Best welder?

[Hypergarage]

Obviously for RC chassises and stuff of that nature you don't need a $4k welder to get going but what would be best? I'm fairly new to welding and I would prefer mig or stick. Any ideas?

[ADlBOO]

Used. Depends on what material your planning on doing also.

[Reflektr]

I have a little Miller 140 suitcase welder that I use for buzzing together my creations. It can use gas or flux-core, has fine-adjust knobs, an auto set feature, and can even accept a spool gun for aluminum. Holds both big and small rolls. Don't let the size and the fact that it's 110 fool you, I've buzzed 3/16 plate steel with mine and it was beautiful. I think they may go for around $800 brand new with a cart, but you can find them on Craigslist for much cheaper. For the money you can't beat those little welders.

[1tonscout]

I would start off with an oxygen acetylene setup. Its the most versatile. You can also use it for welding, brazing, cutting and freeing up rusted/stuck bolts.

[allanon1965]

i have an eastwood mig 135 that is just amazing for the money...under 500 for welder and cart..can use gas or flux core wire....

[OILER]

I really like my Tweco 211i, outstanding versatility. Esab/Victor/Tweco have other modals to fit your price range. The 211i can run 110v or 220v. I have used it a lot on 110v as a stick and a flux cored wire, and have been impressed with it's arc. They can be configured to be a stick, mig or tig.

[Thinkcooper]

Originally Posted by 1tonscout

I would start off with an oxygen acetylene setup. Its the most versatile. You can also use it for welding, brazing, cutting and freeing up rusted/stuck bolts.

Yup ^^^

Oxy acetylene is extremely versatile, very controllable, as precise as can be and is a good trainer for learning how to stack dimes in TIG.

[C*H*U*D]

If this is just for RC, I'd give silver soldering a try first.

If you're using RC as an excuse to sneak a new welder into the house, ignore me.

[rngrchad]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

If this is just for RC, I'd give silver soldering a try first.

If you're using RC as an excuse to sneak a new welder into the house, ignore me.

[Hydrocarbon92]

A novice welder's (lack of) skill makes a much larger impact on welder performance. Outside of that, you'll have issues with a cheaper welder with 1/16" and thinner. After some practice I was able to use a 120v Lincoln (3200 pak?) to weld a gas grill's front handle (thin stainless) with the fluxcore wire they come with. I've used the cheap Harbor Freight MIG and it can be made to work with name-brand wire - gas shielding helps a lot too.

A cheap oxy torch will let you do a wide range of metals, particularly non-steel (alum, SS, brass). It's just a bit higher learning curve than silver soldering. Silver soldering only sucks because good silver solder is expensive, but on many materials it can be stronger than the base material. Oxy brazing really only gets it on vibration resistance, and most RC projects won't vibrate enough to be a prob.

[Jonnie Fraz]

Okay I will toss out my .02. Some very good welders have been put up here before me...The Tweeko 211i I have heard nothing but good things about it. The Lincoln 210mp is an amazing buy for a home shop. I have used this welder on a demo and it was amazing! At just over $1k it will weld almost anything a home hobbyist would need to do. The Miller Multimatic 200 is another great option, but the blue welder will run you double the price of the Tweeko.
As for Oxy-Acetylene that is a great way to go if you want to solder or braze. Welding takes a bit more finesse to master, much like TIG. If you can master Oxy-Acetylene welding you will have little issue getting good with TIG. I have heard very good things about the Smith jewelry torch set for fine work on RC chassis.

[TragOul]

I've been using an Eastwood tig 200 ac/dc for about 18 months now. I'd of preferred a Miller, but like many of us funds aren't always available for what we want.
Eastwood has a 3 year no questions asked warranty basicly and yes I did have to use it. The board went bad and would shut down the machine as soon as I stepped on the pedal. What caused it idk. Cheap tool or moist basement. Could of been either. Either way I drove the box in to my local Eastwood, they tested it and handed me a brand new one to walk out the door within 30 mins.
At 700 bucks give or take when adding gas, rods, etc I feel that it was well worth the money.

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[gmorg]

Name brand 110v are good.You said you wanted mig,just so you know flux core wire needs to be run on DC polarity.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by TragOul

I've been using an Eastwood tig 200 ac/dc for about 18 months now.

Have you used this on tube? Specifically 3/16" - 1/4" sizes?

[TragOul]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

Have you used this on tube? Specifically 3/16" - 1/4" sizes?

Yes I have. I mostly use solid rod, but when I use tube I keep the amps lower and use silicon bronze rods. It's almost like tig brazing. I have used regular 70 series rods for tube and thin Guage sheet but the bronze flows much better.

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[TragOul]

By the time I read all the way through the post I had forgotten you said you wanted mig or stick. This is only a tig machine. Welding tips and tricks guy did a couple reviews on an Everlast model similar to the Eastwood that offered a stick option in the same general price range. I went with the one I did cause Eastwood shop was a 30 min drive and with going with a non name brand machine I preferred a local distribution incase other warranty issues.

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[Waitwhatsthat?]

Best Stick welder ever made. It's gotta be 200 years old, but still burns rod like it's new.

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[Correll]

I have a lincoln 140 from lowes, around 700$. I highly recommend it to anyone. Oxy-acetylene would be good also but takes some pratice, unless you are brazing parts together. If possible I would recommend a combo 110/220 v welder. Best of both worlds.

[dittohead]

I have a miller 175amp machine running .023" wire and shielding gas which I use to tack parts together. I finish the joints by silver soldering with a jewellers map/oxygen setup. Silver soldering makes for a way cleaner joint in the end that is very strong

[Kaler]

Had a Lincoln for quite a few years,fried the board in it so I gave the klutch 140si mig a try and love it. I actually think it does better than my Lincoln did. $379.99 and free shipping at northern tool, hard to beat that deal.