Welder HELP!!

[73bowtie350]

What's up I'm new here my name is Le, checked the page out its great, someone told me about it on stevesnovasite.com great site.

Okay I'm looking for a welder to Learn, Practice, Practice, do my floor pan and maybe some minor car work.. Well I want to buy a MIG welder with gas, no Flux

Which one of these two would be best to learn and for my car jobsi only want to spend $320 the most
This is what I have came out to be my best deals for the price

EASTWOOD MIG 135. (just machine,gun) Vs. Lincoln Electric K2185 complete kit
$300. Vs. $320

Explain why you made your choice

 

[GTO]

IMHO,I would save up the extra $300 or so and get the MIG 175 Kit,that way when you get into it more,you wont have to upgrade. The MIG 175 does Aluminum,the MIG 135 doesn't.

Good Luck

 

[383 240z]

If I could only choose from those 2 machines, I would take the Lincoln. Why Eastwood makes NOTHING it is a re-badged something else. Will you be able to get it serviced when it fails? Or do you have to play around with Eastwood to get consumables and service??

The lincoln you posted is not my most favorite unit, but it is a decent one. BTW if your in the US, you can get it MUCH cheaper than $320 Look here:
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/lincoln-electric-handy-mig-welder-k2185-1.html#.UHCZ7ZjWJBk

 

[jtbinvalrico]

I've had the Eastwood 135 for a couple years now and I like it.....a great value for someone just getting into it. I've learned with it, it has never failed me, and it suits my around-the-small-shop needs.

That said, one day I'll sell it and buy myself something like a 210, which will see a guy like me through the rest of his welding days.

 

[73bowtie350]

Oh wow thAnks bro, just checked out the homedepot, $286 no tax and free shipping... Now to think should I get this over the Eastwood, I'm thinking yes since this has mask everything and the mig comes with nothing

 

[383 240z]

If you have never welded before, I would suggest getting a auto darkening helmet. The middle priced one HF sells is pretty decent for learning. Take some of the cash you save from the Lincoln at Home Depot and splurge. Keith

 

[73bowtie350]

Thanks bro, but I see that the eastwood has 2 buttons (that spin ) and the Lincoln has these two hi low buttons that u push on the fron, what's the difference what's that for

 

[GeneralDisorder]

The Lincoln is not as good of a "deal" as you might think - the buttons on the front are for controlling the voltage and thus you get a total of 4 voltage "steps" and you have to long-arc or short-arc if the voltage is a little too high or low to be perfect for your job.

Further the "mask" that it comes with is little more than a gimmick - if you don't know how to weld its not going to be fun to learn by yourself without an auto-dark helment.

The Eastwood has infinite voltage adjustment which is a plus. It also doesn't come with gimmicky **** like that helment. It's consumables are almost certisnly Tweco compatible so that's not a big issue.

You do realize that you will need a gas bottle for either machine right? Figure another $150+ for that. Gas bottles are stupid expensive these days.

Personally I'm a Miller and Tweco guy. Have you considered a more powerful machine from the used market? If you think you may ever have a need to weld beyond 3/16" then you should consider a 220v machine.

GD

 

[73bowtie350]

Well the work I wanna do I basic car restoration, floor pan, panels, maybe a new muffler that's about it, other than that I don't see wht I'm gonna use it for, no trailer builds, farm use, no roll cage, $286 can't beat that, also I can plug it to my house garage without changing anything sounds good, I'm gonna see if I can find it used

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I've been running a little 120 Craftsman MIG I found on Craigslist for really cheap. Has never let me down.

It has dual dials, but the power selector still only has 4 settings, so it'd be the same as the Lincoln that HD sells. For basic automotive use (sheet metal, exhaust, etc) and fixing stuff around the house it's been great.

I'd say go with the Lincoln if you don't find anything in the used market. I learned with a flip down hood, but the HF auto darkening hoods work pretty well.

 

[crewchief888]

i vote lincoln.

or miller

or hobart

IMHO the machines at the big box stores are fine for hobby use.

i got my lincoln promig140 on sale @ lowes.

3 days later it decided to stop working, (broken selector switch) and after speaking to lincoln electric tech support
a quick trip back to lowes and i had another one...

no problems in the past 5 years now

 

[73bowtie350]

Thanks fellas im gonna just go with the Lincoln mainly bcuz of parts , other than that the Eastwood is more powerful...
But im just using it for my car restoration ...
Also what's the big deal with getting a gas tank used from someone else, who doesn't own it, when I refill it, they won't let me get a refill or what how would they know that im not the original owner

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Thanks fellas im gonna just go with the Lincoln mainly bcuz of parts , other than that the Eastwood is more powerful...
But im just using it for my car restoration ...
Also what's the big deal with getting a gas tank used from someone else, who doesn't own it, when I refill it, they won't let me get a refill or what how would they know that im not the original owner

Frankly I would get the Eastwood - the infinte voltage adjustment is a big deal especially when you are just learning. A good welder can use a crappy machine and do OK with it but trying to learn to weld (especially sheet metal and exhaust) with a machine that hasn't got enough controls to dial it in close is just going to be aweful. Parts aren't going to be an issue. Consumables are going to be Tweco compatible and for not much money down the line you can swap out the torch for a whole Tweco unit of higher quality. Anything inside the machine is going to be largely off-the-shelf electronics or drive parts that many other manufacturers use.

