Advice on buying a welder.

[S!K TEG]

I have a guy who wants me to do a rhd conversion. Im guessing I need a tig welder. Any advice on buying one? Im looking to get something on the cheap side but still be worthy. do they all come with a/c, d/c? Sum it all up, what would be a great starter welder. Thanks in advance.

[HEADSHOT]

if you dont know this then i would question your ability to do a rhd conversion. you should probly get a MIG welder something with a 210 plug and gas setup. avoid the Home Depot POS. brand names escape me know. but lincoln is a good brand make sure its setup to run gas.

[S!K TEG]

if you dont know this then i would question your ability to do a rhd conversion. you should probly get a MIG welder something with a 210 plug and gas setup. avoid the Home Depot POS. brand names escape me know. but lincoln is a good brand make sure its setup to run gas.
I know I can do it just the welding is what scares me a bit. Got to learn some how right. So a 120-140watt house fitted miller welder wont be good. I always had the idea of it needing to be a tig.

[failedabortion]

Over buy from what you think you'll need. Check out hobart for a cheaper name brand mig Welder, their 170-180a machine can be had for under $1k with a cart from online retailers. Get a good auto darkening helmet(will make it easier when learning so you don't get frustrated with a cheap non auto mask)

[DarkAngel]

X2 if you have the cash ^^^^^^^^^^^

One advise I can offer you and goes for anyone beginning to weld. Practice, Practice, Practice and get used to the equipment you have. Don't attempt to swap the firewall without practicing on other material of the same thickness and even then give yourself some time to practice. Adjust the welder settings accordingly to give you the best performance for the job you are doing. I would go MIG on this as a TIG would not be ideal and is totally different than a MIG. Think of the TIG as an Arc Welder except you provide the filler/rod with one hand and control the torch/welder with the other. Google the differences. I personally do light welding with my Harbor Freight Mig Welder and don't need anything higher/better than what I got as I use it to practice on my own things at home. Later I will get a better MIG and maybe try TIG. Give me an Arc Welder or the Equipment for Heat Welding and I will do better as that is what I started with when I was younger.

[RICK's-TOWING]

As a new guy to welding I would never recommend learning on someone elses vehicle. But if your gonna do it anyway, go with a mig welder. Millermatic 180 is a good start.

[S!K TEG]

Over buy from what you think you'll need. Check out hobart for a cheaper name brand mig Welder, their 170-180a machine can be had for under $1k with a cart from online retailers. Get a good auto darkening helmet(will make it easier when learning so you don't get frustrated with a cheap non auto mask)

I was thinking of more of harbor frieght welders, but ill check out that site.

X2 if you have the cash ^^^^^^^^^^^

One advise I can offer you and goes for anyone beginning to weld. Practice, Practice, Practice and get used to the equipment you have. Don't attempt to swap the firewall without practicing on other material of the same thickness and even then give yourself some time to practice. Adjust the welder settings accordingly to give you the best performance for the job you are doing. I would go MIG on this as a TIG would not be ideal and is totally different than a MIG. Think of the TIG as an Arc Welder except you provide the filler/rod with one hand and control the torch/welder with the other. Google the differences. I personally do light welding with my Harbor Freight Mig Welder and don't need anything higher/better than what I got as I use it to practice on my own things at home. Later I will get a better MIG and maybe try TIG. Give me an Arc Welder or the Equipment for Heat Welding and I will do better as that is what I started with when I was younger.

I know the difference, just I had the names mixed up. I plan on practicing on junk I got laying around the yard. Thanks on the info.

As a new guy to welding I would never recommend learning on someone elses vehicle. But if your gonna do it anyway, go with a mig welder. Millermatic 180 is a good start.

he dont mind becuase his going to lend a hand and learn how to turn a wrench. thanks, ill look into the miller 180.

[RustRat]

the miller 180 as mentioned above is a great machine, I use several machines, the job will indicate what machine to use. Millers have smooth action, steady power supply on the smaller machines, the Lincoln is also a good welder. i belive you can get all the benefits of the 180 machine on the Lincoln 140 for under 500 bucks... It will do all you automotive needs, is argon or co2 ready. IMO its not as smooth as far as power supply goes but again its not 800 bucks either. i use both machines. I never been much on that whole red/blue debate rather i use it becasue it works good, and it suits my needs. i would stay away from the cheap as welder as with anything, you get what you pay for, and aftermarket support is what it really boils down to on the higher quality stuff. Miller has some of the best customer support ever. the cheap ones, have none! and with the HF stuff, i have heard everyhting from inconsitant power supply, which means your always adjusting feed rates, and amps, its duty cycle is shit. i think the duty cycle on a HF welder is something like 7 percent. where the blue and red is more like 20 percent. and on some of the pipe liners its 100 percent duty cycle. i know you dont need that but what it translates to is that if you work the HF machine hard, its going to shut down, and something will break, and with no customer support your stuck with a POS machine that cant perform.you'll use the MIG much more than you'll use the TIG, unless your building stainless steel ext. or rollcages, or building true temper sub frames, and alu and TI intakes, you dont need a tig machine. You'll be surprized how much you can do with a 140 or 180 MIG on gas. anyway thats my two cents..........

