Which Welder?

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Eric Winkworth

Eric Winkworth

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Feb 28, 2005
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I'm looking for a good welder, I am thinking a Mig with gas assit. I havin't welded in a long time, but used to be fairly good at it. I want a welder for body work and to make my own sliders, rear bumper and a roof rack adventually, if I do get a mig how thick of material can I get penetration on, I know it depends on the mig, I have about 1000 cdn to spend. A friend of mine has a little miller welder he has had forever, but I can't seem to find any new miller welders.

any advice would be greatly apprecited.

cheers
 
this should be in outfitting....


I bought a Mig pak 15 lincoln from cnd tire. they revolve on sale for 599. then get the regulator, 125, then you need a bottle unless you go innersheild wire, 200. 75 for the gas, then you have to rent the bottle.

I went for the 230v model. 115v is a little low for the thicker metal.

the gas is shielding gas. makes your weld smooth and not porous.

I use .023 solid wire. it does nice body welds too.

but again this should be moved to the general areas as this isn't international tech. but outfitting/equipment.
 
I've got a millermatic 175 and it's been great...
go here:

http://www.millerwelds.com/wheretobuy/

And it'll give you a list of dealers in your area... a 175 should be close to your price point too...
Here's the 175, all you need is the bottle for it, which you can rent or buy...

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_175/

The 175 will even take an optional spool gun if you ever want to get into aluminum welding...
With all the frame welding and custom fabrication I've done with this, I've never overheated it or had to wait for the welder to cool during duty cycles.
 
At the blacksmith shop I used to work at I used the Miller DVI:
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_dvi/

The DVI was usually pretty good and I would recommend it for a home/small shop.
We beat ours really hard (lots of work for it), and it usually took it. I am not sure of the price. I think they are $1200-$1400 canadian new. You might be able to find a good used one, or get a really good deal on sale. But this is the welder I would get.

I would also suggest a small stick welder for out of shop work and for those hard to reach places:
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/stick/maxstar_150_s/

Cheers,
Nick
 
Thanks for the advice sorry about putting this thread in international tech, I just get the best results on this fourm.
 
The DVI nickw mentions has 6 limited, preset voltage selections... The Millermatic 175 has infinite voltage adjustment on a rheostat... which means you can dial down your voltage to the exact adjustment you need, which is important particularly for different gauges of sheet steel... I used to use a welder with the presets and wouldnt go back. The 175 also allows infinite adjust on wire speed, not sure if the DVI does or not, but thats important too.
 
striker3636 said:
The DVI nickw mentions has 6 limited, preset voltage selections... The Millermatic 175 has infinite voltage adjustment on a rheostat... which means you can dial down your voltage to the exact adjustment you need, which is important particularly for different gauges of sheet steel... I used to use a welder with the presets and wouldnt go back. The 175 also allows infinite adjust on wire speed, not sure if the DVI does or not, but thats important too.
Click to expand...


Hmmm, thats interesting. I must of had my model numbers mixed up then. I fully agree infinite control is important. Or maybe the welder I was using was modified/upgraded? But I fully agree with striker, make sure you get one wit infinite adjustments.

Cheers,
Nick
 
Will do, it makes it more pricy of cousre, but if I'm gonna spend the money I maight as well buy a good one
 
The millermatics are definitely the way to go- stick with the highest voltage you can supply.

Our miller at work will tackle anything from 28 gauge sheet to 1" plate with no problems- though it's a 480v 3 phase ;) .
 
I would recomend searching in the outfitting forum, as this topic comes up about once a month.

here's my 2 cents:
1. not much on a car is ever goint to be more than 1/4 inch, it that.
2. before choosing a process, make a list of the specific types of projects you want to do, and the specific joints you want to weld. for example a lap joint in 18 gauge mild steel for body work. a butt joint in 18 gauge mild steel for body rust repair, 1/8 steel tube to 1/4 flange, etc. once you know specifically what joints you want to weld, the choice of the right welder will be easy. For quiclkly welding most things in mild steel, mig is an easy choice. for welding almost anything to almost anything, including aluminum, stainless, etc, tig becomes a good choice.
3. maybe even go to the library and check out a few books. Welding is one of those things that combines lots of technical knowledge with hand skills, and takes both reading and practice to be really good at it.
 
since you'll be more a w/e welder, i would suggest looking into the hobart welders also. if price is a concern you can typically get more welder for the money cause hobart (made by miller) has some parts that are made to be less production/heavy use but still a very good quality welder by all means.
 
I am getting the DVI, I got a really good deal on it
 
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