What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work.

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surfwagoneer
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by surfwagoneer »

I'm in the same boat, new to welding, just getting into things. I got a Eastwood 135 (110v) mig and love it so far. Granted I am new at welding but this welder should be able to do 75% of the stuff I want to do. I ended up picking up a lincoln AC225 (230v) stick welder off craigslist. Which was brand new out of the box, hadn't even been put together all the way for half price. This thing will be able to weld just about anything but the thinner stuff, which my mig will cover. I picked up the stick welder after talking with my friend who is a diesel engineer and does quite a bit of welding including on his TJ. So for $450 I'll have the capability to weld pretty much anything I want. Granted I need to practice some more. I've been using my eastwood wire feeder with flux (I know, I know) b/c I just haven't picked up a gas bottle yet and it works great. Can't wait to see it lay down a bead with gas. Once I get my 220 outlet installed I'll get hands on with the stick welder. Safari rack, front and rear bumpers........here I come!
Last edited by surfwagoneer on Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Mars
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by Mars »

Yeah, I would agree with that. Mine seems to have erratic wire speeds forcing me to constantly stop and start. And once I start to get a good weld the wire melts inside the tip..
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REDONE
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by REDONE »

Mars wrote:Yeah, I would agree with that. Mine seems to have erratic wire speeds forcing me to constantly stop and start. And once I start to get a good weld the wire melts inside the tip..
Well, hijack is in full progress so I guess I'll finish this up here for anyone following along. I'm just guessing that you got the 90amp flux cored version, right? And it's pretty much useless for anything other than tacking the way it is now right? Try replacing the wire liner, not much to lose, right? Here's a teflon liner that you can adapt to your gun with some creativity.
http://www.ereplacementparts.com/alumin ... 33324.html

[/hijack]
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
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Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
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Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.
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Mars
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by Mars »

Sorry not trying ti Hijack the thread, just figured since you were talking about entry level and above welders I would share the issues I was having with my cheapie.
Jeep: making ordinary people mechanics for more than 70 years.

1981 J-10 Laredo.
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[ O o \\|// o O ]
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by [ O o \\|// o O ] »

Mars wrote:Sorry not trying ti Hijack the thread, just figured since you were talking about entry level and above welders I would share the issues I was having with my cheapie.

No problem. That kind of information is hepful. A post about weldin in an oxygen enriched atmosphere might blow up my thread but machine specific issues will help narrow my choices.
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rstep
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by rstep »

Since brand,size,and use is covered well here.How about maintenence. Good liner sized for wire being used,keep whip as straight as you can in use.Don't roll whip up in tight coils as it can put kinks in the metal part of liner.Tips,clean often,watch wire size here also,tip dip helps alot.
Also over the years have noticed brands of wire quality goes up and down, stick with good brands some have a hard time unrolling and bind up.Wire cleaner pads work great also.
Strong ground clamp saves alot of prblems also upgrade if you can.
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serehill
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by serehill »

[ O o \|// o O ] wrote:
serehill wrote:No where's near a welder I am totally an amature. I have a Lincioln 150 I use & for my limited ability. I can do pretty well. I assume I'm more the norm. It was affordable & does what I need to do. The bottom line is to get one with gas capability. A flux welder really stinks if you're a novice & a gas welder will make a lot better welder out of you. I can't compete with these guys & I'll never weld a 24" boat hull LOL but this works for me. Nor do I need to.
Almost everything including the panel weld up of the windows on my Cherk was done with the lincoln perfectly. Miller is a great commercial welder & I guess if you have the bucks Cool. I wanted a package welder gas system & plasma cutter good enough to do what I wanted so I went this way thinking I would get a better one later on. It is very clear now this one does anything I'll ever do. I would buy it again.

Mine is very portable easy to get parts for. At my age I don't need a ton piece of equipment to haul around. Agree I wouldn't use it professionally but I,m no professional.

It's all about what your going to do with it. I did buy all mine used but have way less than a grand in everything.

IMHO My 2 cents

What are you refering to here, "a package welder gas system & plasma cutter"? I've looked around for a combo package to see if I could get both at a discount but the only one I could find was from Eastwood. Do you have a link?


