Starter Welder

[JD in DFW]

Hi guys,
Want to buy a started welder for minor projects in the garage and for my 10 yr old to learn to weld with. Would a small wire welder or stick welder be best? I have done some welding on a few old mustangs some time back, but that was all stick weld/arc. Have never tried wire welding so I know nothing really about it or if it would be the best method to start my son with.

Thanks in advance for all advice.

JD

 

[rockwithjason]

if you get a wire machine get one that is 220v. the 120v versions are good for sheet metal but have a hard time heating heavier angle and such. i have a lincoln 140n for the small stuff and a miller thunderbolt stick welder for the larger stuff.

 

[Brad54]

Mig welder.

220 volt if you can swing it. And get a name brand--Lincoln, Miller, Hobart. I believe Century is off-shore... You'll need to be able to buy tips, etc.

-Brad

 

[NUTTSGT]

Spend the money the first time and do it right, buy a decent 220V mig welder. Don't waste your time trying to learn with a cheap POS welder.

 

[Professur]

Yep, don't cheap out on your first welder. It's like trying to learn to fix a Honda with nothing but imperial wrenches in your toolbox. You might eventually get the job done, but you won't take any pleasure in doing it.

 

[sberry]

Hobart 187 or 210, for steel the 187 has a world class arc. I am going to agree, this is a place to avoid the junk. They just plain don't work as well as a decent machine. The 187 is cheap, no extra bells or whistles but is a solid performer. Home shop could never wear one out.

 

[gorilla]

A 225 amp Lincoln buzz box may not be a bad choice for a beginner. It's a little harder to learn to stick weld but you can do a lot more with it than with a small mig welder unless you are doing mostly sheet metal. With a buzz box you don't need a gas bottle and you can buy welding rod in small quantities as needed. Cost should be around $200.00 I know that I will be flamed for this but this is only my opinion.

 

[lilredex]

A 225 amp Lincoln buzz box may not be a bad choice for a beginner. It's a little harder to learn to stick weld but you can do a lot more with it than with a small mig welder unless you are doing mostly sheet metal. With a buzz box you don't need a gas bottle and you can buy welding rod in small quantities as needed. Cost should be around $200.00 I know that I will be flamed for this but this is only my opinion.

It is a good choice, but not necessarily the best as you have noted. I bought one in 1981 and still use it for lots of stuff. It is complementary to my MM135 (110V) wire feed which handles the more "fiddley" things such as sheet metal.

Starting all over from scratch today, I'd go with one machine, a 220V wire feed.

 

[GarageEnvy]

I'll agree with all the posts about getting the 220 name brand welder if you can swing it but I'll say that for little projects and metal up to 1/8" my 110v Hobart does just fine. Above that thickness I tend to use my 220 stick welder. For teaching a 10 year old some basics the 110v would be fine. Just keep in mind you might "outgrow" it some day.

 

[IndyGarage]

I agree with the Hobart 187 over anything that is 110V.

 

[portcity]

id recommend the miller 211. It runs of both 110 and 220, its small so very portable. You would be able to run it on 110 to learn, 220 when you get ready for more

 

[hilld]

How about you take a welding class at your local community college or see if the local dealer offers such a thing, maybe even a workshop where you can try them out, hopefully different models to help make up your mind. You can also keep an eye out for a decent machine (once you know what you want) on craigslist to save a few bucks.

Personally, I have a Miller XMT 304 (Multi Process Welder), that I purchased from the rental fleet of my local blue dealer. With a 4 roller feeder (including pulse),new tweeco gun, a cart, C25 bottle, regulator, Miller auto darkening helmet and a new 50# spool of wire I paid about $1800 and I thought it was a great deal. They even gave me a 2 year warranty on it.

D.

 

[kmacht]

I just made a post about this a while back in the tool forum. I ended up buying an Hobart auto-arc 130 from amazon. It was originally made by Miller (thats where you'll find the manual) but since Miller and Hobart merged it is now being promoted as a Hobart welder. I have only had it for a week but am impressed with what it can do. I tried it on some 1/8" angle and found it just about perfect. I then tried it on some 3/16 and that is about its limit. You will just start to get full penetration through the metal at 3/16". I then tried it on some thin gage sheet metal. It really shined there. I was able to get nice spot welds and short beads with full penetration and very little distortion. Overall I am happy with it. It cost me $360 with free shipping and included the welder, a cart, a helmet, and an adjustable regulator if I choose to add a gas bottle. There are limitations with a 110v machine as stated above. Don't plan on welding 1/4" or thicker metal with it and watch the duty cycle when using it at the higher end of the power range.

Keith

 

[78Bird]

Another vote for the Hobart. The 187 or the 140 if 110v operation is needed.

Simple, reliable, great performance and can get parts anywhere.

I have a 140 and it's great, but I needed to do 110v.

 

[Major Ramifications]

I am going to go against the grain here and say that it is OK to start with a cheap 110V welder. My starter welder was a Craftsman 110V MIG, and I did quite a bit with it. Using it made me realize that those expensive Hobart Handler 210's might actually be worth all of that money. I upgraded to the HH 210, and I love it. I still have the 110V unit for portability, loaded with flux core.

 

[Rockaholic555]

Bigger units are always going to be more useful, that being said I learned on a stick welder and am pretty glad I did. It takes more technique and helped when I moved on to brazing and tig. If it's just going to be a hobby thing for your son a 110v wire welder is going to be the easiest to produce results on and his confidence would probably boost. To me stick is more difficult and easier to screw up, but when I teach people I like them to start on it for that exact reason. Since your son is only 10 I'd say let him have at it with a simple wire welder so he has fun with it but if your looking for this welder to double as a project welder for yourself you might want a 220v system.

 

[78Bird]

I gotta go back to the HH 187. Simple to operate, 2 controls + gas, but quality parts and good stable performance. Yes, I'd let a 10 year old try it with adult supervision.

Spool gun capable for later upgrades, strong enough to weld anything in the garage/hobby shop but can turn way down for auto sheet metal and such.