I preface this by saying that I don't know shit about welding, but I aim to fix that. I spied a Lincoln Electric 180 while at Home Despot today and it got the wheels in my head turning. Not that I would have considered buying a welder from there, but I saw it and now I have to ask, is it a decent welder to learn on? The price was $669 or thereabouts so I could probably do much better used, but that's hit or miss and you typically don't have a warranty that way. At least if the rig was new I'd have some support behind it, I would hope. It does Mig to 3/16's and fluxcore to 1/2 or so it claims. Comments?
Okay, but why? BTW I'm not stuck on Lincoln, it's just the brand I saw. I tend to stay away from stuff like that that's made specifically for box stores. Though I'm not trying to get raped by a welding store either.
I guess the first question to ask is what you want to weld. I know that this isn't an easy question to answer for some one who dosen't weld yet but think a little before you buy.
If it is a 110v mig which I believe it is its great for thin sheetmetal with gas and small light fab projects. I have seen people weld monster thick stuff with one AND have it pass welding certs.( my instructor) That said these people weld for a living and are VERY good (Xray grade welds on neuclear reactors and titanium aircraft parts, just to start). Perheat, weave, blah, blah ,blah not something you should expect. BTW most of those max ratings are somewhat over rated on average. They will do it for short periods but you will cook the machine if you do it regularly. I know.
Once you start to weld you will find all sorts of projects that need more and more power. I started off with a 110v mig and now have almost $15k in welding stuff and could easily spend 3x that to get what I would like to do more projects. I just dropped 2k for a Tig and would have loved to spend 2x that for the basic one I really wanted.
I'd start with new rather than used unless you really know the history on the machine. If it has a problem you will pull your hair out trying to make a problem work right and not know its not right.
I'd look at it as an educational expence. Take a class at a local Votec school at night and ask the teacher to let you try mig as well as stick. Tell him why you want to learn and what you think you might build. My recent class cost about $350 for the 10 weeks to learn tig. I took it before I got the machine so I could understand what I needed to look for and skip the long learning curve I had with mig. My first class was stick, I had sort of picked up mig over the years but I just put metal together, nothing I would trust my life to. Even with all the welding I've done over the years with mig and stick, I plan to take an advanced mig class next winter to improve my mig after I get done with tig. This will give you a chance to get the feel of what you can do without getting tied to a machine thats not right And you learn the basics the right way just not hit or miss.
If you just want to buy one and learn as you go, ok. Its not hard to get the hang of mig. I'd still view it as a learning expence. It will just take you longer to learn and you will need to understand your limits.
Lincoln Pro Mig are box store(home depot, lowes) only welders. Power Mig are sold at welding stores. Power Migs have some small differences (more durable feed mechanism) that may be worth pay a little extra for. I would have no reservation buying a welder from ebay from a reputable ebay seller.
If you're in the market for a 180 amp class machine, I'd buy a Hobart Handler 187. You can get the reconditioned ones from www.toolking.com for around $525 delivered.
I did a bunch of research on new machines 2-3 years ago.
220 is definitely the way to go over 110... Well worth the money.
However, there is a big price jump from the 180-ish models up to the 210-ish models (like $500 minimum).
Price wise, Miller is usually the most expensive, followed by Hobart, then Lincoln.
If your gears are turning & your patient, watch ebay for a few months.
I was able to get an brand new Lincoln 180 for $475 to my door.
It all has to do with how many auctions are going on at one time & when they all end. (Several other ended earlier that day for $100-$200 more).
I bid on 4-5 welders before I one. My bid max was $525 I think.
I want 200 over 110 because well 110 has limitations and I don't like limitations. :flipoff2lus I don't want to be stuck with a 110 welder when I'm out shopping for a 220 version and out the cash I paid of the 110. I want to weld sheet metal to start with 1mm - 1.5mm to be precise. After that it's whatever trips my trigger. I'm not going to be fabbing a buggy, but occasional welding on vehicles or stuff will happen as projects crop up. I'm sure once i get more proficient I'll see more and more things that I can do. Thanks for the help so far guys.
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