Welder for beginners

b4black

before black
Jun 6, 2008
1,331
542
Oswego
Thinking I want to buy a welder. I'll never get to serious about this. Weld some exhaust together, maybe box some control arms and more likely just stick shit together to make ugly sculptures.


I've been told not to bother with cheap welders, but I'd rather not buy a top of the line welder just to screw around with.

What a good enough welding set up out there? I'm guessing it's not the $89.99 special from Harbor Freight.
 

Mr. SBF

Keeping it Real with Ford Power!!!
May 12, 2015
3,247
7
Kenosha County
I have a Hobart 190 Handler 220v works great. Hobart is a parent company of Miller. Love it, have lots of hours on it and have Zero complaints as of yet.

I also have a cheapo Campbell and Hausfeld 110v for thin sheet metal, it has worked pretty good surprisingly... though I don't use it a hole lot maybe 10 hrs on it and have heard that it's just a matter of time with these.
 

zenriddles

Guns don't kill people, 'vaccines' do
Aug 18, 2005
4,953
3,827
Holiday Inn
You want pretty welds or strong welds?

Flux core welding wire can stick a turd to a chrome bumper. Amateur MIG - not so much.

I have seen many gorgeous MIG welds just 'fall off' because the welding gas doesn't do shit to clean a contaminated surface just before the weld like flux will.

I have a Lincoln 120V wire feed welder that I use for light duty 'stick anything to anything' welding and I use NR 211 flux core wire from Lincoln.
Results are not often pretty but always bite like a pitbull.

What is most important first? Welds that hold strong or welds that win a beauty contest? As a beginner, you are NOT going to make the perfect stack of tipped-over-nickles TIG weld for years.
 

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
5,750
10,969
South of Wisconsin.
I have a 110V Hobart. I've only ever done Gasless Flux core MIG and always have plenty of Ventilation when using Flux Core. I've welded up everything from Exhaust systems, to Cast Iron railings, Decorative things like the hanging pot holder in my kitchen, and steel railings with it.

Comes is Super handy... I used it a couple weeks ago to weld an old lug nut onto the keyed lug on my GF's spare tire. We didn't realize the there was still a Keyed lug on it and needed it off because she had a flat. Also Along with a cheapo Bender I make my own brackets, Shelves, wall hangars, more decorative stuff. Shit, the workbench and all of the wall shelves were made with Scrap angle iron. My rolling tool/work cart and even the welding kart itself I also made myself. Again fun and super handy to have.


Also My first welder was a cheap Norther tool Made in China 110V Mig welder from Northern tool. I ran that for a couple years until the main board died and instead of repairing it I decided to replace it with the Hobart. Much higher quality with the Hobart.
 

Mr_Roboto

Doing the jobs nobody wants to
TCG Premium
Feb 4, 2012
25,677
30,573
Nashotah, Wisconsin (AKA not Illinois)
Lesee here, I've had a HF DUAL MIG 171 (earlier one than the newer ones) and a Clarke 140EN. The Clarke is an Italian made welder of decent quality, and the HF one well it's been frustrating because parts have been a pain in the dick to get. I had it lose a roller and couldn't buy one. I've been modding the fuck out of it on and off, and when the weather gets warm again I'll probably have another go at it. My advice is get something you can at least get some parts for in the future even if you CL it.

Also gas is great, I prefer its welding over flux although the flux can be more convenient.
 

Gamble

TCG Elite Member
May 23, 2015
1,935
736
Thinking I want to buy a welder. I'll never get to serious about this. Weld some exhaust together, maybe box some control arms and more likely just stick shit together to make ugly sculptures.


I've been told not to bother with cheap welders, but I'd rather not buy a top of the line welder just to screw around with.

What a good enough welding set up out there? I'm guessing it's not the $89.99 special from Harbor Freight.

What do you want to weld and what is your budget? What power do you have available?

My personal opinion is 99% of the 110v mig welders out there good for 1/8" steel. Sure you can weld 1/2" with it but you are almost better off using super glue at that point. So 1/8" with no bevel. Flux core is considered a "hot" process. Meaning you can probably get about 3/16" thick with some nice penetration.
I would not recommend any 110v machines for 1/4" and up. Can it be done? Sure but you really have to know what you are doing. I had a bunch of kids come in looking for some .035 solid wire for a 110v mig to build a 1/4" steel bumper and I sent them packing. Stupid idea, no idea what they are going, and they are just going to hurt someone.
220v or dual voltage 110/220v welders are the best IMO.

Gas (c25 which is argon/co2) is generally preferred. It welds cleaner, a LOT less smoke, no slag to chip off and more forgiving for most people. A little more costly up front seeing how you have to buy a bottle. You will also run .023 or .030 wire. If you run flux you want .035 wire.


