welder

[fredguaz]

I'm pretty happy with my Eastwood 135 mig. On occasion they go as low as 279. I do use gas shield. I'll also vouch for the HF auto darkening mask 30. As well as a HF cart for another 30.

[garion]

Oddly enough, that Eastwood 135 is $279 right now, on sale. If you want the cart and helmet, its $349.

Would you consider that a decent beginner's welder? I've had my eye on that for a while, and probably will pull the trigger next month.

[fredguaz]

You will need to decide between shielding gas or flux core. I got a tank of co2/ar for 80.00, but my neighbor works for a welding co so not sure of actual price. I had no previous welding experience but just have patience and learn like me. Can be frustrating welding thin rusty sheet metal. It either blows through or power too low for good weld. I use 18 ga sheet metal, easy to procur here in NASCAR country.
That sounds like good package pricing at Eastwood. Cart/Auto darkening helmet prob better quality than HF. (Or not). Definitely make sure helmet is Auto darkening. Good luck.

[bjbrown]

My good wife bought me a 240VAC Harbor Freight MIG welder for xmas a few years ago which I've used for everything. A friend gave me a cheap 110VAC MIG too some time ago, but I found it was a royal pita to use effectively. Even with the 240V welder, I was able to finally learn how to weld sheet metal (somewhat) effectively mainly by backing up the weld with a small sheet of copper. The steel weld doesn't stick to the copper. This typically would eliminate most of the blow-through. Even welding in replacement inner fenders, I would be able to reach into the narrow recesses from the trunk or passenger compartment to lay in the copper (maybe 18 or 20 ga.), weld up and remove the copper. And, I'd lay in a half-inch or so of weld, then move to another area to avoid building up too much heat in one area and distorting the metal. Not so important on the bottom, but when doing parts that will show...

[kmoses]

I have had good results with the Hobart Handler 140. Purchased from Hobart rebuilt for $419 (shipping is $7 anywhere in the lower 40 states). The only 110 vac. unit with a all metal wire feeding system. You will need to order the .024 /.030 drive wheel for solid wire (Amazon $14) as the unit ships with the .030/.035 wheel for Flux core wire. I like the Lincoln .024 solid mig wire used with 75/25 Argon/Cr2 gas. I tried the Hobart .023 solid wire and it welded great but is much harder to grind than the Lincoln wire. I can say that being a Fiat Spider owner has made me a much better MIG welder than I ever wanted to be!