Okay guys...you have done this longer than I have. What are your opinions regarding arc welders and spot weld guns....sounds good to me but I'm no expert.

I say YES! :)

Are you looking to buy one Mary Beth ?

Do you have a set budget? Do need any particular features? Do you have 110 or 220 available where you would use it?

If you can fill in a little we can help you pick out one to suit your needs.

Let me know and I'll try to help;
John M

220 in garage, used strictly for body work on both cars. Budget is limited. Need to spend as little as possible but still be able to use as needed. Main function would be for spot weld gun so I can take on some of the welding on my car (I can't weld to save my life) and hubby can use mig welder on his car and where needed on mine.
The main goal is for me to be able to do some of the major work myself.

Mary Beth:

It's good to know you have higher voltages in you garage, that gives you more flexability in selecting tools :thumbsup:

The choice of welder is really a personal experience sort of thing - if you've used a certain brand/type then you may have a stronger leaning towards that brand welder - at least that's true of me and the majority of my friends :o
I'm a 'True Blue' (yes pun intended) Miller fan :yes:
I started out using an old Lincoln welder that used plug-selected outputs and was a royal pain to set-up and get good welds with. Somehow I still managed to do decent auto work with that POS for 10-15 years :D But, I think it gave me that proverbial 'bad taste in the mouth' for Lincoln for years to come :(
The first "new" welder I bought was a Miller - and I haven't looked back. They build a great welder for a good price and I've never had one fail - ever. I'm sure they can have the same issues any product can during it's life span - but I've never had one.
There have been a few threads on here discussing the differences (all very minor) between the different 'hobby' style welders offered by the major companies and they all seem to have fans and 'non-fans' but, the reasons are nearly all based on preferences and not major shortcomings of any of the units.
Miller also makes the slightly lower priced "Hobart" welder line of products. I did some quick tacks with one at a local shop and it seemed to work fine. Since the internals are nearly identical (acourding to the rep.) I wouldn't see why one of these would be any different than selecting a 'Miller' branded unit.
The Miller/Hobart 125/140 (newer model) are 110VAC units. The Miller 180 and Hobart 187 are their current 220~240VAC offerings.
I don't see why you would really need more than the 110VAC unit for the majority of welding you will be needing to do for restoration and panel replacement work. I use my Miller 125 99% of the time for resto work. It will handle all the welding required with the exception of some of the thicker frame welding I do. Having the 220VAC(+) unit will give you more 'cycle/duty-time' but, I rarely find any long duration weld beads to run and even when I have its handled it just fine without shutting down ...
You may want to invest in the larger units, but I really don't think you will find it necessary for you needs.

As for the Spot-welder, I have found little use for one. I have a good friend that has one and I borrowed it to use on some patch panel work. I found it was slow, cumbersome, produced poor qualitly welds in numerous locations -where it didn't fit just right and required almost as much dressing work with a grinder prior to filling as a good MIG weld did - so I returned it and finished up with my MIG ... Some others may have more experience with them and know of a use that I don't forsee being needed for common resto work.
I worked for many years in manufacturing where the use of spot-welders were necessary to assemble vehicles and products. They do have their use in computer controlled assembly lines. As always JMHO's.

Prices vary a lot depending on the supplier. You can find some good welder packages on-line with free delivery

There is some interesting information in this link to eBays reviews. It discusses the welder types and selection.
Welder reviews on eBay-Giudes - http://reviews.ebay.com/BUYING-A-MIG-WELDER_W0QQugidZ10000000001233749

Here are some links to welder suppliers on line:
Miller 140 - http://store.cyberweld.com/mi140migwewi.html
Hobart 140 - http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=500505

Hobart 125 - http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=500487

Miller 180 - http://store.cyberweld.com/mil175witecc.html
Hobart 187 - http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=500527

The type of wire and your shielding gas use also will play a good part in getting good welds and results with you welder. Here is a link to an older post discussing Welders and JW Harris "20 Gauge" welding wire - http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=89132&highlight=welding+wire
You can try a 'search' for welders to see if there is info in other posts you can use.


And here is a link to another forum I visit thread on the wire type I use for panel replacement work - http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/new-welding-wire-27901-5.html

Hope some of this helps;
John M.

Thanks for the information John. I will go back and re read the links, but I wanted to say thanks before I forgot.

My husband can weld. I tried, with his MIG welder, and, well, let's just say things didn't go well. I was kind of thinking that if I could figure out that 60.00gun then my husband can get back to working on his car.