Good all around shop welder suggestions

PABowhunter

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My dad is looking into getting a welder for our garage. We don't do a lot of fabrication, but enough where having a welder comes in handy. He's planning on using it to fix the western hauler body on his 450 first.

He grew up using mainly a stick welder and that's what he's most comfortable with. He's been looking at some AC/DC ones so he can have a little more flexibility.

What would you guys recommend?
 

POWER-STRUCK

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a cheapy lincoln stick welder would do the job, but personally I would get a miller wire feed 150 amp or so (hobart is a budget version from miller) our shop has a 180 amp lincoln and finding leads and parts has been hard. gas wire feed for indoor use on clean metal stick for dirty metal outdoors
 

TrailerHauler

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I loved the Lincoln 180plus mig I had, it was great for occasional welding, and also did a fine job on some bigger projects. The only thing I ever replaced in the 8 or so years of owning it were the consumables, and a liner for the gun once.

Find out which brand machine is easier to get parts for from your local welding store. I've heard great things about the smaller miller migs to.
 

oldschool

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He grew up using mainly a stick welder and that's what he's most comfortable with. He's been looking at some AC/DC ones so he can have a little more flexibility.

What would you guys recommend?

I grew up welding stick. After my first wire feed weld, never looked back. You get better looking welds with wire, a lot more control, and vertical welds are a breeze. If you need to weld outside, use flux core wire. I still have a stick welder also, for the times I need to weld dirty with 6011. 240V wire feed is the only way to go IMHO.
 

PABowhunter

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Looks like miller is the welder of choice for most guys. My dad seems pretty stuck on getting a hobart 235 AC/160 DC. Is he gonna regret that? I know we won't use it that much, but he doesn't want to spend the money on a miller or lincoln.
 

HOOV3R

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The Hobarts aren't bad, just a slightly lower grade Miller. They usually even share the same parts.
 

MoonShiner

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I have a Millermatic 250 that's about 10-12 years old....still welds like a champ. If you can, go as large as you can afford. The little 110 welders are OK but they just won't melt into the thicker metal.

For a stick rod machine, Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC witn infinite amp control crank wheel. Clean your weld area and run 7018 on DC reverse polarity.
Strong-azz weld and real pretty!
 

groove

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Hey, my 2 cents here.. I have a Miller Maxstar STL 150, great little machine that can be found on the used market at a fair price. You would get the stick capability as well as TIG for steel / stainless. Its a little tricky to learn vs wire feed, but the welds are softer for body work and once you become proficient at it you will be surprised on how fast you can weld. For the record I do have a small wire feed that see some use now and then as well :)
 

hucorey

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a cheapy lincoln stick welder would do the job, but personally I would get a miller wire feed 150 amp or so (hobart is a budget version from miller) our shop has a 180 amp lincoln and finding leads and parts has been hard. gas wire feed for indoor use on clean metal stick for dirty metal outdoors

Get your parts from Sutton Garten in Indy Justin.
 

msmith

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I have a MM 210 and it has been great, however; if I had it to do again, I think I would have gotten a suitcase welder, maybe a 180, so I could be a little more portable. I don't regret the 210 though.
 

HobbyStock62

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i like my millermatic 211. would love to get into tig welding though, going to start looking for one of those now. any suggestions for a cost effective tig set up?
 

Halvy85

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Ive always used miller for wirefeed and Lincoln for stick but I just went in to get a new welder for the garage and my welding supplier talked me into trying out a thermal arc. I was a little concerned about straying away from what Im used to but he gave me a real nice deal on it and upgraded the mig gun so I went for it. Ive only done a little wirefeed welding so far but I was pretty impressed with it. When I get home next time Im going to be putting a winch on the car trailer so we will see how well it can burn 1/8 7018.
 

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