The issue with most of the HF or cheaper no name welders are build quality and parts. HF generally (older stuff, not the new vulcan stuff from what i can tell) uses a shit gun. Nobody sells a liner replacement, it's super short, it uses a plastic wire feed assembly that isn't even lined up right, no internal cap (smoothes out the arc) and no extra controls. It's basic and you will probably hate it.
Things to look for:
Cast aluminum wire feed assembly
Easily source parts. Ones that use a mig gun that has a back end that is tweco style or euro connect.
A welder that accepts gas. Some flux welders will not have an input for gas and not have a option to reverse the polarity which you need.
Ability to hold a 10lb spool of wire. Buy a larger 10lb roll vs the small 1-2 pound rolls, it's so much more cost friendly and will last a lot longer


I don't want to dig into to much but if you have any questions let me know.
I have a nice sale going on now for a mig/spoolgun and helmet for $949. And have less expensive options too.

I have a Hobart 190 Handler 220v works great. Hobart is a parent company of Miller. Love it, have lots of hours on it and have Zero complaints as of yet.

I also have a cheapo Campbell and Hausfeld 110v for thin sheet metal, it has worked pretty good surprisingly... though I don't use it a hole lot maybe 10 hrs on it and have heard that it's just a matter of time with these.
Hobart and Miller are owned by ITW (Illinois Tool Works) and they own about 100 other companies. ITW is HUGE.

You want pretty welds or strong welds?

Flux core welding wire can stick a turd to a chrome bumper. Amateur MIG - not so much.

I have seen many gorgeous MIG welds just 'fall off' because the welding gas doesn't do shit to clean a contaminated surface just before the weld like flux will.

I have a Lincoln 120V wire feed welder that I use for light duty 'stick anything to anything' welding and I use NR 211 flux core wire from Lincoln.
Results are not often pretty but always bite like a pitbull.

What is most important first? Welds that hold strong or welds that win a beauty contest? As a beginner, you are NOT going to make the perfect stack of tipped-over-nickles TIG weld for years.
Gas does not clean the surface. Gas protects the weld, the same thing that the flux does. Welds that look great and 'fall off' were most likely welded too cold or by someone who welded vertical down. You get no penetration.

With flux wire the saying is "if there is slag you drag", don't push it.

Dimes, the term is dimes. Nobody that knows anything about welding will say nickels, pennies or quarters.


Lesee here, I've had a HF DUAL MIG 171 (earlier one than the newer ones) and a Clarke 140EN. The Clarke is an Italian made welder of decent quality, and the HF one well it's been frustrating because parts have been a pain in the dick to get. I had it lose a roller and couldn't buy one. I've been modding the fuck out of it on and off, and when the weather gets warm again I'll probably have another go at it. My advice is get something you can at least get some parts for in the future even if you CL it.

Also gas is great, I prefer its welding over flux although the flux can be more convenient.
Welding with C25 gas is the way to go. So much less smoke to deal with an no slag. The 140en is decent at best but the wire feed assembly is weak. There is no internal capacitor so you can start with adding one but it's not really worth it for those small machines IMO.
 

LikeABauce302

TCG Elite Member
Aug 27, 2013
5,874
16,317
South suburbs
Real Name
Matt
I have a Hobart 190 Handler 220v works great. Hobart is a parent company of Miller. Love it, have lots of hours on it and have Zero complaints as of yet.

I also have a cheapo Campbell and Hausfeld 110v for thin sheet metal, it has worked pretty good surprisingly... though I don't use it a hole lot maybe 10 hrs on it and have heard that it's just a matter of time with these.

I have a Hobart Handler 140 and it works great. I'm very happy with it. I previously had a Campbell Hausfeld. That one only lasted long enough for me to smooth the engine bay of my Mustang.
 

GTPpower

TCG Elite Member
Jun 5, 2012
6,295
9,611
Nebraska

b4black

before black
Jun 6, 2008
1,331
542
Oswego

FESTER665

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Apr 13, 2008
39,959
66,093
Streamwood
That was my next question. I can get the Hobart 140 at Rural King for $480.

Wasn't sure if 10 more amps is worth the additional $120. Otherwise I don't see a difference in the 130 and 140.

140 has the cast drive system Gamble mentions in one of his posts, along with the gas connections.

Definitely not just the 10 amps extra.

The 140 shows a 4.9 star rating with 950+ reviews. Can't get much better than that. :dunno:
 

Slolane

Who's The Masta!?!
Mar 27, 2009
7,493
4
Hoffman Estates
I have a Lincoln 140hd weld pak from Home Depot and absolutely love it. I only use it for garage use. Exhausts etc and sounds like that’s what you’d be using it for, which this welder will be more then plenty for you. I was torn between the Lincoln 140 and more of the higher end welders but for what I use it for I couldn’t justify spending the extra money. I was at Home Depot few weeks ago and they were on sale somewhere in the 300s. Not sure if they still are.
 

Outlaw

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Jul 24, 2009
19,609
16,068
Johnsburg
63617_Newitems_Nov17b.png


For a beginner this is a great unit, you could even go with the 140 depending on your needs. My business partner has one and I've used it a handful of times with zero complaints. Make sure to run Lincoln or equivalent "good" spool wire. That makes all the difference.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant. Consider starting a new thread to get fresh replies.

Thread Info