My first welder for a green old guy

[powerscol]

Looking to buy my first new or near new welder. Been reading a lot of posts and still confused on what to get (normal for me). Need is for basic farm equipment repair and hobby use (making decorative yard art out of stainless steel and other thin metals. I can hire out the heavy stuff, but it would be good to be able to get 1/4 mild steel plate to attach to stuff.

My shop has a 100 amp service - probably 75 amp available over lighting and other draws.

I have been looking at some of the dual voltage models now on the market. I am a novice at this and my welding experience is doing it twice with a rod and getting the blob and hole results, so I need something that will be easy to learn on.

A few years back I helped out at a Scout camp where a guy had a unit he ran off of a 5K generator. It had two small gas bottles and was wire fed, and dual voltage. It was a fairly small unit. He said it cam with several attachments to weld different stuff. However I did not get the brand or model. He was fixing old steel door hinges and it was doing a great job. He also mended some steel tube fencing.

I can possibly get some training at the tech school that's 30 miles away, but don't know if this old man would fit in with the young kids

Looking for something simple....or am I fooling myself.

 

[Shield Arc]

Maybe the cheapest way to go is a small SMAW / stick welder, with a Tig rig. Along with a bottle or Argon. That way you could Tig weld or SMAW / stick weld your stainless steel projects.

 

[ThomasH]

If you are just starting out, I would look around for one of the used "tombstone" welders by Lincoln. There are two basic models - one that is AC only, and one that is AC/DC (output). They are plentiful and inexpensive (less than $200 around here), and reliable. A good beginning stick welder, which you can learn on, and decide whether you have more interest or need. If so, I would buy one of the inverter stick welders, like the Everlast PowerArc 200 (or 300 if you are doing repairs/fabrication on thick steel). They will give you more control of the arc, but to use the better control will require some experience through practice.

This is assuming that you plan on welding steel. If you are planning on other things such as aluminum or stainless, or thin sheet metal, you probably want to make a different choice (or buy two welders). If you have a large volume of steel to weld, you are probably better off with a MIG outfit instead of a stick welder.

 

[Shield Arc]

Here's a 10-GA stainless steel lap joint Tig weld I made with my Everlast PowerArc 200 and a Tig rig.
And a 10-GA stainless steel to 1/4" mild steel fillet weld I made with the same equipment.

 

[pat32rf]

My wife bought me a Lincoln 225 AC about 40 years ago. While it is still going I also bought a combination TIG, Plasma Cutter, DC Chinese unit last year and find that I use the DC more and more. Haven't tried the TIG yet....
For steel, farm repair, etc AC is pretty good and the buzz boxes are forever...

 

[flusher]

My first welder was a Hobart Stickmate LX AC/DC unit ($400 at Tractor Supply). Like you my shop had 220 volt/100 amp service. No problem running that welder. It's a basic stick welder that's great to learn on. I'd strongly recommend learning to stick weld first. Then go on to wire feed and TIG.

I used that Hobart to weld 1/16" stainless steel and also cast iron engine blocks as well as the usual mild steel welding.

Good luck.

 

[s219]

I did a lot of stick welding years ago, then nothing for about 20 years. I recently bought a wire-feed / Mig welder, and love it. I think it's a lot easier to get nice welds than I remember with the stick machine. So far I have only been using flux core wire, but I plan to try out shielding gas soon. But if I had to recommend something based in my rusty old experience, I'd say wire-feed / Mig for sure.

The other thing that amazes me is how well a 115V wire feed unit welds compared to the big old 220V tombstone stick welders I used to run. If you told me 20 years ago that a 115V welder with teeny 0.030" wire could penetrate 1/4" material and make it cherry red, leaving a nice bead behind, I'd never have believed it. I was biased to buy a 220V welder this time around until I tried someone else's 115V unit, and realized it could handle all my work and then some. I even have a 220V welder outlet in my workshop, but it's sitting unused. Maybe someday I will take advantage of it, but for now I plug the 115V unit into a 20A wall outlet and off I go. Very impressed.

 

[MH8675309]

Go with the stick welder. Once you learn that everything else is easier to learn and its a lot better for rusted or painted stuff - which you'll run into if you're working on farm equipment.

 

[Jim Timber]

If you're over 65, you might be able to audit a class at the tech college for free. In MN they allow seniors to do that and it'd be a good way to get your feet wet with some guidance before buying gear you might not like using just because it's the cheapest way to get into welding.

 

[Relic]

Go with the stick welder. Once you learn that everything else is easier to learn and its a lot better for rusted or painted stuff - which you'll run into if you're working on farm equipment.

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I'm thinking this is very good advice.