Well the refernce was only that I needed a gas capable welder & plasma cutter on the budget. I was allowing 1K for the package I wanted. It included welder & gas hook up & cutter carts to put them on periphrials etc. I talked to some guys that do use welders & found out the all in ones were not the way to go. I have a friend that went that route not so good. So I made up my mind to stay in budget I needed to buy used. I ask a guy to refernce ones for me I was looking at & he passed them for me with the Lincoln & a Snap on 5550 plasma cutter. He told me to stay away from the Chinese junk because getting parts would be an issue. I would ask him about them when I would see the add I would send them to him He told me these pieces were priced well Would do the Job. The Snap on is a great cutter for my needs & the lincoln works for what I need. I don't use them every day. The friend I refered to came over & welded the window panels in for me using this stuff & did an outstanding job. Like I said before there are far more experienced welders on ths board than I & I will never be one of those. I'm good with that. I'm not trying to override any inputs Just throw mine in. You get to make the choice. No right or wrong way. I believe the better the tool the better the work My billfold doesn't. I also know there is over the top in this situation. You need someone objective to keep you from going under. But for what I do & most hobbyist do, this system works good. It took me a while to find the ones I wantred in good shape. It's like fishing right just throw the bad ones back. A good weldor makes a cheap machine work better so you need a little better than the bottom of the barrell junk weldder & cutter. But you don't need the 2k worth of stuff unless you can afford it. There's lots of options no doubt. The best investment I made most can not. I have a Junior college within walking distance from my house that offers a Saturday welding course. Best bang for the buck. I'm good for my needs. What your going to do with the equipment should determine your needs. I don't fool myself when it comes to a part that is really critical I take it to a proffessional.
Also looking at these things on the sales it's clear my equipment will be worth at least what I gave for it forever. I learned being proficient in electronics that buying a cheap welder that needs a controller is not the weay to go. In researching that as an economical option I found you can not always find parts. So stay with the names that are familair.
If the name of the machine sounds like someone dropped silverware on the floor forget it. Make sure no one has stuck a plastic label over the ching chong ping. Just be careful not to pay for the name. Or pay for a welder to weld a 24" boat hull with.
I think the curve ball here does not matter what kind of equipment you have if your talking about general fab work then this will get you by. If your talking about buiding axles structural fabrication having the right equipment is not going to be the problem. It takes a good weldor to do that stuff exceeding your capabilities comes to play at that point. It's important that is understood.

Like with Eastwood not the company the Man " A man has to know his limitations"

Simply my experience & OPINIONS. :mrgreen:
1980 Honcho 258 4 speed mostly stock with 4 " lift.

WIP

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1980 Cherokee wrangled & mangled
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Eddy intake
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[ O o \\|// o O ]
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by [ O o \\|// o O ] »

Serehill,
You wrote, "...to stay in budget I needed to buy used." and "...it's clear my equipment will be worth at least what I gave for it forever."

How cool is that!

I've been looking for a while but haven't found a good mid range machine for sell that doesn't look like it's been drug around the farm for 15 hard years. I find a ton of HF types and $3,000 to $5,000 pro grade stuff but nothing right in the middle. It's getting to be crunch time for me and that's why I've started looking at new machines. I've got a week left so I'm praying for a miracle!

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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by serehill »

[ O o \|// o O ] wrote:Serehill,
You wrote, "...to stay in budget I needed to buy used." and "...it's clear my equipment will be worth at least what I gave for it forever."

How cool is that!

I've been looking for a while but haven't found a good mid range machine for sell that doesn't look like it's been drug around the farm for 15 hard years. I find a ton of HF types and $3,000 to $5,000 pro grade stuff but nothing right in the middle. It's getting to be crunch time for me and that's why I've started looking at new machines. I've got a week left so I'm praying for a miracle!

Yeah getting in a hurry trying to impress someone or getting it beciasse a great welder has it will get you ionto that tailspin. They are out there a lot On CL as many good as bad. The other thing about my equipment is it's for the avaerage guy which is th ehuge market for sales.

Spread out your Search on craigslist look all around you find deal don't wait for them to come to you go find them. I drove about 60 minles to get my Lincoln & 30 to get my plasma cutter. Make them demonstrate they work.
1980 Honcho 258 4 speed mostly stock with 4 " lift.

