Welder?

Edited: 9/20/2009 2:03:25 PM by dubz

Any suggestions on a welder?


I'm new to welding and have started work on my first project mini...I'm looking to stay as cheap as possible with the welder, but want it to be able to handle the body drop, suspension, notches and brackets.


edit: I do have 220 readily available in my garage.


Any help is appreciated.

If your looking for a decent priced one I would go with a Hobart maybe a 187 for a 220v of maybe a 140 for a 110v they are pretty cheap on notherntools.com. good luck on your purchase.

I agree with Daniel cant go wrong with a Hobart 187. Although I am partial to my Lincoln's. You can get a Lincoln 180 for around the same price.

 We have a Lincoln 140 and 180 and they are both great. No probs out of either one and I have had the 140 for a couple years now.

hobarts and millers are good but i like lincoln better because they have a good hot start up where alot of miller products will give u cold start ups  but they runn good after the initial start ups

Edited: 9/20/2009 5:13:06 PM by FADE2BLK94

Good thing about Lincoln is you can get some parts and consumables at any Lowe's or Home Depot 7 days a week when you need them.

make sure you able you get one with the ability to ad gas so you can do more once you learn the basics

i love my hobart 187 man. got it new about 4 years ago..no problems yet,used&abused daily. they also have the new handler 210 that will weld a bit thicker..and the ironman 210 which is also a badasss machine.    BTW...Miller/Hobart>all            haha everyone has there preferences. i wasnt too fond of the puney little lincoln 140 when i used it

Edited: 9/20/2009 7:47:42 PM by railin93

buddy of mine bought a handler 210 and its a great middle line welder...not too small for heavy gauge like 11 or 1/4 " and great for smaller body metal work...only thing is, it has a unique neck and lead so nothing else can be used really unless you do major mods to a roughneck or tweco...all in all, greta lil welder but if your gonna spend a small chunk, get a miller 212 or and older 210...BADASS welder there!!!...can do just about anything you throw at it!

 my Lincoln 175HD 220 is great. I just picked one up used from a mechanic and ran 220 into my garage andi love it. Sheet metal and thick metal are no problem. I havent welded anything over 1/4" yet but i know it can go bigger.   My buddy works at home depot and hes been tellin me that theres a clearance goin on on 220V lincoln welders he says they are 175 bucks right now marked down from 600! Hes been hiding them for people we know lol.  Whatever you get, dont use flux core. It sucks in terms of seeing the weld while youre welding, many times resulting in uneven distrubition of the weld over the seam with beginning and even experienced welders. Also the fumes from welding in my garage with flux core seriously affected my short-term memory and concentration for months. Gas is the only way to go for me now.