What do you think of the Lincoln Electric 145amp mig welder sold by Home Depot? Received gift cards as gifts and this one looks like a good option in my budget

These 110V welders are actually great for the sheet metal repairs typical of what gets done on a 914. I have a Miller that can run off 220 or 110 and when doing sheet metal, I use the 110 option. Seems to work just that little bit better for me. I use the .023 wire for that work. .030 for the more structural stuff.

And absolutely go with the gas vs the flux core wire. Grab extra tips, sized for the wire size(s) you're going to use.

I'd also recommend a pair of MIG pliers. Yes, you can clip the wire with side cutters but I find these make it far simpler to do that, quickly clear spatter out of the tip shield.

Gas, rather than flux core, makes a huge difference in my experience. Lincoln makes a good machine, you should be fine with it

Once you get it home you’re going to wonder how you ever lived without a MIG in the garage.

Recently I became 1 of 3 national welder educators instructors for NC3certs.com. what we do is teach welding instructors how to teach all across the country including some schools from around the world.. I can tell you for what you are looking to do that will be just fine.. If I were gonna start with a new welder as a novice I would look at the lincoln mp210. Its a great little welder and able to to TIG, Stick, and Mig..

I actually have a nice little Hobart handler that I bought for 15 bucks that I use at home though..

If you read my entire EG33 build thread, 99.9% of the welds done in my shop are with the same unit your looking at.

The other 0.1% was with an Eastwood TIG.

@MB911 I got all excited about the possibility of dropping to one machine, until I found out the MP210 is a DC only TIG, so no Aluminum. But if I did not want to get into welding AL, I would go with the MP210

Congrats on the certification, that is a tough one to pickup.

I am actually the one giving the certs so even tougher @914forme .. I think miller has an all in one with AC but the beta tests I saw recently had 10 units delivered and all 10 needed new boards within the 1st week and most were never turned on and they discovered the issues.


Just an FYI @914forme

https://www.cullmantimes.com/news/wallace-s...ba06ba55a1.html

while on the subject, recently just bought a Lincoln Power MIG 140 MP, it can do MIG and DC TIG, entry level machine, but good enough for beginners like myself trying to do hobby work. this was recommended by an instructor from a local tools store (I took a couple of 4 hrs welding classes there). Also heard good reviews on the machine. what do you gents think?

john

We have a 110 Mig, cost about $500. Takes the big spool of wire and does a pretty good job. Now I need to learn to tig since I'm doing aluminum.

110 volt MIG, with solid .023 wire and gas, is the easiest and best for sheet metal.

But even with .030 wire it will struggle to get good penetration on anything much thick than 1/8 inch steel.

The answer for that is a TIG machine (just got one to supplement my Hobart MIG, and am very satisfied).

FYI -- I get that you are doing some unique work and TIG probably is the thing for you but I'll reply anyway with general info.

No need for TIG to weld aluminum. Yes it's pretty, yes you have a lot of control.

You can MIG aluminum. Ideally you use a spool gun. I've done it on an el cheapo Daytona MIG without a Teflon liner in my MIG cable but did have to work my way though jambs, birds nests, roller slippage, etc. But it can be done in a pich.

Don't overlook OxyAcetylene gas welding as another possibility. You will need special aluminum flux (very cheap) and you will need special welding glasses with a different tint to filter out the more yellow-orange flare from the flux in order to see the weld puddle. I got mine from Tinman. They are pricey but they work great!

https://www.tinmantech.com/products/safety-...elding-lens.php

This tank was gas welded.

Click to view attachment

Lots of knowlege and resources on Tinman if you're not crossed this site before.

https://www.tinmantech.com/education/articles/

Nice!

You do great work, and more importantly, it's awesome that you are passing the skill along. To many kids being diverted away from the trades which we so desperately need.

So far we've been doing tig, it comes out nice, the aluminum is thin. Not the best pic but you can see the seam in the middle. Thanks for the tip on Tinman, I'll check it out!

@superhawk996

What's amazing is that I am teaching welding instructors.. You would be amazed how many struggle with some of the welds.

@mb911

I'd laugh but I struggle a lot too.

I really struggle with joining dissimilar material thickness items. I've tried pre-heating the thicker piece and it helps but I still struggle. I usually forget that I could build up the weld seam on the thin material in advance to help reduce burn though! Usually just too anxious to get started or rushed for time to think it though before I start. Once the parts are started and I'm in over my head, then it's too late.

Same for getting a fillet weld into a tight acute angle.

The only thing that gets me by is perseverence!

Have electronic controlled BOC 180 mig ,very happy with it ,built 2 trailers with it and welded some very thin metal ,cost me $1000nzd ,we pay a lot for welders here Miller,Lincoln, and Hobart for example are big money,market is flooded with cheap Chinese stuff but not rated well.

@superhawk996 you are 100% correct we run 5 welding classes, have students leaving certified, and get jobs that are paying very well for a 17-19 year old. And even at that we can not keep up with the demand.

Between Welding and Machine Trades we can not get kids to sign up. If the walked onto most factory floors I think they would be amazed. They are most likely cleaner than most of their homes, or cars. But the parents have been brainwashed by the great marketing that colleges have done. Not everyone does well in a college environment. My son has a really high IQ, perfect score on the ACT, and he could not deal with the slowness of college. So we found a school in Indiana that did a 7 weeks coding boot camp, 12 hours a day 6 days a week. Got more coding time in than a kid does in 4 years of college. He loved it, and now is working for a college, coding their stuff.