Mig welders, suggestions..?

For 8k, imma need it to come with a little man to use it for me. "Yo little Miller man... Make this piece stick to this piece please"

 

Not sure what your budget is but we use this at work for small jobs and it runs off 110 or 220. Much easier using this than the big 480V welders with a suitcase feeder. Awesome little machine! With the spool gun and everything I'm being told we got it for $1200.

 

Mike I'm a fan of Lincoln when it comes to Mig. Their suitcase welders are solid.

 

No doubt Lincoln for MIG. TIG..... Miller all the way.

 

I had never heard of dual shield welding until today! Guess I'll bust out that flux roll and make some coupons this weekend. Thanks guys.

Here's a cool instructional video from the miller forums about dual shield welding on some thick plate. http://www.millerwelds.com/resource...dual-shield-welding-flux-core-with-gas-videos

 

As a former shipfitter, if it doesn't need handrail, it's a good fit up.
One example of a flux core procedure with gas.

 

only problem is FC is a lot more expensive than solid wire. I had a Miller 140 115v and used FC and it worked well. Sold it an bought a Miller 210 115/220v with gas and don't like it as much. Seems more picky and have trouble getting it to lay good beads consistently. Better check my wire settings cause I just assumed it was set for 220 and solid wire/gas- cause who would buy a 220 machine and run it on 115v with FC. haha

 

Mainly small stuff around the house, finish up my cafe racer, bike frames, etc. Possibly a front bumper for the tundra when I eventually draft a mock up on cad.

Was leaning towards the 210 mvp as well, with spool runner, and a bottle for gas.

I just installed a dedicated breaker for my air compressor and eventually a welder.

I think that's roughly how much I have estimated a hobart 210, with spool gun, and a gas bottle would cost. Thanks everyone for your inputs.

 

Yes a gap wasn't nothing with fc or a 5\32 6010

 

So, can I use flux core and gas at the same time?
Just set the machine up to run solid wire and gas but use flux core?

Is this correct?

 

Ok I jumped the gun when posting this. I have since kept reading and now know the answer.

 

Yup, I'm leaning that way. Thanks.

 

Has anyone mentioned the Vulcan welders from Harbor Freight?

As fabricator, I like to think I can recognize quality tools. These new Vulcan machines are not in the same category as the craptastic Chicago Electric machines that we are familiar with.

I've looked them over thoroughly and am nothing short of amazed at the build quality. They are every bit as well built as my Miller machines. Unfortunately, I have 3 Miller mig units and just can't justifying purchasing another unit.

The warranty is nothing short of stellar. You have a full year of use and no questions asked return policy.

I was looking at the Omnipro 220 unit just a bit ago. You can buy this machine with a spool gun for less than I paid for my Miller 30A spool gun alone!

I watched sever YT vids and am liking what people are showing.

One of these machines would be perfect for the home welder or the beginner that wants to learn how to weld.

 

Are you the same shipfitter that said "if you can step across that gab, I can bridge it"?

 

Pretty, damn amazing what you get here.

Damn! I these were available 20 years ago!

 

I was looking into this. Is it good bang for the buck? It’s gonna be my first welder. I’m gonna try to learn as I go with a some tips from you guys and from some friends.

 

I don't see how you can do better. A 20 year old Miller machine of similar capabilities goes for that kind of money...and you get no warranty.

 

I’ll look into it! Thanks bud

 

Thanks, I'm gonna have to check that out.

 

I'll chime in on my thoughts about learning to weld. I want to get some info out that I find might be useful to the home welder. No disrespect to the pros'.

MIG welding one of the most useful welding styles out there. Both in ease of use and the right style for the majority of welding jobs. I know MIG welding and I know I won't be TIG welding ever again. TIG use for home project is limited. MIG welding is just, plain, used for everything. I'll let the pro TIG welders respond to TIG questions. I just don't see someone laying in the mud welding up some sliders using the TIG welding method.

If you are on this thread because you want to learn to MIG weld, then I fully support this. I also don't believe that for a person to be a decent MIG welder, they need to go to an organized welding class. If you want to, go ahead. I don't think it is necessary. With all the YT vids available, just about anyone should be able to teach themselves to mig weld.

I noticed some comments on the use of dual shield wire listed above. If you are wanting to learn to MIG weld, then DS is really not relevant for this thread. DS, as mentioned above is for heavy duty welding applications. I can not think of any home welding projects that would require that welding method. Maybe the use of DS would be a good choice if you had a large farm operation it would be good to have on.

I've been MIG welding for 25 years. MIG welding has made me a lot of money and saved me lots of headaches. I will be glad to answer questions if I can.

Kirk

 

Kirk , your not supposed to be laying in the mud welding sliders . Mig is always gonna be quicker and easier for the wknd welder warrior. And I agree, you don't have to go to a trade school or college to learn to Mig. Mig is all about set up . Once you dial it in it's pretty much point and shoot and should be the first choice besides Tig . I will disagree to a point that your limited with Tig for home project's. You can weld anything you want if you have the right set up. Me personally I would Tig any day over Mig but that's just me.

 

Im just a do it yourself garage fab guy. I agree with most everything in this thread.
I have however been welding on the ol Taco and get great penetration using my lincoln 140. Ive done sliders, skid plates, swing out tire carrier, rear shock locate, hydro bump mounts.
It did however take me a lot of practice to get my welds up to an acceptable standard.

If youre looking for a hobby machine. You can probably get away without spending a fortune.

Good luck in your search.

 

Show em ur boat!!!. Lol

 

This one?

 

Which looks like this now...mostly.

 

Beautiful!