Well I think Im goign to make the jump into fabrication I think with my creative geniuos I could come up with some cool stuff . And with these sick nightmares in my head ( 5.0 SAS ) I think its time to invest in some stuff .

Ive done some research on here I think I have decided on a MIG welder wth a sheilding gas Setup (Argon I think ) but a nice Arc welder is not out of the question but Ive heard its easyer to learn on a MIG , Is this True ?

I have also already decide on a brand Hobart as they are made by miller the industry standard but Im not going to be using it for industrail workloads So I think the Hobart is a nice median and save some $$$ . Is this a smart Idea ?

Now here is my delima I have 2 picked one runs on 115V standard wall , the other runs on 220v , the bad part is I will be working out of the shop here at home wich does not have a dedicated 220v , so I would have to have an electrician wire it up (BTW its over 500 ' from the main breaker looking at 200+ in wire alone to run it not to mention burrying it in conduit ) .

I will be using this one for light fab work , primarily Tube bumpers I plan to build , Bike rack for mountain bike and few other light fab jobs plus guilding a small utility trailer .
I think the biggest I will weld is 1/4" maybbe mostly 1/8" and smaller .
Please keep all this in mind when you give me your opinion , or if you think you have a better option please Im all ears .

I was going to put all the stats in for ease but it was a mile long post so here are the links ...Well on to the two canidates .

First one Handler 140
Link - http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/handler140/

Next ::: Hobart Handler 187
Link - http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/handler187/

There arc welder I was looking at for a back up or heavy duty jobs .
Link - http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...tickmate205ac/

 

And for cutting would you go with a plasma or Oxy-Torch .
Opinions or better Ideas welcomed .

Plasma - Airforce 250I
Link- http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...airforce250ci/

Oxy
Link - http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...m-duty-outfit/

Thanks in advance , I probally wont get a chance to get back on here till tomarow late at night so If you have any question or need more infor just leave and Ill do my best to reply ASAP .

Thanks
-Nicholas

 

I just bought that Hobart 140 welder, its amazing. I love that thing. Only thing I don't like it is its got settings for heat instead of it being infinite but I knew that when I bought it. For the money you can't beat that welder. I just like you have only a 110 line to work with. Now I know there are cords for plugging two 110's in and making it into a 220. I'm pretty sure these are suppose to be temporary but I don't know much about it. Its plenty strong enough (welds 1/4 steel) for me.

 

Awesome ,
Bump for some more advice .

 

The best advice I can give is Go as big as you can afford cause there will always be that point in time where you say Damn I wish I had the next size up.

Edit: also Dont bother with stick. For what your doing its not a good fit, MIG is where its at for general fab. A 220v Mig will do everything you need and more.

 

Well the only thing stoping me is I dont have a dedicated 220v out to my shop and its located over 500' from the main house breaker box , It will cost me almost as musch as the welder to get one run out there is the main reason I was asking if the 140 would be comperable to the 187 for what I want .

 

ive got a Miller 140 (110) and a lincoln precision tig 185 (220). im sure the hobart is almost just like my miller, it works great but i wouldnt really trust it on doing any kind of frame work or anything although i think bumpers and stuff would be fine. also check out Miller, they make a welder with DVI. (Dual Voltage Input). i wish i would have saved up my money for that instead b/c its got interchangeable plugs, u can plug it in a 110 and and its like having the 140 or plug it into a 220 and do frame work and structual stuff. as for cutting, i choose a plasma anyday but if youre gonna get one get a good one and dont waste your money on one that has a built in compressor, get one that has to hook up to one, youll be happier in the end.

 

I had a sears 110v welder that was comparable (sort of) to that Hobart 140. I replaced it with a Millermatic 180 220v a few months ago. HUGE improvement. Miller makes super nice welders and the power difference is 100% worth it. I wired the outlet myself though so that saved some cash.

I think the bigger welder would be totally worth it.

 

Go as big as you can afford. If you can afford to put in the 220v outlet and get the welder, do it. Hobart and Lincoln both make great welders... I'll probably be getting myself a Lincoln ProMIG 140 here pretty soon since the house I'm living in won't let me add 220v. You can run mixed gas (75/25) if you want to spend the extra money, but IMO i'll probably just run CO2 or flux core wire.

As for plasma or oxyfuel... again go with as good as you can afford. A plasma cutter is AWESOME to have, but they are hella expensive compared to a oxy-acetylene torch.

Also, even more important than what welder you buy will be how you learn to use it. Take a class at your local tech school or community college... what you learn there will be MUCH more important to you in the long run (like knowing that you don't use straight argon gas in a MIG welder unless you're welding aluminum).

Good luck!

 

See I plan on Taking , a course in welding at our local collage , so that wont be a problem .
I would love to go ahead and get the 220v but even running the wire myself and having my uncle wire it (he is a electrician ) would still cost me over 400 easy with 500' of wire and conduit pluss the plug and a case of beer for him .

I think im going to go with the 140 , because when I do the SAS and engine swap it will be done at a freinds garage and he has a nice setup for welding . I think the 140 will do good for a starter unit , If I ever need to get a bigger one I always can .

Im going to look into the plasma a little bit more , for now I think im just goign to get a OXY outfit .

 

I wouldnt bother with FluxCore. The single greatest change I ever made was switching to MIG wire with 75/25 gas.