WIP

You know the rude dude from IFSJA


1980 Cherokee wrangled & mangled
MSD complete system
Eddy intake
Holley 650
Comp cam 270H
4" Rusty's
Ramsey 12K winch
208
Built to drive not sit in the garage.


No longer strangled. I didn't build it for anyone else.
If you can't improve it why waste your time?
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[ O o \\|// o O ]
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by [ O o \\|// o O ] »

serehill wrote:
[ O o \|// o O ] wrote:Serehill,
You wrote, "...to stay in budget I needed to buy used." and "...it's clear my equipment will be worth at least what I gave for it forever."

How cool is that!

I've been looking for a while but haven't found a good mid range machine for sell that doesn't look like it's been drug around the farm for 15 hard years. I find a ton of HF types and $3,000 to $5,000 pro grade stuff but nothing right in the middle. It's getting to be crunch time for me and that's why I've started looking at new machines. I've got a week left so I'm praying for a miracle!

Yeah getting in a hurry trying to impress someone or getting it beciasse a great welder has it will get you ionto that tailspin. They are out there a lot On CL as many good as bad. The other thing about my equipment is it's for the avaerage guy which is th ehuge market for sales.

Spread out your Search on craigslist look all around you find deal don't wait for them to come to you go find them. I drove about 60 minles to get my Lincoln & 30 to get my plasma cutter. Make them demonstrate they work.
Here's my hurry that's got me in a tail spin. My wife is moving to Vancouver, WA at the beginning of June to manage a dental office. I graduate my AAS in Network Admin. a few weeks after that. We need to get our house sold so we can buy something there. So I need to get all my Jeep stuff and tools out of the carport so it's presentable. Which means I need to get the Jeep done. This quarter will hopefully be a little easier than last so I'll have a little time each day to put into the Waggy. This first week of spring quarter gave me a little extra shopping and research time but starting Monday it won't be easy to find any extra time for the next three months. I haven't touched the Jeep for about a year to focus on school, my free time I spent with my wife since there was so little of it. For the extra couple of hundred dollars it might be worth it to just buy something new, with the 5/3/1 warranty. Next Friday I get the Waggy marked for cutting!
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by [ O o \\|// o O ] »

rstep wrote:Since brand,size,and use is covered well here.How about maintenence. Good liner sized for wire being used,keep whip as straight as you can in use.Don't roll whip up in tight coils as it can put kinks in the metal part of liner.Tips,clean often,watch wire size here also,tip dip helps alot.
Also over the years have noticed brands of wire quality goes up and down, stick with good brands some have a hard time unrolling and bind up.Wire cleaner pads work great also.
Strong ground clamp saves alot of prblems also upgrade if you can.
My friend was telling me he gets way better welds with his HF machine just by using Miller wire. I wouldn't have thought the wire would vary that much. Lots to learn, and fast.
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REDONE
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by REDONE »

Snap-On welding and cutting machines, just like there current selection of screwdrivers and wrenches, are made in China. :oops:

http://www.800abcweld.com/

Understand that the Campbell Hausfeld machines I learned on in that autobody shop all those years ago where the same machines from Systematics, just painted blue with a CH sticker on them instead of red with a Snap-On sticker, so they're not bad machines.

I steer clear of used equipment, though it can be good and at a bargain just because my last (and only) used purchase (Miller Sync 250) cost so much in repairs and parts that the combined cost was enough for a comparable Italian made Thermadyne new.

While reading this may not seem like it, Serehill and I are on the same page, only I'm reading back-to-front. I'm ready to lay down a concrete recommendation, get the Lincoln 140. This machine will meet all your actual welding needs and meets your peripheral criteria as well. It's a reputable American company. The machine has undergone two changes that I can see in the last decade; 1)the tooling for manufacture was shipped to mexico and 2) a plastic facia was put on the face to make it look more modern. The store will give you a 1-year no-questions-asked warranty (both HD and Lowes) and past that Lincoln will fix it up to 5. Beyond that parts will always be available. With Lincolns place in the welding robot world, they're not going anywhere.

