Killgore Trout

I have no 220 available, but more and more as i work on my rig i find myself muttering "damn if i could only weld"

I dont have any welder buddies near by, but i think I am reasonably bright and good with my hands, so... why not pick up a welder without investing tooo much and step up my game by learning to weld.

Ive been sorta scared off of the obvious HF 100 buck welder option, i dont want to be soured on welding by a janky machine.

right now i am eyeing a used Lincoln sp135 wire feed machine on CL, seller wants 250 for the machine on a cart w regulator but no bottle, i think if i showed up with 2 hundred the little lincoln would be mine. is this a decent value and good first welding machine choice?
first big project would be bumpers, probably using 1/8 thick square tube, fixing track bar, fabbing a couple locking fishing pole holders for the truck bed lol. Im sure once i get welding the project ideas will begin to flow.

so there it is, should i get the "Lincoln Electric SP135 Plus" if not, give me some options to look out for, machines to avoid etc. thanks.

hitsua

Keep in mind I have no welding experiencing, however I have a similar problem as you. Spent a lot of time looking at reviews and trying to find a reasonably priced welder. Here is what I found:


$500, runs on 110v, has great reviews.

Killgore Trout

Yea i read a heads up 110 mig comparison published by Popular Mechanics and that welder got best over all, while im sure it is worth the price, 500 is a bit much for testing waters IMO, If i buy a decent used one, in the event that i find out i hate welding, i am more likely to be able to recover my investment.

combatcarl

That little Lincoln is identical to one at my work, used for jobs where they have to cart it up on the roof or silos. I'm no welder, but I figured out the basics in about 30-40 minutes, screwing around on some scraps. I know the duty cycle is low on them, but for simple projects, I think I'll snatch one up eventually. The $100 HF option isn't terrible, my brother has one, about 4 years old, still lays down weld. Was a good learning tool for him.

lobukbuild

250-200 bucks, thats a good deal for a lincoln sp135. ive owned one for quite some time now and its still going strong. my brother inlaw has the hf rig and it works just fine for his projects. one other unit to consider is the eastwood welder. theyre a catolog and online seller (google it) im not saying it is but they look alot like a lincoln with their eastwood label on it. if its still available id grab that sp135 on cl before some one else does! i picked up an alumunum conversion kit for my sp135 and can change it back and forth in a few minutes.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Those little Lincolns were great little welders.

When they first came out back around 1989 I dragged one all over repairing Mack truck cabs.

Other then normal consumables no problems other then getting a piece of wood stuck in the fan. The only time it shut down.

Never once hit the duty cycle.

You do notice when the line voltage goes up and down.

Running it on it`s own branch circuit is a must.

It can be real frustrating trying to teach yourself bad habits so easy to pick up.

If your going new the Hobarts are good welders.

Killgore Trout

Well, i contacted the seller and he sold the machine a few days ago and just decided to leave the ad up. The hunt continues.

Crazy_Guy97

Get a Hobart welder 110 thats what i use.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Also keep in mind most 120VAC welders of a good brand sell fast.

Are you renting a place and can`t get a 230VAC line run to the garage.

I was going to say the Century manufactured welders sold under many names are not to bad.

I have one since around 89 still the go to welders for small little jobs.

Killgore Trout

Yea i rent, and i have a detached garage built in the 50's with no 230, i still have glass screw in fuses in the panel! even my fridge, stove and dryer are 120V , so no way of stealing power there either. a generator may be a solution, or an onboard welder, then my truck could build its own bumpers
i know i stole your graphics....but i was literally drinking coffee and scratching my head.

Stetson_md

I had a 2nd hand harbor freight $100 welder... lasted 2 years of hard use, welded good but the feed system is weak

Killgore Trout

ok, next targets are a Clarke 130en, apparently an italian made unit similar to forney for 175, or a miller sidekick for 250 with a bottle of gas and regulator but no hose from reg to machine
UPDATE: Im pulling the trigger on the miller, the clarke is cheaper, but i feel that help, consumables and parts will be easier to come by with a miller, plus the value of the regulator and gas bottle included with the miller seems to compensate for the extra 75 bucks it costs over the clarke. A gas hose seems like an easy enough part to aquire. Im excited! woo now off to do the deal!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

The local INweld Salesmen was in seeing if we could service their house brand Northstar .

From what I saw in the Dog and Pony show who can say.

So new I don`t see any online yet.

Killgore Trout

BAM! ... am i in the club now?

going to get the gas hose, then try and practice on a few pieces of angle iron i have laying around, if this thing is up to the challenge, my suspension options may have just opened up (sorry rough country, but 63's and ruf are looking more possible now) I suppose welding a cart for the welder is in order too. I need to find a steel scrap yard near by, head spinning! new toys new toys!

lobukbuild

good choice. i used a friends miller and really liked it. so smooth. if i was going to buy another it will probaly be a miller. now calm down and go weld something!

Killgore Trout

I cobbled together a hose at ace hardware since the welding supply was closed. The thing has a giant spool of .23 wire but there is light surface rust on it, never the less i fired it up, unsure of what to set the gas pressure feed rate and power level at and i was able to butt weld two chunks of 1/8 thick angle together that i had to beat hard with a hammer to break apart, penetration was 1/2 way, but again, i only had the thing in hand for 5 minutes. Im happy with the feel, awesome feed, very even and responsive, it was too bright for my crappy lens i was seeing spots for an hour after but over all i think i did very well for my buck. Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement!

aztoyman

If you do any welding out doors you may want to pick up some .030 flux core wire. I use my 110 volt Miller for my out of garage work now that I have a 220 volt unit for in the garage.


Any little breeze will blow away your gas shielding and your welds will suck.


Don't forget to reverse your polarity if you do get some.

Killgore Trout

Ive been thinking about that, while practicing i have a good sized work bench inside the garage, but its more of a small workshop than an actual garage, meaning i can't pull my truck inside so any on rig welding must be done outside. Im headed down to the welding supply tomorrow for some spare contact tips, now since im set up for .023 solid wire, and i know flux core is inherently thicker, aside from polarity and wire tension, do i need to change any wheels in the feeder?..i should probably just ask the welding supply guys, but i like to show up having done my homework.

aztoyman

My old Miller had two grooves in the drive roller. One for solid wire and one for flux core. The solid was just a V groove and the flux was bigger with serrations.

I just had to loosen a little set screw with an allen wrench and flip the roller over.

Its a good idea to blow out the liner with compressed air whenever you change wire. Get some contact tips for the larger flux wire too.

I know most people like to run solid wire and gas as do I but, the 110 volt welders do better with the flux core IMHO.

Look at a cross section of solid wire VS a cross section of flux core.030 of solid is well....solid. .030 Flux core just has an outer edge of steel....a hollow tube with flux in the center.

Easier to burn with a small welder and you can use it out in the wind. You just have a little slag to clean off the weld.

I built my truck and plenty of other stuff using flux core in my 90 Amp Miller. The solid just didn't work that well on thicker material with such a small machine. I did like .023 solid on sheet metal though.

scuba

That's a good deal for the 135. I think I paid that for mine around 5 years ago.
I run flux core in mine though. The flux core wire allows you to weld thicker material compared to gas. On a 110 machine it makes all the difference.

Lincoln's are nice machines. I've ran mine through it's paces and it hasn't quit. I built my whole rear bumper with that machine.

I say go for. If the seller doesn't budge off of $250 don't stress.