School me on Welders

[Creeker]

Is this worth it for a rookie to do some simple sheet metal patch welds? I'm thinking the cable would be easy to replace, but I don't know if that's true...

$75 - SEARS CRAFTSMAN DUAL RANGE 230 AMP WELDER - Ranges are 30 - 145 and 45 - 230 - Includes Helmet, Assorted Welding Rod and 3 Tools....PLEASE NOTE: MISSING ONE CABLE.

I'm not ready to drop $800 on a welder; if that's what it takes to do a decent job, I'll pay someone with the skills to do it and live without the welder.

 

[e rock]

If you have to ask, welding sheet metal with a stick welder is not for you.

I'm not ready to drop $800 on a welder; if that's what it takes to do a decent job, I'll pay someone with the skills to do it and live without the welder.

I have done tons of sheetmetal work with a flux-core wire feed welder. A decent 110V unit should cost you no more than $250 new. Maybe $150 used. The cleanup sucks compared to how clean solid-wire MIG is, but if you're going for cheap...

 

[Cruisified]

Roger that, if you're halfway serious get a Lincoln weld pak from Home Depot or used on CL.

$400ish used, wire fed with gas is the ticket. Buy blue or red though.

 

[Creeker]

The only welding I've done was for construction; spot welds with a stick on a light gauge truss. The pro did the finish welds over that. Since that was over 20 years ago, yeah, I don't know much about welding...

 

[Brian in Oregon]

My suggestion would be to see if your local community college has an evening general welding course, and take it. I've done stick welding for years, but never did wire welding. The class was a pretty good way to not only learn, but to see what kind of equipment would be most suitable. The conclusion I came to was that the cheap machines were just not worthwhile for thin metal. I wound up buying a Millermatic 180, which is 220v. The Millermatic 140 is the 120v version. Hobart also makes machines in this class. I was not impressed with the feed mechanism of the Lincoln versions - too much plastic. (My stick welder will not run low enough current to do light metal - it instantly vaporizes gauge sizes.)

 

[Creeker]

Thanks for the advice. We've got a pretty good Community College nearby, and that would be a good way to try wire welding firsthand.

 

[Pin_Head]

Everyone could use a "buzz box" like that AC stick welder. They don't generally break down and it will always be worth $75 as long as it works. It would take a little practice to weld sheet metal with it, but if you learn it, you won't have any trouble welding thicker stuff, like up to half inch. I welded some 16ga tube last week with 3/32 6013 rod and it took a little practice to get the amps and travel speed right so it wouldn't burn through. I cheated and used DCEN instead of AC. I would have preferred a wire welder for this job, but I don't own one.

X2 on the community college course. You learn fast and you will learn the right way. There is more to it than squirting metal. At the end, you will spend more time testing the welds than doing the welding.