Welding on SFC's

[TraceZ]

I'm going to get some SFCs for my springtime mods this year.

I'd like to weld them in myself. My dad has offered to split the cost of a welder with me so we both have access to one in the future.

I'm looking in my Harbor Freight catalogs, what welder would be a good one for a beginner to learn on and would work well for light jobs like SFCs?

[raroZ28]

excellent investment tracy, but I have heard terrible things about things from harbor freight. Can't beat the price, but I hear the quality is bad. I would get a nice lincoln or miller welder. My dad bought a Lincoln ac-225 Arc welder. It's pretty nice and was only around $500 or something I THINK. Might have been a little cheaper.

[FroSSty]

We just bought a Lincoln Electric 175 that was used once as a demo at a racetrack. We got it for 500 bucks. This particular welder is 220 and has capabilities to weld mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. I like the way it welds so far. Good luck with your purchase.

[TraceZ]

500 is way more than I want to spend.

This is just for my SFCs and very occasional usage. It will get used maybe twice a year for odd jobs.

how about in the 2-300 range?

[DeWynter]

I would opt for a DC welder of some type. Definatly get a lincolin or miller (I prefer Miller).

[TraceZ]

HF has several welders in my price range. some are 115 volt, some are 230.

HERE is an example.

[fastTa]

I'll admit, I've used Chicago Electric stuff for years without any problems. Here's the deal. If you are a shop and you are going to be using your welder day in and day out, yes you would be wise to by a top quality welder.

But if you are only going to occasionaly do some welding, the Chicago electric stuff is just fine.

A 120V wirefeed MIG welder would be a good start. It is not a neccesity, but I would recommend getting the gas setup as well Tracy. It makes the welding so much smoother. A MIG like the one you posted is more than sufficient to weld light to medium stuff like SFC's and other chassis parts being welded to the chassis.

The Lincoln 100HD at Home Depot is a pretty good starter MIG welder for $339. Go to homedepot.com and go to Power Tools > Welding & Soldering. Then look for the Lincoln 100HD.

[TraceZ]

I'll admit, I've used Chicago Electric stuff for years without any problems. Here's the deal. If you are a shop and you are going to be using your welder day in and day out, yes you would be wise to by a top quality welder.

But if you are only going to occasionaly do some welding, the Chicago electric stuff is just fine.

A 120V wirefeed MIG welder would be a good start. It is not a neccesity, but I would recommend getting the gas setup as well Tracy. It makes the welding so much smoother. A MIG like the one you posted is more than sufficient to weld light to medium stuff like SFC's and other chassis parts being welded to the chassis.

The Lincoln 100HD at Home Depot is a pretty good starter MIG welder for $339. Go to homedepot.com and go to Power Tools > Welding & Soldering. Then look for the Lincoln 100HD.

I dont see the gas accessories anywhere... what does that cost / where do I get it?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Don't get an AC arc welder. Get a gas mig welder. Sams had a 110 volt mig for I think $299. You then need to find a welding supply place to get the tanks filled at. They don't cost much. I think I paid like 150 for my Lincoln 230 amp AC welder. I've used it many times but welding thin stuff still goes like this. Try 10 times to get the spark going but oops once it starts it burns a whole in the thin metal then spend the next 10 minutes filling the hole. I suck at arc welding. Mig is so much easier.

One cool thing is the LCD welding hoods. They are cool because you don't have to flip the glass down. They have a light sensor on them that darkens the screen the second you start welding. They probably cost as much as the welder though.

[fastTa]

I occasionaly buy welding stuff here: http://store.weldingdepot.com

If the MIG welder you purchase is a gas welder, it is already ready for the gas, you just basically go to a local welding supply company and rent a bottle and pay for the gas.

A #3 bottle(80 cubic feet) of Argon/Co2 here is $37 for the gas, and you pay $100 a year for unlimited bottle rentals. You can pay like $10-15 for individual rentals.

A little tip: I used to own a commercial welding company. We mainly did stick welding, but we did do some smaller stuff where we used MIG and TIG. With stick welding, you run the bead toward you. With MIG, you want to run the bead away from you. It just takes practice on some scrap metal to get the hang of it. You seem to have a pretty good knack for learning new things, so it should be relatively easy. Just make a repetetive horseshoe-like motion manipulating the molten metal with each pass along the apex of the horseshoe shape. That's probably confusing......I'll draw you a diagram tomorrow when I have some time.

Also you can buy a gasless MIG, but in order to weld without gas you have to make sure you have gasless wire.

I've seen the auto darkening hoods as cheap as $39.99. How long they last....I haven't a clue?

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

For a mig welder absolutely get a gas setup, or get a fluxcore type setup with the gas conversion option so you can add it once you try the fluxcore in case you don't like it. As the other Kevin says, gas mig is MUCH smoother than fluxcore. The fluxcore will do the job, but it spatters all over.

Otherwise, get a buzzbox for couple hundred, then some general purpose rods and a helmet, and you are good to go.

[TraceZ]

buzzbox?

If I were to get a welder would you be willing to make a visit to Madison on a weekend and give me a little help / tutorial installing my SFCs??

Dinner and drinks would of course be "on me".

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Tracy, if I have to come to Madison to help you, I might as well bring my welder with me and save you the trouble of buying one. You just have to promise that all those little kids won't throw rocks at my car

[TraceZ]

Tracy, if I have to come to Madison to help you, I might as well bring my welder with me and save you the trouble of buying one. You just have to promise that all those little kids won't throw rocks at my car

Would you do that for me? You are a good man!
I'll make sure the wild kids are gaged, strait jacketed and handcuffed to the water main in the basement!

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Has to be on a weekend. Once your bilateral herniorapy is buttoned up, give me an e-mail.