Eventually, you may out grow it. If so, it'll still have a place in portability and 110v access. You can get a bigger machine for the shop, be it a power source or just a bigger MIG. Or, like Serehill and currently myself, all your home and odd-job needs may be met by one small wirefeeder if you don't outgrow it after all. Just because you want to weld some stuff doesn't commit you to the life of a career welder. ;)

With plasma cutters my experience is far more limited. I've never owned my own personal plasma cutter, and the ones I've used at work have always been big name brands, ESAB, TD and Miller. The smallest I've used is a TD42 and even that seemed so slow and underpowered that I felt I could have done more straighter and cleaner on 1/8" steel with a 5" waifer on a grinder. For curved cuts it'd be nice to have but for cutting straight you need high voltage and pressure with a plasma cutter on 1/8" and thicker.
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.
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[ O o \\|// o O ]
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by [ O o \\|// o O ] »

I had decided to go with the Millermatic 140 because of the autoset but went with the Lincoln 140 instead.
1 yr no interest financing at HD keeps over $600 in my pocket for immediate parts and materials.
And for the same price as the MM I can get the spool gun and a helmet by going with Lincoln.
Thanks for all the time you spent helping me decide.
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Mars
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by Mars »

[ O o \|// o O ] wrote:I had decided to go with the Millermatic 140 because of the autoset but went with the Lincoln 140 instead.
1 yr no interest financing at HD keeps over $600 in my pocket for immediate parts and materials.
And for the same price as the MM I can get the spool gun and a helmet by going with Lincoln.
Thanks for all the time you spent helping me decide.
Got any links to that welder?
Jeep: making ordinary people mechanics for more than 70 years.

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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by [ O o \\|// o O ] »

Mars wrote:
[ O o \|// o O ] wrote:I had decided to go with the Millermatic 140 because of the autoset but went with the Lincoln 140 instead.
1 yr no interest financing at HD keeps over $600 in my pocket for immediate parts and materials.
And for the same price as the MM I can get the spool gun and a helmet by going with Lincoln.
Thanks for all the time you spent helping me decide.
Got any links to that welder?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100670934? ... WM_lqKkok4
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carnuck
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by carnuck »

Wirefeed is nice, but for the past 30 years all I used was a 220V buzz box that I sold last year. It wouldn't do aluminum, but I had no problem with any ferrous metals. It handled up to 1/2" in one pass. I guess it's what you start out with (I was certified as a welder fitter in '79)
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Knucklehead
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by Knucklehead »

My son has built 3 project vehicles with the Sears Mig that Redone listed on page one of this thread. He modifed it so he could use 10lb spools of wire. It doesnt have provisions for gas, so its flux core only. Its held up extremely well. I think we paid ~$189 for it on sale. Its done everything we have asked of it. I will say that during the hot summer weather we had to let it cool because we did have it over heat one time. If I do upgrade, I would likely upgrade to a 220v Hobart primarily due to cost.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-wire-fee ... ockType=G2
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REDONE
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by REDONE »

Knucklehead wrote:My son has built 3 project vehicles with the Sears Mig that Redone listed on page one of this thread. He modifed it so he could use 10lb spools of wire. It doesnt have provisions for gas, so its flux core only. Its held up extremely well. I think we paid ~$189 for it on sale. Its done everything we have asked of it. I will say that during the hot summer weather we had to let it cool because we did have it over heat one time. If I do upgrade, I would likely upgrade to a 220v Hobart primarily due to cost.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-wire-fee ... ockType=G2
I like Forney. Forney is the original electric welder manufacturer. He's the one that brought stick welders to market as an alternative to Ox/Acet for farms and ranchers way back when cars had wooden wheels. The company is still family run. They are not in league with the big red and big blue, but I own a Forney inverter and carry it on the trails. I just understand it's limitations and if ever they bring production back stateside, I'll bump them up a notch or five in my rankings. ;)
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by [ O o \\|// o O ] »

Thanks for all the posts. I posted a thank you as a separate thread so hopefully everyone who posted will see it. I really appreciate all the various points of view. Made it tough to pick one welder over another but it made it easy to eliminate the $1000 Millermatic 211 I had convinced myself I needed. I'd still like it someday but right now I'd rather have the $400+ for parts for my conversion project.
Thanks Again.
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REDONE
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Re: What welder would you recommend for general 4x4 fab work

Post by REDONE »

You're welcome, but remember what I said from the get go. I want you to get a welder you will USE! Having it is less than half the battle. :P
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.
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