Which MIG welder?

I have a TIG welder but I’m afraid it’ll put too much heat into sheet metal, and definitely not the easiest to use one handed for quick tacks butt welding.
Looking at getting a decent MIG for bodywork, watching lots of videos on YouTube, it seems a 140 amp unit that uses gas is all that is needed. Not opposed to spending a bit more for Red or Blue, but rather not if there’s no point to it. The Horror Fright units get good reviews but their prices are close enough to Red or Blue that I’d sooner get Red or Blue.
My TIG is an Everlast. 120v or 240v, either is fine.

If you like Everlast why don't you consider their 120V 140A Cyclone?
It's a modern IGBT machine, certainly economical, and looks to have all the basic features.

You don't need much amperage for body work.
I doubt you would ever need 50A for 19Ga sheet metal.

I have had my red machine 120v 135a for years and love it.
I got it to do just what you want it for, did all the metal welding, floors, cab corners, rockers, lower drivers door, fill in molding holes, on my truck with it.
Oh also made a long bed style side bed floor fit my short bed flare side to replace the wood floor with ribbed metal.

I also used it to fix the clutch linkage that egg shaped the holes and almost cut through the rods.
Weld it up drill the holes round again, grind & file the rod to fit the holes.
I also used it to fix the motor side bell crank pivot as you can not get them any more.

But once you get a MIG you will find other things to do with it for sure!
I welded the axle tubes to the center housing on my drag car and welded braces for the spring mounts to keep them from folding as I have seen them do.
I just cranked it up all the way, just do a little welding and let the machine cool twice as long.
Dave ----

The Everlast looks decent too, thanks guys. I’ll sell it to my wife as saving lots of money on bodywork!

The guy I buy my steel from, who does a lot of fab work has been recommending a multi process Vulcan welder. He said it retails around 500.

When you say "red machine," are you referring to Lincoln welders? I'm new to this whole welding thing and have been shopping as well.

Yes I know this is an old string, so thanks.

r

I'm not shilling for them but after having owned a budget Harbor Freight welder I wanted something "a little better" but still with enough budget for supplies. :) After watching a ton of reviews I went with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9J3PS2 and I'm pretty happy with it.

You get a lot for three bills: arc, flux and gas MIG, lift-TIG, runs on 110 or 220, etc. I'm no welding expert but I was turning out some pretty decent flux-core work after just a few trial passes. It's no Hobart but I've been pretty happy with it so far.

Rumblecloud wrote

When you say "red machine," are you referring to Lincoln welders? I'm new to this whole welding thing and have been shopping as well.

Yes I know this is an old string, so thanks.

r

Yes Lincoln IIRC p130 120 volt and can be flux or gas, I have it set up for gas and what you want if doing sheet metal.

Now what I have seen posted on the name brand machines be it Lincoln, Hobart, etc. from the big box stores is a different welder than you would get from a welding supply store.
So say I buy a Lincoln from Home Depot and something happens like maybe the wire feed motor burns up.
You now go to your local welding supply with the unit and or machine numbers to order the part thing is they may not be able to.
Even though it is a Lincoln it was built for HD spec. and some of the parts are only for that machine.

I did not know that and got my first Lincoln MIG with gas, from HD. When I had work done on my house it got legs and walked. The contractor paid for it so I went to the local welding supply and got a new one.
Just something to think about when buying something like this.
BTW I have not had any issues with this welder and I have had it think going on 20 years but I dont use it everyday either.

As for a 3 in 1 I think it depends on how much you will be using it and on what.
What are the duty cyl on it when doing each type of welding @ what amps?
I would guess the DC would be low for each type of welding.
I take it the TIG dose not have a foot pedal?

One day I hope to have a good TIG machine with foot control.
Dave ----

FuzzFace2 wrote

Now what I have seen posted on the name brand machines be it Lincoln, Hobart, etc. from the big box stores is a different welder than you would get from a welding supply store.

Dave,

I was just going to mention this. Mine is a Lincoln Power Mig 140C that I bought at a local welding shop that has Lincoln Authorized Service, etc. Home Depot or Lowes or wherever has a Lincoln Mig Pak 140, which looks very similar, but is a different machine. I'm sure they spec out the same as far as ratings and whatnot, but the industrial version machines are a little heavier duty, with some internal parts in aluminum instead of plastic, etc. For home use, it probably doesn't matter much, but I use my machine a lot, and being an industrial guy, I'm a little bit spoiled when it comes to this kind of stuff.

My 2 cents on the topic of welding is that if your main goal is body work, buy a 120v machine. Some of the bigger 240v machines don't like being turned down low enough to nicely weld thin metals. The expensive ones probably do, but the cheaper ones might not. I know my little 140c welds sheet metal like a champ, and as you guys know I've also done frame repair and patch work with it too.

I don't know about other 120v welders, but I can tell you that this one requires a 20amp receptacle, and while I have used it quite a bit on a 14ga extension cord, it really needs a heavy duty 12ga (for 20 amp) cord.

In any case, I love this little thing, and it welds like a dream. As small welders go, it's probably a little on the expensive side. The Lincoln 140 at Home Depot is probably 1/2 or 2/3 the price. I'd have no problem at all buying a cheaper machine, I just happened to be feeling wealthy when I bought this one...LOL (I was making more money then than I am now...so things do change).






Built two complete Bullnose Flareside beds with it, the second one almost complete from scratch!