Boosted1503 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Hey everybody I'm looking for a welder to start practicing with, I found one local (well semi local) to me it is a Lincoln Electric Weld Pak 100HD Wire Feed Welder. The guy is asking $250 obo for it. I looked it up on home depot's site it retails for about $400 or so. Now I used to weld back in high school, freshman year to be exact, but then never continued with it so I'm pretty sure I have to brush up on the "skills" again. I'll be using this for some autobody work and some custom jobs and what not. I eventually want to weld stainless and aluminum but for now to start practicing I think this will work. I'm open to any suggestions as well. I do plan on taking some welding classes at the local Community college starting from the basics and on up to tig welding. thanks in advance. EDIT: So a few good "starter" welders: Cheap: Hobart Handler 140 Pricier: Millermatic 135 Millermatic 175 Lincoln 135 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 The better your welder is, the better your welds will be. Buy as much welder as you can afford. For cheap I think the Hobart Handler 140 is good. For good 110 the Lincoln 135+ or the MM135 would be my choice. I own the MM135 and love it. Not familiar with the Weld Pak 100HD, but things you want to check for are gas compatibilty, infinite adjustability vs 4 or 5 click type settings, duty cycle, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zV8 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 u might as well spend 250 more and buy a brand new Millermattic 135....it's the best for the money, and u won't be buyin used, and it's got alot of capability for almost anything u want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boosted1503 Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 that's what I was thinking. I noticed that a good majority of the people here use Miller and quite a few have the millermatic 135 or 175 i think it was. Im going to go window shopping for the miller welders and see some pricing differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I'm in the market for a tig welder at this point and I think the Thermal Arc 185TSW is going to get my money. For the price, its the best thing out the for me. More info here: http://www.thermadyne.com/newsNewProductDetail.asp?div=tai&id=220 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad-ManQ45 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 You really can't go wrong with either Miller, Hobart or Lincoln. I will say that Miller and Hobart care more for the little guy, and that made my purchase of the MM175 easy. The Hobart Handler 140 can be had for less than the MM135. A lot of people make a big deal of the Millers' automatic wire feed speed causing problems/poor welds, but I have never noticed it, always checking and doing some practice welds on scraps of the thickness that I will be welding, I just set the approximate voltage and wirespeed and then adjust voltage for best weld quality - less than 20 secs. The Hobart is a very nice startup machine, but if you want to do a lot of welding in the future, I think the Miller's will hold up better. They use more metal in construction instead of plastics, and that's not just the case. Also more copper electrical/wiring components rather than aluminum.... They are both built in the same plant, but different assembly lines. Same great service for us little guys... I'm glad you've already decided on quality rather than price - even experienced welders can have a hard time with cantankerous cheap welders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boodlefoof Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I agree that the MM 135 is an excellent machine, as is the 175 if you plan to do more frame and thick metal welding. If I remember right (I could be wrong), the WeldPak 100 is a flux-core welder without gas capability. My personal experience is that flux-cored welding makes a lot more spatter (to clean up) and is harder to dial in (heat wise) for thin sheetmetal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 The weld pak 100 is ok, but it does not come with gas solenoid and flow meter. Don't even try to do body work without the gas. The flux core is OK for building fences or other things, but sheetmetal work needs gas. If I buy a 110 welder, it will be the miller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerrari GTO Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 If you are going to buy a welder, buy a good one. You can practice all you want and when you get good you won't have to eat the cost of a cheapo welder when you upgrade to a good one. Miller is by far the best I have ever used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Some years ago I got a great deal on a Lincoln Weldpack at a Home Depot (it was a returned item, which I bought for less than half price). Wire feed speed was continuously adjustable, and power was adjusted by a 5-position clicker. I tried welding sheet metal (a Z hood) and some moderate-gauge (probably 12-gauge or so) mild-steel tubes. Both were a disaster - splatter everywhere, burnt-through holes, and very little actual established metal to metal contact. By the time the splatter was ground off, metal-to-metal contact was nearly zero. I was so frustrated that I ended up giving the rig away to a local acquaintance. But on the “bright side”, I gave up trying to modify my stock hood, and instead built a fiberglass one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz8 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I'm about finished replacing floor pans and rails on my ZX project, lots of welds, using a MM135 with gas and it works perfectly. For body work you need the voltage adjustment feature, I used other migs and the Miller makes them look like toys. As for a larger welder, most guys don't need to weld heavy steel that often, if you need to you can make several passes with the smaller welder. Go with the Miller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boosted1503 Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 Thanks guys for all the good Input. I even asked my Pops about that welder and he basically said the same thing you guys did get one that has gas and voltage adjustablility. Looks Like I'll be getting a Miller soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lason Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I use a Hobart 140 and love it. I am also doing frame work with it on my Z and it works and penetrates like it should but its maxed out. If I was going to do it again I would go with a Millermatic 175. The only reason I didnt go with that was because I dont have a 220v outlet in my garage and its so nice to be able to find a 110 plug anywhere. I will probably look into a MM175 or MM210 later on and keep the 140 for smaller jobs or as a portible unit. BTW, I dont know if it has been mentioned yet but Hobart and Miller are the same company but Hobart is their lower end brand. They use some plastic pieces where millers come with metal but they interchange so if the plastic breaks get the miller replacement. Heck, my Hobart came with a gun marked Miller. Oh and get you a gas bottle and some gas ASAP, it makes it SOOOOOOOOO much nicer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 "The better your welder is, the better your welds will be. Buy as much welder as you can afford. " GOOD ADVICE tig http://www.htpweld.com/ stick http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91888 mig http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43550 http://www.millerwelds.com/ lincoln http://store.weldersplus.com/liweeq.html?gclid=CNn74rKX0YYCFSccVAodigYo7w general http://store.cyberweld.com/miltigwel.html http://www.weilerwelding.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/welderTIG.html http://www.weldingmart.com/lincoln.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZFury Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 I just got one of these. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=6271 I will tell you all if it works well. The last welder I got was a $200 ebay special "Speed Way Series" one. It worked fine untill the feed mechinism broke. The teeth on the drive/feed wheel stripped causing the wire feed to become stop and go. Could never get a decent weld. I had to return it because they didnt sell replacement wheels. This was my first experience with welding and the flux core would splatter with me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TegRacer324 Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 For buying those two welders you probably could've gotten a Lincoln or Millermatic for the same price and still be working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZFury Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 But I got refunded on one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 After listening to everybodys advice, I went ahesd and got this one off ebay> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&item=220012775908&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1. I think I did pretty good considering I was close enough to pick it up in Orange Tx. So all the cash I saved on this deal went to all the extras you need to use one properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad-ManQ45 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Pretty good. I paid $635 for my MM175 with cart 4 years ago.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETEW Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 What is the major difference between the Pro mig 175 and Sp175? I know there must be differences since the SP model is double the cost. If you look at thier specs, though, they can do the exact same type of welding. Is one the retail version and the other the proffesional version? Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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