Welder for body metal

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72ScampTramp

72ScampTramp

Scamp Tramp
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There is a used one of these forsale on Craigslist for $100 local. Im looking for a welder that will weld sheetmetal. I have a flux core welder but it doesnt seem to like sheetmetal. It comes with the gas hook ups and I can run a smaller wire. Plus it fits my budget.

What are you guys thoughts on this welder? I need to be able to weld sheetmetal decently.



http://www.texastooltraders.com/Cle...are/Welders-Accessories/Welders-p6293047.html
 
220V or 110? I have had a tough time with the 220v even on the lowest settings, Now my skills are slim but I think a 110V may be the way to go? I'm sure there is some good experience here that will answer up.
 
Adding gas to a mig welder will make a world of difference. For steel use 75% argon with 25% carbon dioxide.

Also a "trick" that helps with welding sheet metal is to have a copper or aluminum backing plate. It doesn't have to be big just hold it against the back of where your welding. The backing plate will keep you from blowing holes in the metal. My backing plate is a aluminum concrete edging tool with the edge cut off.
 
I would hold off and get a Hobart 140 or a Lincoln if you don't have the funds. You'll end up buying one anyway after that one on ebay doesn't do a very good job.
 
I don’t think I need the expense of a Hobart or Lincoln. I don’t weld everyday and when I do its sparingly. I need something I can use from time to time to get the job done. My Flux core Lincoln is just too hot for sheet metal and I have a hard time keeping it from burning through. I’m thinking with using a smaller wire size it will take less heat giving me a better weld.
 
The Clarke stuff is good. Uses standard Tweco torch and all popular stuff you can find anywhere. I wouldn't get one though that does not at LEAST have gas hookups on it. You will be severely limited if you do. When you get one, just practice runnin beads on a piece of scrap sheet metal. You'll get right in no time. I recommend usin gas too though. It makes the welds much neater.

I have a Craftsman mig that is made by Clarke. It has gas hookups on it and is only rated at 85 amps. I have welded 1/4" plate in one pass with it before. I wouldn't do it all the time, but it did it nicely. The thing has a 40% duty cycle. You won't find duty cycles like that in anything but the most expensive Hobarts or Lincolns or Millers. It's not how big the welder is, it's how well you can use it. Practice makes perfect.
 
That makes sense Rob. My Lincoln Flux is gas less and doesn’t have provisions for gas hook up. This one is rated down to 26ga which I will be welding 18-20ga. But even on the lowest settings the Lincoln burned through quicker then snot.
 
Which model lincoln do you have? get me the model and code and I will see if I have a gas conversion kit for it around.
 
If you can run .024 wire and gas with it you should be covered for automotive sheet metal.
 
My neighbor has a 120v Clarke Mig Welder which I have used a few times and compared to my Lincoln it's not very good, the wire feed is inconsistent and jams up regularly where the Lincoln never does.

Recently it wasn't working and he brought it over for me to look at. None of the local welding supply houses had any parts and the only parts I could find on line were tips hoods and the gun. Anything inside was not available.

You can get a Lincoln Power Mig 140 for about $400 new if you shop around and 1/2 that if you buy used. It has 100% duty cycle up to 140 amps. The older 135 won't go as high but a 40% duty cycle mentioned for the Clarke sucks.
 
If money isn't an object (but it usually is:)) I'd get a Miller 180 Autoset with gas. Almost any proper functioning 110 volt mig machine with gas should be able to do a nice job on sheet metal. If you want to weld thicker metals you'll need a bigger 220 volt machine.
 
To me the main reason to get a brand name welder is for support for the welder. It doesn't matter who's name on the machine. If you can't get parts and get them quickly any welder is just a problem waiting to happen.
ESAB, Hobart, Lincoln and Miller all make a good product. Ask to try out the welder before you buy and ask them to weld some sheet metal. You will find one that will fill what you need.
 
Gas weld sheet metal and mig/tig anything bigger. That way you also have a torch set up and you can get a good kit from Harbor Freight (paid $80 for mine) that is comparable to anything Victor. All you will need to get are the bottles.
You will get a weld that is easier to grind or hammerweld than any soft wire from a mig.
 
I bought a Lincoln 110 volt waaay bcak about 11 years ago. It uses flux core wire or solid wirth gas. I have the adaptors and regulator etc but never got as far as a tank. It's O.K though as the welder does pretty good on sheet metal.

It's partly tecnique as well as machine.I have gotten my best results with a wet rag and stitch welding as the flux core builds up more heat than the mig.

I have not noticed a difference from one brand to another.
 
dgc333 said:
My neighbor has a 120v Clarke Mig Welder which I have used a few times and compared to my Lincoln it's not very good, the wire feed is inconsistent and jams up regularly where the Lincoln never does.

Recently it wasn't working and he brought it over for me to look at. None of the local welding supply houses had any parts and the only parts I could find on line were tips hoods and the gun. Anything inside was not available.

You can get a Lincoln Power Mig 140 for about $400 new if you shop around and 1/2 that if you buy used. It has 100% duty cycle up to 140 amps. The older 135 won't go as high but a 40% duty cycle mentioned for the Clarke sucks.
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Then sumthin was wrong with it. Also you can make any mig jam up gettin the torch too close to the work, but from the sound of it, you know not to do that. The Clarkes consistasntly get good reviews. It's not like they are Chinese junk. They are actually made in the UK and Italy. One thing to keep in mind on this. I kinda compare stuff like this to chain saws. Remember when McCullough was the bad ***** of chain saws? I mean they used to be the best money could buy. then they started poppin up in KMart and WalMart. Same with Poulan. Well......you can find some of the small Lincolns in KMart and WalMart right now, but you won't find a Clarke there....not yet anyway. That's because those smaller Lincolns are made......you guessed it....in CHINA. You can even find some of the bigger Lincoln units in Sams Clubs.....and they are made in China as well. Do your homework is all I can say. And buy one with as high a duty cycle as you can find.

