Im looking to buy or trade for my first welder

Any body have any impute for me on what to look for? I want to be able to weld aluminum as well as steel. By chance anyone looking to sell or trade out of one?

I suggest you buy mine . Can deliver to NWFest.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1034656

Believe & Receive said:

Any body have any impute for me on what to look for? I want to be able to weld aluminum as well as steel. By chance anyone looking to sell or trade out of one?

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There is a lot more to welding Aluminum and Steel then the Buzz box. The range of amps and wire support also. Different Gasses.

Take an intro to welding class at a community college.. it can get you started on basics. I have a hobart 140 handler. Its a 110 wire feed welder. Its a little portable setup. I've used the crap out of it. It does the job for tacking projects. And going down to the shop to weld them out.. I wish I had a 220 big mig but they are over a grand for a mid level used one..

Tig welding has a lot to it. And its not as easy as mig welding. And requires a different setup. I don't think anyone who hasn't owned a welder can just jump into welding aluminum. If you are wanting to buy the cow.. your looking at 3000 for a nice tig mig welder

There was a miller little mig on here prob what your looking for. They aren't cheap.. but nice quality.

get like the $600 lincoln 180 from lowes. You can swap out the wire for aluminum and change the gas back and forth depending on what your welding

blibra said:

I wish I had a 220 big mig but they are over a grand for a mid level used one..

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I disagree with this. I just bought a brand new Miller 211, which runs off of 110 or 220, for about $950. It's a damn nice welder, and its new.

You can buy just a regular Miller 220 for even less.

There's a lot of good welder threads in the Tools and Garage Forum.

Also, browse around on Lincoln, Miller, and Hobart's websites (big three). They usually have some comparison charts, and beginner information.

northwestxj said:

Miller 211

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:lickout:

northwestxj said:

I disagree with this. I just bought a brand new Miller 211, which runs off of 110 or 220, for about $950. It's a damn nice welder, and its new.

You can buy just a regular Miller 220 for even less.

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This sounds like a good deal to me..

Definitely take a class or get some instruction from someone who knows welding. You'll get a chance to run some good quality equipment that is properly set up so you actually learn to weld instead of fight with equipment. Feedback on what's going right or wrong from someone who knows will get you going faster. You can't buy a cheap machine that will do everything. Forget about any serious aluminum welding with a cheap MIG welder. You might get lucky and run an occasional bead by using a teflon liner and keeping the hose very straight but usually you'll spend more time clearing birdnests from the drive rolls than you do welding. I have a spool gun for my 250 amp L-Tec MIG machine which works really well for aluminum but cost $800 by itself. If you want/need to weld thin aluminum you'll need a TIG capable machine. That's generally going to mean a different power source from your MIG with high frequency, a different torch, regulator, foot pedal to control amperage etc. You can find deals on used stuff if you are patient enough. I scrounged together a real nice TIG/stick welder for about $600 but it took several years to score all the components (Miller Dialarc HF300 amp, Miller foot pedal, 200 amp air cooled torch, regulator). It's a sweet machine that can stick weld almost anything but requires a 240V 90amp supply. If you are going to weld at home check and see what you have available for power to supply your machine.
Steve

Thanks for all the info! Im going to be patient in my search, my woman will probably beat me if i just run out and buy the first one i come across and it does not do what i want it to do. I will be humble on this search and ask her mom to help me find a good one (she owns C&L Metal Sales). Im going to be getting some help from her friends on how to weld so i wont be going into it blind. I just want to find the best one for next to nothing. I have a taste for wine on a beer budget.