Stick, Mig or Tig

[grsthegreat]

I have a 120 volt mig welder with the small bottle of gas. This is perfect for small farm repairs.....ive used it to re-weld hold down bolts on water troughs, fixing horse welded tube fencing, etc. That said its good to maybe 1/8" for good, proper welding. But being 120 volts i can take it anywheres.

For thicker metals i use my Lincoln ac/dc reverse polarity stick welder......"Old Shakey".

Shes a good old girl, very dependable and lays down a great weld using rev polarity and 7018 rod. In 16 years of using her Ive never had a weld break on me. Mind you i don't build trailer frames......but Ive built many things that get stressed alot.

If i come into some extra spending $$$ i really want to buy a good 220 mig welder like a Lincoln 255 or a miller 350.....but i need to save up some serious scratch to get that.

 

[Shield Arc]

Let the shopping begin. :thumbsup:

Lincoln 305 G - Google Search

 

[RPW]

I've been fascinated by welding for quite awhile and over the years have acquired a number of machines. I also have farm property to maintain/build on and would look into a couple of machines.
Welder/generator - easy to setup, can take it with you out to the back 40, plus all the other reasons that have been mentioned. Unless you have deep pockets you will be looking at a gas machine as diesel driven welders are about 50% more expensive up front but will be cheaper in the long run if maintained well.
Flux / MIG - You can get by on a smaller unit to use for mainly sheet metal work. Flux for when you have to work outside and MIG for inside work. IMO I'd look at a simple low cost Flux machine and a separate MIG machine. The reason being is you "should" change liners when you change processes.

O/A - For your cutting needs.

These choices would be IMO a good cost effective setup.