and nozzles etc are readily available. Though they do not need replacing as often as is reccomended in my Miller book also consider needing to replace the liner on occasion.
The other question you need to answer for your self is if you need gas shielding or just flux core wire. Gas shielding is required for aluminum if you would be doing any.
Need to have a good pair of welding gloves and welding hood at a minimun for protection. A welding jacket would be smart to consider also. I am using a self darkening hood from harbor freight that I like.

 

<~~~ Hobart Handler 187 Here with shielded gas. Welds great. Dont a lot with it. Starts slacking at 3/8 and thicker. welded a Roll Cage with it, Body work, My Frame of my garage, Pnematic Potatoe Gun, Stuff for work ect..Pretty good. I think weakest link is the liner.

 

You made a very good point in the thickness they can weld with good penetration. As mine is only a little 130Amp it is maxed out at 1/4 inch thickness. However with 'V' ing and gapping I can do 1/2 inch or more.
I have done anything and everything with mine. Trailers, hitches, carports, leaf spring mounts, winch mounts, fence gates, bumpers and even minor frame work. I have done cracks in doors and even custom designed and built a grill guard for a truck.
My Miller is capable of gas shielded welding. I have only gone through one liner per 20+ 11Lb rolls of wire. Being a Miller I was able to find a cheap new gun and lead on Ebay instead of replacing the liner. I did notice that with the smaller sized wire that the longer leads tend to cause a few more problems. I want my old 10ft lead back. I have a dealer close to my house that stocks most parts I might need including liners at fair prices. Because of replacing normal wear items as needed my welder works like new and still looks nearly new after the 15 or more years since I bought it new.
I love my little Miller but I would have bought a Lincoln if I could have bought it for close to the price I paid for this one. I paid dealer cost and was able to make payments to buy it at the time.
The OP needs to take all this info and apply it to what he is likely to be doing and then make sure he gets a welder capable of this and a little more.

 

Thanks for the info everyone. Now bigger question is how easy is it to learn to weld without taking any courses or anything? How did you go about learning? Just take some steel and playing around?

 

yup maybe do some reading online theres different strokes for different folks so adapt and try different ways. good luck

 

I leasrned the basics in a few hours by a friend who is a iron worker by trade. Mig is the easiest by far to learn to weld.

 

I learned the basics in about thirty minutes but I did have prior instruction on stick welding and gas welding in school. It helped some to understand some of what I was seeing and already knew what had to happen but needed to practice to do it and learn the different look as compared to stick. The settings were easy to start to get used to. My welder also had a thickness gauge one of the settings. I then had wire speed to understand and there was a chart on that on the wire cover and in the manual.

 

i am a welder/machinist by trade and have used many types of welders. I personally have a 130 amp miller mig that i run .023 hardwire and 75/25 mix gas and a lincoln stick welder. I use the mig almost all the time. I can weld nearly anything on a car with this small machine and parts are readilly available. the down size to this machine is the duty cycle which is 20%. I would buy this machine again in a heart beat if i were doing light welding. As far as learning the dark art i recommend just burning some wire. LOL. Your gas should be set around 20- 25 psi. You want your wire tension set so that you can hold the nozzle to the ground and press the trigger and the wire slips in the rolls. Speed and temp i believe are more of a feel. Flux core wire i believe is good but has a limited place on automobiles. Hope i could help a little.