Alright,

I was looking in some pawn shops here in arkansas. What is a good unit or type of unit for the beginner/hobby welder. All I will need it for is welding exhaust components together.

Or should I skip this and just get the cat installed at a shop. I am one of those "If I am gonna pay for labor, Might as well use that cash to buy the tool/unit that allows me to do it myself." That is how i have accumulated an array of tools over the past 7 years.

--Dan

P.S. I know nothing about welding and I could not tell the difference between an arc/mig or tig welding unit. I know what a stick weld unit looks like. Most look like a jumper battery/trickle charger.

P.P.S Don't tell me to get a car battery, jumper cables and sticks. i will surely electrocute myself.

 

i'd find a good used 110 lincon wire feed, they'er cheap and usually last a long *** time and they'er good up to 1/4 inch steal.

 

lincoln = miller killer....

dunno much about the smaller welding rigs, we use sa200 pipeliners and classic 300d's on our jobsites mainly...

 

oh yeah the lincoln compact mig is great. pick you up an auto darkening helmet off ebay for about 50 bucks and practice practice practice. They are easy to change the wire and once you get it dialed in its easy to change over to exhaust tubing, just keep your voltage med to high and your wire speed around 4 or 5. practice is key here. also try to go to a local welding supply shop and rent you a bottle full of gas, tank rental is usually around 5 dollars a month and a refill is twenty or you can buy the tank for about a 100 bucks. have fun

 

A small MiG welder would be best. Just don't try to weld above the rating, it is possible to lay a perfect looking MiG bead that has no strength to it when trying to weld without enough power.

 

Man I love welding, and have been doing it since I was like 13 with my dad's arc welder, and did lots of MIG and TIG with stainless at my old work.... And all I have atm is a little 110 MasterCraft arc welder from Canadian Tire, I've used it for welding exhaust on my truck and hyundai.... it works good if you don't need to do a lot of serious welding, I wouldn't try to build a stock car with it or anything, but it would probably be all you'd need if that's all you'll be doing with it

 

this scares me. WHat metal should i practice with? I can probably get some scrap somewhere.

 

steal, plates tubing anything you can get your hands on thats rated for your choice of welder.

 

Maybe I can just rent a machine. Then find someone who works for beer.

 

gotta practice. that is the key. try welding two pieces together and try to break them apart. thats the best way to see if your any good