[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I have a chance to pick up a new Campbell Hausfeld welder real cheap. It's still in the box never used. Is this welder good enough for light panel work? Most of the sheet metal I am putting on my car is NOS. The only place I need to fix rust wise is between the trunk lid and the convert top opening. And this is not much. but I would rather weld in a piece of metal as backing than try fiberglass. Here is the info on this welder:

MIG Flux 80 wire feed welder
Model: WG202000AV

Wire feed welder provides an instant arc, making it easier to use

MIG kit is included, giving you expanded capabilities and increased satisfaction

115-Volt Input lets you plug in anywhere, saving cost of wiring for 230 volt

30-70 Amp Output welds 24g – 3/16” steel, making it easy to match heat to metal


Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I have a chance to pick up a new Campbell Hausfeld welder real cheap. It's still in the box never used. Is this welder good enough for light panel work? Most of the sheet metal I am putting on my car is NOS. The only place I need to fix rust wise is between the trunk lid and the convert top opening. And this is not much. but I would rather weld in a piece of metal as backing than try fiberglass. Here is the info on this welder:

MIG Flux 80 wire feed welder
Model: WG202000AV

Wire feed welder provides an instant arc, making it easier to use

MIG kit is included, giving you expanded capabilities and increased satisfaction

115-Volt Input lets you plug in anywhere, saving cost of wiring for 230 volt

30-70 Amp Output welds 24g – 3/16” steel, making it easy to match heat to metal


Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Larry Navarro]

i just bought a new gasless mig welder from Harbor-Freight for $160. its a good setup for a novice welder. it comes ready to use with a spool of flux-core wire, safety shield and all instructions. use with 120vac-15amp circuit.
seems to work pretty well but since this is my first time to weld its a little tricky to lay down a nice bead.
checkout their website for complete info.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44567

[Rick Lightfoot]

Ilove my 120 VAC Lincoln Weld Pac wire fed welder with MIG and TIG capabilities. It has been a trouble free unit for the 7 years I have had it.

[Jim Doran]

The lincoln weld pak series is not capable of TIG welding. Most TIG units start at about $1500. Tig is a derrivative of ARC welding. I have never seen a combo MIG/TIG.

All of the above welders only allow flux(gasless) core welding. Messy and not clean looking. The lincoln weld pak can be upgraded to allow Gas welding instead of flux core, I think it is about $125 for the upgrade.

I am not a body work man, but all of the welding I have done, flux core does not compare to gas/wire welding. The only good reason to use flux core is when outside in a windy situation.

I would recommend the hobart handler 135 or Miller Millermatic 130xp. Both are around $425.

[ August 27, 2002, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: jrdoran ]

[Rick Lightfoot]

Thats odd... when I bought the welder over 6 years ago, I bought a special conversion kit to allow for aluminum welding. I have made some aluminum brackets from aluminum sheet stock using this setup. It uses Argon, due to its good cleaning action and penetration profile as the shielding gas. It seemed to work well for small jobs. I may be incorrect, since that may not be classified as true "TIG welding".

[Jim Doran]

Not odd at all. Aluminum welding does not equal TIG welding. TIG is done w/a tungsten electrode and is very precise and slow. AL welding can be done w/MIG, however not as precise / clean as TIG. I have done AL with both. TIG is the gold standard in all welding, especially AL. It typically has a foot pedal to allow very precise control of heat. MIG does not allow 'dynamic' control of heat. You make the selection and then let er rip. A good TIG unit varies the heat throughout the entire process.

For most automotive uses, a good gas capable 110 volt gas capable welder is perfect, the weldpaks are an adequate choice provided the GAS kit is added w/regulator.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

WOW!!!! Thanks for the all the responses. As usual car guys are great at helping out others. maybe we should run the country... LOL

[Rick Lightfoot]

Thanks much Jim.

[Tripower455]

I would recommend the hobart handler 135 or Miller Millermatic 130xp. Both are around $425.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have a Millermatic Challenger MIG, 230 volts/ 40-170 amps and I LOVE IT! Ditto the above sugestions about flux core. I've tried both, and there is a huge difference in weld quality when using the gas vs. flux core. If you are using NOS parts, I'd definitely get a MIG!

[Motornoggin]

Millermatic here! It's the 130 amp version. Very nice! Variable control for feed/speed AND current. It welds thin sheetmetal very well with little distortion and will weld 1/4" single pass! Very nice torch as well. Mine came with a regulator and mobility cart for $500. It's so easy to use, I tought my father how to mig weld with it. He has been a welding fool ever since! I graduated from a Schumacher Turbo mig 125. It was a decent unit, but only had variable control of feed/speed, only four settings for current. I might go as far as to add that flux core wire feed welding pretty much sucks, the upgrade to gas is well worth it.

[Tripower455]

Variable control for feed/speed AND current.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The variable current is a nice touch. They added it to the Millermatics the year after I got mine!

Lincoln has a cool spot weld timer on their Millermatic equivalants. I just use the counting method!

[dj21502]

i have a hobart 135. i love it. i got the gas set up. with some easy changes it will run gasless. miller and hobart are the same company anymore.i use the mig for welding up to 3/16". i have a old lincoln 225 stick for anything heavier. lincoln has a great customer service dept. but what ever welder you use buy a auto-darkening helmet. you won't regret it.

[61-63]

The welder you mention will do it fine. Just practice on scrap several times before you do the real piece. As a sometimes welder I can tell you first hand that it pays to splatter metal around for 10-15 minutes or so on scrap before I get to the job itself.

[poks]

are there any good books to read or anything about welding? ive never done any welding nor watched anybody weld. ive seen it on tv but thats it. i got some rust in a quarter panel and behind the back window on my Goat that id like to make go away. thought id take some lessons at the local voc or something. im 21 so i can still learn new tricks, thanks

[Johnp]

Books and such may be helpful, but not much different then seeing it done on TV. In my opinion the only real way to learn how to weld is to own a welder then practice and weld often.

John

[poks]

sounds like a good enough reason to buy one. now if i only had a chevy to practice on...

[Tom Vaught]

Calling Larry Davis Master Welder! Tom V.