I am looking for a welder for floorpan replacement an quarter repair and found this one.

Sears - Lincoln Electric Handy MIG Welder (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00920580000)

Anyone have any thoughts as to if it would suffice.

I havent welded (stick) in years and have never MIG welded.

Thanks,

And awesome site!
Rob

If you check the eastwood website , the exact setup is going for 329.99 not a bad deal on the sears site.

Welcome to TEAM CAMARO Rob!

I bought that exact same setup from Lowes a couple years ago for a little less. (they stopped offering it and I didn't want the floor model. He gave me a deal on a new one because I had to wait for them to get it shipped in!)

I've done everything on my Camaro with it no problem. It works like a charm. graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Definitely buy a bottle for it, and a decent helmet and gloves.

Maybe wait until Sears has no more in stock and are not going to carry it anymore.... you'll get an even better deal then. But you definitely can't beat that price, unless you want to spend $400 on one that you'll hardly ever use.

Personally, I don't like it. Yeah it may look like a deal, but, where is the wire feed setting. It doesn't have one. It is a constant feed, no adjustment. I have a Lincoln, not sure of the model number, but it has the adjustable feed, and I found this very important when welding thicker metals. I am sure MARTINSR will agree.

Scot

I would also look for something with an adjustable wire feed. Different types of welds, T, butt, etc, need different feeds. Also, I wouldn't pay extra for that helmet. Spend a little extra and get an auto-darkening helmet. I can't even quantify how much easier it is to see where you are striking the arc. Personally, I went with a 220V Lincoln because I wanted it to be more versatile. I can weld much thicker metal with the 220V. That comes in handy when making engine hoists, or a chassis jig. Finally, buy the bottle, but also have some fluz-core handy. If you have to weld outside and the wind is blowing, the flux-core is the only way to keep the shielding gas from blowing away.

You can make most of these welders work for you, but I am all for spending a little more to make it more versatile.

Ken

Originally posted by 67CruiseMasterCamaro:
Personally, I don't like it. Yeah it may look like a deal, but, where is the wire feed setting. It's right on the front where speed controls usually are.
:rolleyes:

For body work, that unit from Sears fits the bill to a T. It'll even do frame repairs.... anything you need to repair on a car for that matter.

If you want to build major projects, and already have 220 in your garage or shop, and have a need for a big welder more than 3 times a year.... of course that Lincoln won't work for you. For occasional use, or for anything you need to repair sheetmetal or a frame, you ain't gonna beat that price.

And that's not a helmet that comes with it.... it's a hand-held thing.

I have the Millermatic 135 with the variable volts and wire feed adjustment. So far I have no complaints and love the machine. I compared the Millermatic to the Lincoln 135; I found that the Millermatic was built for more of a commercial use (a lot stronger). Compare the two and you’ll see. I paid about $670 for my set up and $110 was for the bottle; I bought a bigger bottle so I wouldn’t be running out of gas for a while.

Stupid me. I didn't even look too close to the front panel. Yeah the wire feed is there. Duh! Ok, how about voltage settings, is that under that side panel?

I personally have the Lincoln Welder from Eastwood. Ive had a 120vac unit but this one is a 220vac. I have done all kinds of welding from body panels to building my rotessiere. Look at what you might do with it after you do your car.

Voltage settings... right next to the power switch.
4 settings... Low1, Low2, High1 and High2.
graemlins/thumbsup.gif
I'm tellin' ya, for the occasional welder that is repairing car bodies or small projects and doesn't have 220V in the shop, that Lincoln Handy MIG is the cats behind. Escpecially for that price. It's a name brand and you can get service and parts for it almost anywhere.

Everyone is always putting down these small 'home' welders that car hobbiests always ask about when they'll do the job just as well as a $600 mega-machine that you have to run 220V for. Some folks don't care about building skyscrapers in their backyards! tongue.gif

But Prostreet is right on the money.... think about what you might need a welder for in the future. That alone dictates what you buy and whether you wire your garage\shop for 220V.

thanks for the reply's!

I can really only see me using this for the car for the most part. maybe some repair work on some farm equipment kinda stuff in the future.

I'd really like to same the money on the welder and put it into the car.

I'll keep searching and reading.

thanks again.
Rob

That ad is a little confusing to me; it says continuous wire feed which to me means one speed. However, I did look again and see the knob for adjustment. To me, MIG means wire feed, so to say something about continuous means it's one speed. Anyway, I wasn't trying to say the 110V welders are useless. I was just saying that many times you end up wanting to do more with a tool once you have one. Right now, you may be thinking you only want to work on sheetmetal, but once you see how many things you can do with a welder, you will start doing more. The nicest feature about that welder though, is that you can take it anywhere there is a decent 110V outlet.

Here's another possibility for you as well: check the pawn shops. If you just want a cheap welder, go cruising the local shops. Tools are one of the first things to go when people need money.

Ken

maybe i dont fit the norm, but its safer to have more than to not, I bought the Millermatic 175 about, 2 hours ago, this thing is a beast.

I can def say I like it, but it was a gift redface.gif


If I had payed for it myself, I would have gone a whole lot cheaper, especially since now I am running 220 to my garage

Summit Racing has the same kit for $10 more and is in stock; Sears Online says they're out of stock. Looks like a good deal if used for DIYers.