I've been following the other thread by 56Willys where the discussion of welding and welders has come up. Rather than hijack that thread, I figured I'd start one over here specifically on welders and ask my questions.
As I stated in my 61CJ5 thread, I'm not a welder. I've never welded anything. However, the more I get into this project, the more I realize that having this capability will be important, especially when attempting to fix any of the body components. But, I suppose, it may also come in handy on occasion to be able to weld other structural components. So, I've been trying to educate myself on welding and welders, in general, and I've started looking to purchase a welder. For my purposes, it seems that I could probably get by with a pretty basic fluxcore welder. However, having MIG capability to weld with gas seems like might be a nice way to go. And, of course, others have mentioned that having TIG capability would be great for welding thin sheet metal products like body parts since they say that works best. I know I won't be doing a ton of welding, so I'm not looking to buy a high end unit. It seems that the welders at Harbor Freight might work just fine for my intended uses. But, I can't decide which one to get. Having the ability to use 110V vs 220V sounds good, but I think being able to use either might be useful. I've been looking at these different welders and wanted to get your opinions on what you think might be the best to get. They are only about $100 difference, so I don't think the cost really should factor into this decision much.
I have an old one of Lincoln's smallest 110v MIG's. It works really well on thin steel. I had a "cheap" one similar to the Harbor Freight. I had a lot of trouble with it. I finally ended up buying a brand name. I am sure the "Welders" on the site here will be able to help you. My 2 cents would be to buy a brand name. Parts, help and consumables will be much easier to get. A good brand name welder will last you a lifetime.
I have a nearly 30 year old Miller 135 110 v welder that has been the workhorse of my operation since it was new. It has tasked to weld more than its weight class, plus I have burned wire up and to the duty cycle to where it shut down more than I care to admit. My new unit is a Eastwood 250i multi process MIG/DC TIG/Stick welder. As I said in another post, I haven't sat down and dialed it in yet, so I do not have an opinion on if it is as good as the reviews say it is.
In my opinion, I would go for the MIG 170 110v/220v unit. I wouldn't jump into a multi process unit off the jump being that it is only a 110v unit in my opinion. The ability to start off with flux core, then as you progress, you can buy a regulator, solid wire, and a bottle to add gas. The link below is of some of the practical reviews of welders done by Project Farm. On one of his videos, he bought one off of Amazon, and it went toe to toe with some of the name brand units. If memory serves me it was called Yess welder.
I have a Lincoln Pro Mig 140 which is a 120volt (typical 20amp outlet). It accommodates both fluxcore or solid wire. Having welded with both, I highly recommend solid wire with a shielding gas. My opinion the only reason fluxcore is appealing to anyone is strictly limited to cost / price. The initial added expense of setting up a mig for solid wire / shielding gas is spendy. Most small migs are sold without the shielding gas tank which is expensive. Sometimes these tanks will come up for sale on places like FB market place or Craigslist however be cautious. Some gas suppliers only exchange their own tanks. Meaning the initial tank purchase starts with them. Just make certain you understand how your local supplier handles that type of situation before purchasing tanks on FB or CL. Used welders are another option. My preference would be to stick with either Miller or Lincoln but that's just my opinion. Hobart makes some good welders also, I've just never used any of them. Repair / replacement / service / maintenance parts are going to be easier to find and likely less expensive than some of the hobo freight models.
I have the early version of the Lincoln Handy Mig 120v. It will do flux core or solid wire. I don't know if they sell this particular one anymore. It was under $500. The Lincoln 140 Pro is very nice.
I was able to lease a small bottle with an Argon mix for pretty cheap, from the local AirGas dealer. I think it was like $17 a year plus refills. We have a few different welding machines now and I have since adapted to a slightly larger bottle. Prior to my son requiring a lot more welding, the small bottle was plenty for hobby stuff.
I’m just a novice, self taught welder. Personally, I find flux core messy. More splatter and residue around the weld than when using solid wire with gas. It’s handy when the bottle is empty or you just don’t want to have to carry the bottle somewhere. I won’t hardly look at it when I am in my own shop. TIG is slower but more flexible when set up correctly. It always seems to take a different tungsten, holder and/or cup than what came with the welder which increases the costs.
I was making considerably more money when I was buying tools. The first welder I bought was a Miller Syncrowave 210 for the AC and DC tig capability but it also stick welds and will run a spool gun if desired. I went with it thinking I would be welding aluminum. The next year I went back and got a Miller Multimatic 215. I have been using it’s mig capabilities for everything steel. It will also DC tig and stick weld. Both are inverter machines and will run on 120 and 240 (through interchangeable plugs). I mostly just use them on 120. 240 is only needed to weld the maximum thickness. I went to Airgas and bought a bottle for each and just go there to swap bottles when needed. No hassle, no rental fees.
I have a buddy with a Hobart mig welder. It’s a pretty good machine. I used it quite a bit before buying my own. It’s not an inverter machine so it is a good bit heavier than my Multimatic. That’s only important if it has to be moved from one site to another or hauled up a scaffold a lot.
I remembered a couple more pluses to tig. It is possible to weld without filler metal. I needed to repair a shop door latch by capping a 3/8” rod with a washer yesterday. I used the tig torch heat up the rod then melted the inside diameter of the washer to it. Which brings me to the other plus. Tig allows better welding of 2 different thicknesses with the ability to focus heat on the thicker piece without having to add filler until the metal is actually ready to weld. Previous attempts at welding the washer to the rod were made with mig and I never got the rod hot enough for the weld to stick good and I always got a big glob when trying. It would last a while but this was the third time I welded it. Time will tell but it looks like a much better weld.
Oxy-acetylene will do pretty much everything tig will do. I have a buddy who even welds aluminum using oxy. My hands aren’t that steady. A bigger area gets heated and it will cut with a simple swap of the torch head.
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