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Help picking a MIG frame welder

I just used my Eastwood 175 mig to do my frame stiffeners and it worked great. If you really wanna stay 110 Eastwood makes a 135 that would be enough for frame stiffeners. Its a very affordable welder as well. A Lincoln 140 would also do the job and is a good stater machine.
 
Esab 215 miller 215. Both very good welders.

https://bakersgas.com/products/esabrebelemp215icmultiprocesswelder-3in1pkg-0558102240
I'll probly end up replacing my hobart 180 with one.

I would advice against buying a 110v only unit.

Everlast has some good welders that cost less than the name brands. That will spank any 110only unit.

https://www.everlastgenerators.com/product/mig/power-i-mig-200

Youl get quite alot for your money by buying everlast but youl only have online support.


This one is a sweet little welder 120/240 mig stick tig plasma cutter all on 1 unit.
https://www.everlastgenerators.com/product/multi-process-tig-stick-plasma/powerultra-206pi

The miller 215 doesnt even include the stuff needed for tig it's also now debatable if miller welders are any better than the welders shipped in containers from over seas.
Most likely the welders by miller are cheap China welders in the 1500 and under range.
But sometimes customer support comes with a price tag.

Good luck and have fun with whatever you get. Welding is a very enjoyable hobby.

Ohhh heres the esab wire only.

https://bakersgas.com/products/esabrebelem215ic120v-230vmigwelder-0558102436
 
Just wanted to add when I welded in my pans I purchased the Esab rebel EM215ic. Its dual voltage and works great. As others said buy one that can also do 220v and don't go cheap...as in a cheap made one. Mine had a rebate think out the door was maybe $800. Buy a good helmet and I have noticed a differance between using a good brand wire verses cheap ones...
 
Welding machines we can debate on all day long.
110/120 only machines in my opion just dont need to be doing much jeep type welding unless its body work.

Theres definitely a learning curve. Curve will take longer with under powerd machine vs a machine that's very capable.

Youl find all kinds of things to build ounce you get into the learning curve. with the wrong machine you may just become frustrated.
A good machine will help turn you into a rockstar
 
Not to hijack the thread, but I was looking at some of the cyber Monday deals today and saw the Eastwood 250 Mig on sale, does anyone have first had experience with one? Seems to have a great duty cycle and good warranty-https://www.eastwood.com/mig-250-welder-eastwood.html
 
BTW, tried using 110V for an extended period of time yesterday welding some 1/8" mild steel. Got through about 6 welds before the breaker popped. Annoying.

Most pure 110V welders have weak feed motors and lower duty cycles so they don't pop breakers all the time. Most dual voltage welders just pop breakers on 110V for anything heavier than 14g.
 
Hey Y'all - Update

I ended up picking up a local barely used Hobart 210 MVP. It's transformer based so it's pretty heavy but is working really well on 120V and mixed gas setup.

Used I paid $600 then picked up a full tank and a Jeep load of Horrible Freight stuff; Vulcan cart, steel table, two Bauer grinders, cut off wheel pack, wire wheel pack, flapper wheel pack, hammer, welders pliers, gloves, and a impressive Vulcan ArcSafe hood. All for roughly the same price of a new Miller 211.

I'm off and welding! Thanks for all the advice
 
Congrats.

Enjoy your new toys.

BTW, if you end up shopping at a steel supplier who has abrasives for sale too, don't be a afraid to pick up some of the stuff they carry and compare it to the HF stuff. You may find that for a 15-20% increase in price you get a 100% increase in cutting life.
 
I picked a new welder on Cyber Monday as well ! I ended up going with the Eastwood 250 - I have 240- 50A outlet in my garage so I thought this one would be good. It has a really good duty cycle for its size -60% at 240. I'll give a full review once I have used it for awhile.
https://www.eastwood.com/mig-250-welder-eastwood.html
NEW%20WELDER7_zpsq68pn2xn.jpg
 
For my first welding project I bought a DIY bumper. It gave me a lot of practice on 3/16 metal. One thing that was mentioned briefly was the helmet, make sure to get auto darkening which I think would be a great help to tack and when you first start your weld. Have an extinguisher handy at all times and not in an enclosed area where the fumes can’t escape. I’m still not sure about doing stiffeners due to the very thin metal of the frame. I also want to do 2x6 rockers but again thick to thin metal.
 
Besides thick to thin for the frame stiffeners you also have vertical, over your head, hard to see areas to work in

Just concentrate on pointing you weld gun tip into the heavier metal of the frame stiffeners — as the try keeping the main puddle on the frame stiffeners steel and kind just brushing the thin frame itself

It’s not that hard to do on a bench laying flat but add in the work area your going to be in and it can be a challenge for a novice

Take your time and concentrate — get in a position so you can see everything — that’s probably the most important
 
I did frame stiffeners as a learning project a couple years ago. It was by no means my first time welding (had taken a couple welding classes and done a handful of smaller jobs) but it was my first true project. Going overhead and welding out of position was a totally new thing for me. I struggled at first but eventually got the hang of it. I'd say I learned a ton from doing it. If anything, I justified it to myself as being a good learning project because the welds aren't super critical in the sense that nobody's life is in danger if some of the welds were cold/didn't penetrate that well. At least, not as critical as doing something like suspension or steering stuff.

I bought an Eastwood 135. It works for smaller stuff and does a reasonable job but the duty cycle killed me while doing the stiffeners. I like having it around for small garage jobs but I outgrew it quickly. For anyone else looking for first welder recommendations I'd steer you towards a dual voltage machine.

I bought one of those cheap green welding jackets. Thing looks like swiss cheese now. Definitely go leather.

I bought a cheap HF auto-darkening helmet. Looks like its been through a war after all the overhead. The slag melts right through the face shield. Just recently picked up a new helmet because the old one stopped working properly. Through my research most mid-range helmets are not recommended for overhead work. Professionals recommend helmets with convex lenses such that the slag runs off the side rather than melting through. Unfortunately, you don't see that feature until you spend big bucks.

Also, gas >> flux core.
 
While we are tossing out general advice about this particular job, wear ear plugs. Ears are designed as a bit of a natural funnel. Weld spatter will be bouncing around all over the place. Combine those two elements and you are liable to experience some memorable excitement.
 
While we are tossing out general advice about this particular job, wear ear plugs. Ears are designed as a bit of a natural funnel. Weld spatter will be bouncing around all over the place. Combine those two elements and you are liable to experience some memorable excitement.

well, maybe.....I mean if weld splatter gets in your ear, and you instinctively jerk yer head to shake it out, you just might knock yourself out on the chassis or a jackstand and not remember any of it..................


(at least that's how my luck would go.......)
 
You ever been laying under a excavator your feet hanging out the side and dozer comes tracking up on you you want to hear it. I'd rather be alive with lost of hearing then dead because I couldn't hear what's about to kill me.

I have a welding cap with flaps to keep spark out of my ears.
 
You hear the sounds all day. It's when they get closer it becomes a problem. Lol

That's just my take on staying alive. I've heard bad shit can happen when molten falls deep in the ear.

On hoods. My favourite so far is my miller digital infinity view and clarity is amazing.
The lincoln viking 3350? Is also very good with out the unneeded bells and whistles
 
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