My first MIG welder was a Lincoln sold by Sears under their own name. What a
dog! On top of that, I barely knew what I was doing- a bad combination.
Finally, after several years of getting the guys in the company shop to do
my welding, I decided to try again, buying a welder. This time I was a bit
smarter. I went to the welding supply shop were the company I work for buys
all their parts & supplies & talked to one of the salesmen, telling how I
was planning to use the welder, & how much I didn't't know.
He set me up in the demo room with a helmet, scrap metal, & a choice of 4 or
5 welders. He gave me a short lesson, had me try to run a bead, gave a bit
more instruction until I could produce something that might pass as a bead
of weld. We went to another welder, I did a couple of butt joints & so on.
He spent nearly 2 hours working with me between phone calls & other
customers, something you can't get a Sears, Harbor freight, or on the
internet. If you can already weld, & know what you want, go for the best
price. As a rookie, I went for the most service.
Miller is top of the line in commercial welding equipment, Hobart is now
owned by Miller, & is a bit cheaper, but still has the Miller gun, the most
important part, & many other Miller parts. It is "standard" & you can get
parts at any good welding supply outlet & at most gas suppliers. My Hobart
runs on 110 V, uses gas but can use shielded wire, with different gas &
wire, I have used it to weld aluminum. The gas regulator maintains its
setting when you shut the gas off & turn it on again later, & it has many
other professional features.
My advice is that the amateur needs first class tools as much as a pro, but
you don't need a rig that will weld 1/2" steel. Go see the guys at the local
welding shop, try out a welder before you buy.
Second piece of advice is spend $100.00 on an automatic self darkening
welding helmet. Ask for a demo.
Jim Stuart
1966 MGBV8
1974 MGBGTV8
1973 MGBGT V8 under construction
Reply to <jimbb88@usa.com>
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|