[S!K TEG]

the miller 180 as mentioned above is a great machine, I use several machines, the job will indicate what machine to use. Millers have smooth action, steady power supply on the smaller machines, the Lincoln is also a good welder. i belive you can get all the benefits of the 180 machine on the Lincoln 140 for under 500 bucks... It will do all you automotive needs, is argon or co2 ready. IMO its not as smooth as far as power supply goes but again its not 800 bucks either. i use both machines. I never been much on that whole red/blue debate rather i use it becasue it works good, and it suits my needs. i would stay away from the cheap as welder as with anything, you get what you pay for, and aftermarket support is what it really boils down to on the higher quality stuff. Miller has some of the best customer support ever. the cheap ones, have none! and with the HF stuff, i have heard everyhting from inconsitant power supply, which means your always adjusting feed rates, and amps, its duty cycle is shit. i think the duty cycle on a HF welder is something like 7 percent. where the blue and red is more like 20 percent. and on some of the pipe liners its 100 percent duty cycle. i know you dont need that but what it translates to is that if you work the HF machine hard, its going to shut down, and something will break, and with no customer support your stuck with a POS machine that cant perform.you'll use the MIG much more than you'll use the TIG, unless your building stainless steel ext. or rollcages, or building true temper sub frames, and alu and TI intakes, you dont need a tig machine. You'll be surprized how much you can do with a 140 or 180 MIG on gas. anyway thats my two cents..........

Wow, thanks a million. It comes down to miller 180 or lincoln 140. I plan on doing some exhuastbsystem and down pipe for my turbo set-up after the rhd is done.

[HEADSHOT]

I know I can do it just the welding is what scares me a bit. Got to learn some how right. So a 120-140watt house fitted miller welder wont be good. I always had the idea of it needing to be a tig.

if the welding scares you then you can't properly do a rhd conversion. anyone can take parts off and drill out spot welds. before you start welding on your or anyone else vehicle. get some scrap metal and practice. sheet metal is such a hard item to weld on because the metal is soooo thin that with barley any heat you will melt right through. and without enough heat, the wire will not penatrate the steel.leaving you with a dangerous weld.

if you dont practice you will burn through a shit ton of money on materials that were intended to be used on you vehicle, but are now reserved for the junk heap. pick up a couple books on welding, amazon has a great selection should get you headed in the right direction.


good luck

[theAngryMarmot]

if the welding scares you then you can't properly do a rhd conversion. anyone can take parts off and drill out spot welds. before you start welding on your or anyone else vehicle. get some scrap metal and practice. sheet metal is such a hard item to weld on because the metal is soooo thin that with barley any heat you will melt right through. and without enough heat, the wire will not penatrate the steel.leaving you with a dangerous weld.

if you dont practice you will burn through a shit ton of money on materials that were intended to be used on you vehicle, but are now reserved for the junk heap. pick up a couple books on welding, amazon has a great selection should get you headed in the right direction.


good luck


This.

A good welder is helpful - but not as much as practice - practice - practice - practice.

Especially when welding thinner metal.

Also - cleanliness is godliness when welding. If you want good results you can not "half ass" it.

[S!K TEG]

Thanks, my friend ended up selling the whole project before buying a welder. Now i need someone to weld a few exhuast parts for free.

[all_motor_mike]

A miller diversion 165 is really nice beginner ac/dc tig and I think they go for around 1300.00. A buddy of mine had one and it weld very nicely on aluminum.


Mike

[ph8ed4life]

A miller diversion 165 is really nice beginner ac/dc tig and I think they go for around 1300.00. A buddy of mine had one and it weld very nicely on aluminum.


Mike

Exactly what I've been looking into, Miller products are so nice and that's not a terrible price.

[young_ar]

if you dont know this then i would question your ability to do a rhd conversion. you should probly get a MIG welder something with a 210 plug and gas setup. avoid the Home Depot POS. brand names escape me know. but lincoln is a good brand make sure its setup to run gas.

i know this thread is old but home depot is not a bad place to get a welder they only sell lincoln.