I need a welder to get into the sport; however, at the moment, I do not posess huge sums of money necessary to buy a full heavy-duty MIG setup. So what I'd like to get is something that runs on wire alone, but can be converted to gas; has some minimal power (exhaust welding is the primary task), and can be eventually used to weld aluminum pipes (with upgrades, if needed). Basically, I want something that I can slowly invest into, but which can weld up an exhaust pipe or a sheet metal patch right away. I'd like to know how much all this will cost, what I should buy, and where should I buy it for best price.
I'm not gonna weld cast iron, engine mounts, or 1/4 inch steel with it, and if I'll need to do that I'll probably get something biger anyway. For now all I need is a starter model.
Any recomendations are welcome! And if you have a small welder sitting at your garage that you "grew out of", I might buy that from you
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93 Sentra XE 5spd, running well... 82 924 Turbo under construction... 82 Suzuki GS650G, under construction... 76 Firebird Formula 5.7, waiting for the next summer.
you don't want to ship a used welder. they're heavy (even a small one weighs about 60lb). you will spend more in shipping than it will cost to buy the same welder locally- BRAND NEW.
That said, just fork out the money to begin with and buy the MIG setup. I cheaped out when I bought my first setup and wound up wasting a couple hundred bucks and STILL had to spend even more to get decent welds out of it.. I wouldn't even think about trying to weld a piece of exhaust with a wirefeed only. yuck. talk about leaky exhausts!!!
just fork out the money and buy a complete MIG setup.
the one that I have is the Lincoln Pro-MIG 135 or SP135 something like that. just buy the whole thing in a box from Lowes or Home Depot for about $450 and that will get you set up to run wirefeed. you will also need to buy/rent a bottle of shielding gas.. the first one I bought cost me about $110 for the filled bottle... now when it's empty, I just take it back and pay $15 for a full one on exchange.
You will also need a decent welding helmet and gloves. the mask that comed in the kit is absolute minimum and is crap if you're trying to do anything that requires a steady hand (and exhaust is VERY difficult because it's so thin. requires a very steady hand).
Spend $20-25 and buy a decent mask, and another $20 on some good gloves.. don't waste your time with cheap leather work gloves or anything. the first time you make the mistake of grabbing a hot pipe, you'll thank me. with good gloves, you'll see the smoke and smell the funk, THEN realize it's hot and pull your hand off. you do that with cheap gloves and you'll be running to the kitchen to nurse your new 2nd degree burn. AMHIK.
Cliff's notes:
buck it up and buy the proper equipment the first time. expect to spend about $600-700 for a decent MIG setup.
I good thing to look into is some of the local equipment auctions in your area. I went to one last week and a miller 250 mig went for $250 complete. I picked up another syncro wave 250 TIG machine for $600 complete with all the options and spare parts. Just a thought.
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94 se-r saphire blue with lot's of crap
I'm just a monkey. I don't know shit.
In the white SE-R when the AMG benz did the ricer fly by on 408 :)
good find dude! What part of TX you in?
I haven't seen any of those things around here, but then again I don't know exactly where to look to find them. for how big Houston is, I'm sure there are some around.
I good thing to look into is some of the local equipment auctions in your area. I went to one last week and a miller 250 mig went for $250 complete. I picked up another syncro wave 250 TIG machine for $600 complete with all the options and spare parts. Just a thought.
that is an amazing deal for some great equipment.
www.welders-direct.com has great prices aswell (free shipping/no tax (except for me ) to boot!).
Miller makes really great welders, but Lincolns are great bang for the buck. It's the extra's that really get you though
Since you are in MD, the GM plant that closed has or will have an auction. They should have anything from MIGs, to TIGs, to ARCs, to plasma cutters. I would keep an eye out for that.
Since you are in MD, the GM plant that closed has or will have an auction. They should have anything from MIGs, to TIGs, to ARCs, to plasma cutters. I would keep an eye out for that.
Argh, this sounds like an interesting deal, but I couldn't find any contact information... I'll ask my friends in Baltimore, maybe they know more about this stuff.
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93 Sentra XE 5spd, running well... 82 924 Turbo under construction... 82 Suzuki GS650G, under construction... 76 Firebird Formula 5.7, waiting for the next summer.
good find dude! What part of TX you in?
I haven't seen any of those things around here, but then again I don't know exactly where to look to find them. for how big Houston is, I'm sure there are some around.
I'm in Dallas. I met you briefly at the Maxama thing.
I get down to H-town every now and then. I'll hit ya up and let ya know next time I'm gonna be down there.
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94 se-r saphire blue with lot's of crap
I'm just a monkey. I don't know shit.
In the white SE-R when the AMG benz did the ricer fly by on 408 :)
Seriously good gloves and a good mask are a must. You can get buy with a basic 20 buck mask but the auto dimming "speedglass" ones are magnificent. Sure you can get buy without one and they are expensive. But it is worth it. Chances are if you are not super carefull you will look at the welding without eye proctection atleast a couple of times. But the auto dimming ones will drastically decrease that. With something like welding where a mistake can make you burn the shit out of your hand. Seriously I got a second degree burn once it f*cking sucked no joke. Make sure that they are good gloves with leather gloves you can feel the heat but with good gloves you can weld right next to your fingers. I cannot stress good saftey equipment enough.
As muchachomalo said, the auto-dimming masks are worth their weight in gold. If you watch the sales at Harbor Freight, you can get one of their auto dimming masks for $50. the shell isn't the highest quality I've seen (I like my Lincoln mask/shell much better, but it wasn't auto dimming), but they're adequate for a shell and the auto dimming mask makes it SOOOO easy to work on parts when you're trying to be clean and intricate. you can use both hands to steady the work instead of one hand doing up/down with the mask and another trying to hold the gun and part steady. Once you use one, you'll never go back!
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Originally Posted by se-r-57
I'm in Dallas. I met you briefly at the Maxama thing.
I get down to H-town every now and then. I'll hit ya up and let ya know next time I'm gonna be down there.
Oh, Cool! Sorry if I don't remember you- I'm horrible with faces and names already, plus I was doing soooo many things at that event that I didn't have much of a chance to talk to anyone for more than 3 seconds!
i'm in welding class at the community college and get to work on miller's and lincoln's. millers are great machines. the lincolns can be finnicky and basically a bitch sometimes. but you get them right and they are wonderful
) to boot!).
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