I have an old AC stick welder and have long planned to get a gas welder, but what are the most flexible welders to own these days? The old AC stick welders now seem to be considered junk. Many people seem to be buying these little gasless MIGs. Thanks.
I have a oxy/acet welder, and am not about to sell it. ( I also have an AC stick welder that is not for sale ). But I think if I were you, I would consider the TIG welder that Harbor Freight sells for about $200 on sale. You would need to buy some Argon to work with it. It would do the same sort of welding that you would use a gas welder for.
Dan
Someone else posted a link for a $200 MIG from HF.
I sold my small MIG and need to replace it.
I'm considering this MIG, and now the TIG.
For $200 For general-purpose shop welding, nothing big, rarely anything critical, which would you guys recommend - small MIG, or small TIG?
Depends. MIG is better at sticking cruddy stuff together, such as questionable bits of automotive sheet metal. And it's fast. But since you're doing "nothing big", fast may not matter much.
TIG needs the metal to be cleaner, is slower, and requires more skill, but it can also weld pretty much anything (different types of metal) that can be welded. It's much more versatile, and thus I'd see it as more general purpose. However, some folks who can weld away happily with a MIG get all frustrated trying to use a TIG. IME, if you have successfully done oxy-acetylene welding, you'll find TIG not too difficult to pick up. If you've only done MIG, you'll have a whole new thing to learn.
_You_ asked for it:
look for the integralMIG500Highspeed DW P4 (090-004745-00102) Can't give a direct link, they use session-IDs.
Nick
Hmmm, an oxy/acetylene will also braze and cut... however I guess the TIG will do aluminum?
The most flexible welder is the TIG. It does steel, aluminum, stainless, copper, titanium, etc. Of course it takes a fair amount of skill, not to mention the $1500 or so to get into a decent setup. Another downside is that it is much slower than MIG or stick.
Everyone seems to have on O/A rig in the corner, not so much for welding as for heating and cutting.
Leaves you with your old stick or popping for a decent MIG. A gasless wire feed (can't call it MIG!)running flux core is about the same as your stick welder running smaller rod. In the 110volt sizes they are pretty wimpy.
The reason most folks buy the flux core rigs is that they are scared of the "difficulty" in learning to weld with a stick. If they don' have anyone to show them, it probably is a show stopper. I personally think the stick is a pretty good, rig, have taught literally dozens of students how to get started. I normally have folks doing decent beads in about 30 minutes.
A decent 240 volt gas MIG (Miller 180 class) will do a great job on most shop projects. It welds fast and clean. But is doesn't like rusty or dirty material, doesn't like any air currents (ie not outside) and you are limited to the 10' stinger cable (or pop for a spoolgun and more $$)
Net: If you have a 220 volt stick welder and can use it, keep us> I have an old AC stick welder and have long planned to get a gas
IMHO, from 31 years of welding, I would suggest that you go buy a GOOD MIG. A Lincoln or a Miller. One WITH the gas, as it will work without gas, too. That way, you can weld a lot of things. If you need to weld heavy stuff, you can just buy an old (or new) Lincoln tombstone AC/DC stick welder, and with those machines, you can weld a LOT of stuff.
It all depends on what you want to do. My strongest suggestion is not to buy Harbor Freight and other junk that will wear out if you really get into welding. Then it site on a shelf waiting for parts that might never get there.
Steve
Smart...
Wise...
Anything hot enough to turn filler rod into molten metal...even a car battery plus a pair of booster cables will do.
Says who? I have a Lincoln AC-225C plain old AC buzz box and I will get rid of every other fancy welding machine I have long before I get rid of it. As far as I'm concerned, the AC-225C is going with me to my grave. There is much to be said for the click-it-on and weld simplicity the AC-225C provides -- should be no problem for even a corpse to use it.
Many lemmings seem to be jumping off a cliff...
You're welcome.
AC TIG will do aluminum. Some of the low $ TIG's don't have AC. You can also do aluminum with O/A.
The machine that I prefer, but is much along the same genre..is the old (and still made) Miller DialArc 250.
Its ac/dc, and is virtually bullet proof. They show up with some regularity and may be had for as little as $50-100. You will often find them with bent cases/sheetmetal, where they were hit by trucks, fork lifts etc..and still keep on keeping on.
Marvelous machine. 220 1ph
Ive got a modest selection of various mig/tig/stick welders..and the Miller has a permanant place under my welding table, with 100' of welding leads.
Gunner
"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.
Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner
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