as of recently, ive decided that i would love to learn to weld. ive convinced my gf to buy me a welder for xmas so i can tinker around and maybe eventually put a torch to my rig myself instead of paying someone to do it.

Thing is, im not sure what all types of welding jobs i would be looking at in the world of XJ mods and fab. likewise, im not 100% sure what kind of welder would be worth the investment for long term use. i seem to hear alot about the Lincoln 225, anyone care to lend a hand?

 

Can't go wrong with either a Lincoln or a Miller. I have a Lincoln WeldPak 155 and have it setup for shielding gas (MIG). You need gas for clean, deep welds. It'll do 1/4" in a single pass and is good for anything I do. It's a 220V unit which runs comfortably on a 2P20A breaker (I know...but it's on #8 wire and was just laying around).

 

This should be in the Fabrication Forum, theres a lot of discussion about this there and a few threads too. Look in there..

Miller versus Lincoln...Ford versus Chevy.. just depends who you talk to, but most other welders I know have Millers and Millers are still U.S. made. If you can avoid one with preset ***** do(for ex. voltage that says 1,2,3, or 4). The more control you can have the better and easier welding with a mig is. Do your homework and know what your getting. The miller website has a ton of info on picking a welder and even tutorial videos.

Big warning, don't use anything with methylene chloride in it unless you have a fresh air hood. Methylene chloride can react at high temps around the arc to form phosgene gas...same thing the ****'s used. Messed up part is you can feel fine, and then die a day later after exposure which only needs to be a very very small minuet amount.

 

2X on Miller.... my mig and my Tig are both Miller.