Hey guys,

I have a few minor repairs I need to make to the camaro, and have had several around the house light duty sort of things a welder would be handy for... So I'm going to quit saying it would be nice and go get one...

Figured i would poll you guys and see what ya'll are using? and see what you recommend.

I have already decide I will go wire fed MIG. I do not have 220 in the garage so probably need to stay with 115 and want to keep this in the $250 - $500 range... if possible.

Thanks for the guidance.

 

I'm using a Lincoln 125HD. It has a standard 3 prong plug. We have used it to weld no floors in my sons 86 Monte SS. I also used it to repair the seat springs in my 69 camaro. It's easy to use and seems to be practical for many different projects.

 

Lincoln 125 is perfect for that type of stuff. Can buy at Lowes or Home Depot in your price range. Make sure you get one set up for argon gas so you can add gas later if wanted. The gas connection will be on the back.

 

Lincoln 125hd Welder - Harbor Freight Tools

$150. on up

 

u definitely need a shielding gas supported welder for a decent restro job imo.
u probably wont need anything larger than a miller140 or the like for most body work. personally, I'd buy a used millermatic over new harbor freight crap any day.
I keep a millermatic 212mig, lincon 275 sq.wave tig w/radiator and a hypertherm600 plasma cutter in my garage because I really enjoy welding/fabricating stuff using various alloys beyond what's needed in auto repair.

 

All the 110v setups have about the same power weather its a 90, 100,120 or the 140. That was all something that just happened between Miller and Lincoln. If you read the the power requirment and the suggested setting for welding you will find they are all about the same. I had wanted a 140 since it was the most powerful but at my brother request I read recommened welding setting for the 90 and the 140 from the downloaded PDFs and they are the same. They didn't even edit the page.

I owned a harbor freight mig and if your going to do body work it is not the machine for you. It is fine for welding exhausts or seat brackets. Infact if I kind of wish I kept the flux core wire was great for making repairs in the driveway with the wind blowing. The nice part about the HF welder was I had it a year used 1/2 a spool of wire and sold it for $15 less then I paid for. Sale price plus 20% coupon FTW

For body work I use the Lincoln 120 with gas and .023 wire. This allow me to drop a 1/8" dia spot weld with no slag and what looks like maybe a 1/4" of heat effected area. Like a said the HF machine will get the crud jobs done but when you open up a lincoln you can just tell its designed to be working 20 years from now. You would be lucky to get 4 years out of HF one.

 

i have an old snap on ,one of the first 110v mig welders to hit the market back in 84. i used it for production work in shops i worked fro ,and now use it in my shop at home. go to your local welding supply house and talk to them they will put you in the right direction,and they service what they sell

 

????? There's no Lincoln welder in this link.

I use a Miller 140 Autoset for everything, and it's a killer welder!