Thread: How big-a-MIG?

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I bought a millermatic 175 to build my frame and I love it I beleive it was about $700. you can turn up the heat and burn a hole clean thru a 1/4" plate steel. I also have a spool gun for alum. it works great. Rember that MIG stands for Mabey Its Good so remember to work the puddle and tie into the base metal. D. Ridge

I was just trying to get this guy started. As I said, if your using it as a hobbist and you want to learn without spending thousands of dollars on a machine(s) then the Chinatown stuff works. If I was doing it for a living I would look at the brand names but, since I'm building a hot rod and want to spend all I can on the car instead of a welder (that I will probably use very little after I'm finished with the car) then cheaper is better. If you have an unlimited budget then, yeah, buy $10,000 worth of Snap On tools and about $5000 worth of welding equipment then see how much is left over to build the hot rod. As the man said, he doesn't want to over buy and just wants to learn. When you buy an expensive machine and you don't like it or don't use it, when you sell it you will never get anything close to what you paid for it. With the "cheaper" machines your loss is cut dramatically. It's your choice, the important thing is to look at all your options first before you make your decision. I looked at all the machines before I bought the Chinatown machine, I just didn't see the extra $100's that they wanted for the name brand stuff. Good luck, over and out.

Originally posted by Aster
I was just trying to get this guy started. As I said, if your using it as a hobbist and you want to learn without spending thousands of dollars on a machine(s) then the Chinatown stuff works. If I was doing it for a living I would look at the brand names but, since I'm building a hot rod and want to spend all I can on the car instead of a welder (that I will probably use very little after I'm finished with the car) then cheaper is better. If you have an unlimited budget then, yeah, buy $10,000 worth of Snap On tools and about $5000 worth of welding equipment then see how much is left over to build the hot rod. As the man said, he doesn't want to over buy and just wants to learn. When you buy an expensive machine and you don't like it or don't use it, when you sell it you will never get anything close to what you paid for it. With the "cheaper" machines your loss is cut dramatically. It's your choice, the important thing is to look at all your options first before you make your decision. I looked at all the machines before I bought the Chinatown machine, I just didn't see the extra $100's that they wanted for the name brand stuff. Good luck, over and out.

I hope I did not come off as somebody with an unlimited cash flow or a guy with an attitude, If I did I'm sorry.
I was just explaining my way of thinking.
The reason I was leaning to a higher quality machine was I have seen people buy bottom end machines that don't weld well, then the person thinks it's them, and they can't weld. learning to weld on a substandard machine can be very frustrating and damaging to the parts they weld.
When I started out 30yrs ago (seems like an eternity) I bought Craftsman tools, I quickly found out that in a production enviroment they would not hold up, neither would their boxes. I switched to Snap-on (on my dad's advice) tools. I have abused those tools and done things they were not designed to do, they keep coming back for more.
same goes for my welding equipment, the thing is, not all people will be content to stay as a hobbiest once they see what they are capable of and how much more thay can do once they learn (and enjoy) welding

clarke makes a great hobbyist welder mine is a 220, 30 - 180 amp flux or mig and works great,also has a 10 year warranty on welder ,i got welder, tank .gauges ,cart, and auto darkening helmet all for under 700 bucks including 89 dollars for shipping larry