Oh, and lastly, I got news. Do you know what duty cycle is? Evidently not. It's how long you can weld continuously in a 10 minute period. So, a 40% equals 4 minutes of straight welding out of ten. There ain't a welder made that'll weld on a 100% duty cycle. That's nonstop. No way no how. Even if the welder could swing it, you'd melt the torch, and end up trippin the breaker. But WTF do I know? I was only certified 16 years. Maybe that wasn't long enough. Yeah, some advertise 100%, but you just try it. LMAO.
 
Oh....and one more thing. LMAO. The parent company for BOTH Miller and Hobart is Illinois Tool Works, which is here: http://itw.com/ See what it says at the top of the page??? GLOBAL DIVERSIFIED MANUFACTURING. Hmmmmmm.......wonder what that means???? LMAOROTF.
 
StrokerScamp said:
Oh, and lastly, I got news. Do you know what duty cycle is? Evidently not. It's how long you can weld continuously in a 10 minute period. So, a 40% equals 4 minutes of straight welding out of ten. There ain't a welder made that'll weld on a 100% duty cycle. That's nonstop. No way no how. Even if the welder could swing it, you'd melt the torch, and end up trippin the breaker. But WTF do I know? I was only certified 16 years. Maybe that wasn't long enough. Yeah, some advertise 100%, but you just try it. LMAO.
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I certainly due know what duty cycle is and the Lincoln I mentioned is rated for continious use which to me means 100%. In any case I have had the thermal breaker trip on my neighbors Clarke when using it and have never had the breaker trip on my Lincoln. Also, a number of years ago I took a course in welding and the last couple of weeks of the class I used all the different 120 volt mig welders the school had (Lincoln and Miller brands) figuring that if that was what I was going to own I should get as much practice with them as I could and understand the differences. I never had the thermal breaker trip on any of those either.

Now, my neighbors Clarke may very well have something wrong with it, he purchased it used too. But that does not change the fact that parts are not readily available for them. The two welding supply houses near where I live do not have any parts for them at all. One of the places knew of them the other place had never heard of them. Both of those places sold Lincoln and Miller products and had parts for Hobart.

To the original poster: Before making the decision to buy this welder check around to your local welding supply houses and see if they have at least the normal wear items; tips, hoods, drive rolls for differnent wire sizes, torches. You can get this stuff on line but it certainly is an inconvience. Also, if you need repair parts like a wire feed motor, or voltage control board you will be stuck dealing directly with the company in the UK. Clarke welders are imported by retail suppliers and they do not have a presence in the US.
 
dgc333 said:
I certainly due know what duty cycle is and the Lincoln I mentioned is rated for continious use which to me means 100%. In any case I have had the thermal breaker trip on my neighbors Clarke when using it and have never had the breaker trip on my Lincoln.
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I understand. I thought you did because I've seen you talk about in other posts. But I can almost garrantee you with 100% certainty that if that Clarke was havin problems, somethin was wrong with it. It wasn't because it was a Clarke that it was malfunctioning.

dgc333 said:
Also, a number of years ago I took a course in welding and the last couple of weeks of the class I used all the different 120 volt mig welders the school had (Lincoln and Miller brands) figuring that if that was what I was going to own I should get as much practice with them as I could and understand the differences. I never had the thermal breaker trip on any of those either.
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Agreed. If you can afford the price tag, go for it. BUT remember on even those that if you're lookin for somethin American made, you better look CLOSE.

dgc333 said:
Now, my neighbors Clarke may very well have something wrong with it, he purchased it used too. But that does not change the fact that parts are not readily available for them. The two welding supply houses near where I live do not have any parts for them at all. One of the places knew of them the other place had never heard of them. Both of those places sold Lincoln and Miller products and had parts for Hobart.
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Really? That's surprising to me. They have the same torch and spools as comparable models in other brands. That stuff is kinda universal. We have a big weldin outfit in Macon and they actually sell a lot of different makes including Clarke. Industrial Welding down on Broadway.

dgc333 said:
To the original poster: Before making the decision to buy this welder check around to your local welding supply houses and see if they have at least the normal wear items; tips, hoods, drive rolls for differnent wire sizes, torches. You can get this stuff on line but it certainly is an inconvience. Also, if you need repair parts like a wire feed motor, or voltage control board you will be stuck dealing directly with the company in the UK. Clarke welders are imported by retail suppliers and they do not have a presence in the US.
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Yeah and I'll go a step further. See what's popular in YOUR area. Because from what Dave is sayin, it looks like not every brand is stocked everywhere. Maybe one brand is more popular than another where you live.
 
FWIW I have a Hobart 140 handler and recently bought a spool gun for it so I can also weld aluminum. I paid $490ish brand new with free delivery from B&R welding supply. Very nice machine, capable of flux and solid wire as well as aluminum. Welds thin sheetmetal and you can do the bigger stuff with multiple passes. Needed a small MIG machine to compliment my/our gargantuan Miller generator/stick welder.
 
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