looking to get a MIG welder for some trunk repair on my 66 I'm looking at the Lincoln also cheaper brands like harbor freight Campbell hausfeld maybe Hobart what are you guys thoughts I not using it everyday but I've never owned one before just borrowed one but would like to add 1 to the garage

 

I like my Hobart 140, FWIW.

 

I tried the Harbor freight welder, it works OK for exhaust or making a bracket. You could get away with it on a floor.

My brother is a welding Apps engineer and he brought over a 110v Lincoln. He set it up with the .023 wire and I could lay this nice 1/8 dot with a very small heat zone. I felt the HF welder lacked control and heat effected zones where larger. I could tell the lincoln was just a better made machine. If you are trying to get that seamless never been worked look that a good US made brand is the way to go. My brother did say he liked the Miller but with there is not much differents in 110v volt unit so Miller (hobarts are Millers) Lincoln even the numbers don't mean much. 90,120,130 even the 140's are all about the same. He hooked me up with the Lincoln for about half what the Miller would cost.

No harm in trying the HF unit I think it was onsale and I had a 20% coupon. It cost me $90ish out the door. I had it for 8 months used half the wire on the first roll and sold it for $75. My brother tried the HF and he could use it better then I could, I thought his weld looked pretty good but said he felt it was all over the place and hard to use.

If you do much with it your welder itself will cost less then all the supporting stuff. Don't buy the super small tank. If you refill the little tank 4 times in a year you could bought the next size up tank for the same price. I have 2 times what the welder cost is shield, gloves, clamps, tank, cart, a blanket etc.

 

Thanks

 

I just got the hobart handler 140

 

I believe you will be happy. Made in the U.S.A. doesn't hurt either.

 

That was 1 of the reason I got it

 

My brother told me Hobart are millers just a couple of generations back. With 110v welders generation means next to nothing since there has been not real advancement. The Hobarts are a real good deal.

.023 Wire and stich weld you should be good to go.

Decent quick video, don't use pressure air to cool it. Just let it air cool and move to a different area. The fast cooling can make the weld even more brittle.

 

Thanks gorn