Help! What welder to buy--------?

[andrewm]

I run a hobart handler, for the money they are great.

[F34R]

That Miller 175 you posted will do great. Knowing where I started and being blessed with an Uncle that owns a Miller 252 I have found myself welding really thick stuff at times.

Guess it boils down to what you really want to do with it. For under 600 that Miller looks clean. Maybe cash in hand could get him down a bit. Nothing wrong with some haggling!

[Mr_Tripp]

My apologies for bumping a month late however I have a question and didn't want to be hassled for starting a whole new thread anyways.... Can one of you explain the differences and difficulty between the types of welding (mig, tig, oxy acetylene and, arc welding) I do understand that I can go and google it however I'm looking for the answer from someone experienced and with the perspective of working in cars and dong body work in mind.

[F34R]

MIG is like using a hot glue gun once heat and speed are perfect. Only issue IMO is MIG splatter. I have seen TIG in person, but never really got the chance to do any of it.

My Uncle does stick welding on cast metals, I never have done that. But I have watched him do it with a second mask. It is hot and insanely bright, I think it is kinda like using a flux core MIG. Then again, I have never done it only watched. With body work and general shop use, MIG is the best IMO. For the cost of a decent TIG setup, you can have a killer Miller MIG that will do everything you could ever want. I have seen people lay MIG so clean it looked like TIG.

I have been welding MIG for a few years now, granted my welds are not gorgeous, I do get full penetration ;D Below is a sample from a Cafe moped I am building. I have a good stack of even dimes(misshaped lol).