Frankly... if you are RESTORING a car. The that's not the place to learn to weld. Sheet metal is a worst-case learning experience and it WILL look terrible. Not worthy of a restoration. Also TIG would be preferable for what you are doing. At the least have someone who knows how to weld show you a thing or two. Otherwise you will be quickly frustrated by the steep learning curve of trying to learn with a sub-par machine on sheet metal.

Gas bottles, if bought used, must be OWNED by the individual and not rented. Otherwise no one will fill them for you. Look at the bottle "ring" around the neck - should be a raised yellow ring there. If it has a retailers name in that area or anywhere else then it's not a bottle that they will refill. Some have bottle manufacturers names on the bottle neck and that's OK. Just make sure you check it out before you buy.

GD

 

[e-tek]

More than enough good advise here, so I'll just add that for what you are about to do - especially since you say you won't do much more than this - I'd go with the Lincoln, due to price, enough voltage variability to do resto work and the 110 plug.

But above all, have fun and don't burn the garage down!!

 

[oldmerc]

I'm a Hobart guy price and quality are very good , no infinite voltage adj. but 7 steps instead of 4 . I have the Hobart Handler 190 spool gun ready .

 

[BD1]

Do you have a farm and Fleet or Tractor Supply in your area ??? They usually
have awesome prices on Hobarts.
My vote for Lincoln. Stay with the REAL machines like Miller, Lincoln, and Hobart. As a warning, you will like welding soooooooooooo much that you will
want a larger machine. I know its all about money, but choose wisely.

 

[73bowtie350]

Yeah agreed with you stay with the real and get a bigger one a couple years from now since im not building trailers , or any farm stuff..
Im actually in NYC, and its hard to get a used one since I guess nobody wants to build or has anytime..beside the body shops and construction. Also getting a used bottle here in basically impossible

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Yeah agreed with you stay with the real and get a bigger one a couple years from now since im not building trailers , or any farm stuff..
Im actually in NYC, and its hard to get a used one since I guess nobody wants to build or has anytime..beside the body shops and construction. Also getting a used bottle here in basically impossible

A quick search using SearchTempest turned these up:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/tls/3310040306.html


http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/tls/3310871416.html

I don't know how far out you can go but you should be able to find a used one. I have bought two Lincolns off CL and they have both been great. You have to be patient and be ready with cash in hand when a deal pops up

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Personally I've never liked how Lincoln's weld. Prefer Miller across the board.

That said - the cheap lincoln will probably be alright but isn't going to be as easy to learn on and the stepped voltage control is a concern for sheet metal. One of the problems with those style machines is they tend to be ok on the medium and high ends but often won't go low enough on voltage to run right on thin stuff.

GD

 

[PetesPonies]

I would suggest a Clarke mig welder. I have owned two personally and bought three more for a school I used to teach welding. It is Italian made, but there is a distributor in the US. So parts are easy to get. It is a great value. I had a Lincoln at my school as well and hated it. Maybe it was just me. But I prefer the Clarkes. Less problems with the Clarke than the Lincoln.

 

[SlappyWhite]

I would wait for a sale and spend a little more on a Lincoln 140 amp. That is what I did. I use to weld for a living (almost 20 years ago) and recently I needed a decent machine for home, nothing too high end but nothing too cheap (ie junk). The 140 is as large as I could find to run on a 120v outlet (this was a must for my needs). They go for sale here in Canada for 499 every now and again, I would not be surprised if it wasn't 100 or more lower yet in the US on sale.

Good adjustabilty (is adjustability a word...), it comes with both the gas (lines, gauges, etc) and the flux core parts, and a spool gun can be added to do aluminum in the future.

The Eastwood may be a decent machine (I do not know) but I doubt they make there own machines and parts in the future may be an issue.

Lincoln makes their own machines so you should be able to get it repaired or get replacement parts in the future.

BTW, my Lincoln is made in Mexico (I was a little disappointed), for what that is worth...

You should also budget another 200 of so for a decent mask, gloves, etc. (better than the basic stuff that comes in the kits). IMO the mask that comes in the kits is good for someone to watch you weld unless of course you bungycord it to your head....

 

[PetesPonies]

Here is info on the Clarkes.

http://www.mig-welders-tig-welder.com/mig-welder/clarke-mig-welders.htm

http://www.clarkeinternational.com/pages/clarke-home

 

[MarkH]

Have not seen much of Clarke in the US since the went belly up in 2009. Even then stated they were still going in England.

 

[PetesPonies]

I guess it was tough breaking into the US market against established marks. But the quality is first class, I have been every happy for over 25 years with my Clarkes.

 

[kell0026]

I bought the Hobart handler 140 for $440.00 from Northerntool with free shipping. I love it, great machine.

 

[73bowtie350]

So I ordered the Lincoln Handy Mig seems great for what I need it for, was a little shaky about getting a used welder for 2-300 and for it to mess up after 1-2 months, so I went with this im happy..i got alot of buddy's with cars and they are already telling me to do some jobs for them, so I figure ill practice with their cars also do what I need for my car.. I'll gain the skill and extra cash which will pay off

 

[73bowtie350]

Thanks fellas for your opinions and advice, I should post a new thread once I get my first jobs done for some more opinion and advice.thanks big help appreciated