Guys,

I am planning on buying a welder so I can do some repairs on the beast. i am going to do body and structure? What rig and how much for what I need at a reasonable cost?

110v Lincoln or Miller with the MIG setup (gas).

I have a miller and love it. I got a bigger 220V unit - Millermatic 175. I got it with a full set of consumables (liners, nozzles and tips in all sizes) plus an 80cf tank and cart for about $900.00

Shipping was free, others have bought from this vender and all seem very happy. You can get into a 110v unit for around $500.00 Check out the ebay store "indiana oxygen"

why would i get the 220 over the 110? (obviously, I am going to take a welding class before I burn my house down, just asking). What do I get for the extra gold?

Depends on how thick of metal you need to weld. If mostly sheet metal and rarely anything close to 1/8" then 110 is fine. If you need to weld thicker stuff then you need more power.

These are my babies.

For general purpose welding on steel, get the Millermatic 175 220V like Travis advised. Yes, it's more than enough for sheet metal, but once you start welding, you'll find thicker projects. Spend the extra money now for 220V, so you won't easily find the machine's limits.

When you're ready for more exotic metals, get the TIG on the left.

QUOTE (Greg Bell @ Jun 23 2005, 10:03 PM)

why would i get the 220 over the 110? (obviously, I am going to take a welding class before I burn my house down, just asking). What do I get for the extra gold?

the 220 will use less electricity....the lower the voltage, the higher the amps it pulls for doing the same type job....

for doing thin sheetmetal the 110 is fine, but you might get the urge to weld up a nice workbench and the 220 will be much better....

I believe the Miller 175 has continuous voltage control where the 135 has a range of voltage settings to choose from. The greater flexibility can also be a curse if you're trying to find the right settings for the particular job you're doing.

I've also heard that, for some reason, the 220V unit can do a better job on the thinner material because of the extra control.

Just my $.02. I'm still a few hundred bucks shy of placing my order with Indiana Oxygen.

look for used too if $$ is tight, it took me about 1-2 months of searching but scored a Lincoln 135 110v welder for $350, with the regulator and 2 spools of wire(and a crappy helmet I threw aside) the only thing missing was the cylinder, which was $80 full for a small one.

if you got the $ get a bigger one, if not, a small one will do almost any car-related project. I also have a stick welder for thicker stuff, not as pretty, but it works great!

QUOTE (jonwatts @ Jun 24 2005, 02:00 AM)

I believe the Miller 175 has continuous voltage control where the 135 has a range of voltage settings to choose from. The greater flexibility can also be a curse if you're trying to find the right settings for the particular job you're doing. I've also heard that, for some reason, the 220V unit can do a better job on the thinner material because of the extra control. Just my $.02. I'm still a few hundred bucks shy of placing my order with Indiana Oxygen.

no nessacarily, some 110v are infininatly adjustable, my lincoln is, and the Miller 135 we used in class was too...

also, one thing I was going to add is to also look for HOBART... they are essentially Miller, made by miller... but sometimes a little less dough