i am looking to start learning how to weld. i want to purchase a portable welder but was wondering what type to get wirefeed, arc etc... yetti had a small lincoln to do my sliders at work and did a good job i also seen alans when paul was doing his tabs.

any info and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Don't get anything but Lincoln or Miller... I personally prefer Lincoln. (assuming you want a GOOD welder) a TIG (Tungsten inert gas) welder is for really small precise stuff and uses a gun, which provides heat and you use a rod to join the metal, a MIG (Metal inert gas) is a wire-feed welder which creates an arc as it continually feeds the wire through the gun, which is the welder I suggest you get. Stick welders are the same concept as a TIG welder but on a much larger scale. Over all, I would recommend you get a MIG welder, you can pick one up from Home Depot, Sears (I think), Prax Air (welding supply house) and i'm sure other places.


One other thing to consider.. Do you want to use the welder with or without gas? I've done both and have both and WITH gas is far better then without. But, that depends on if you plan on hauling this around or keeping it at home.. and it makes a difference on what type of wire you buy for the welder.

get a 110 gas welder. trust me. welding without gas SUCK 8ALL$. youcan find bargians like carazy on craigslist.

For christmas I bought mysel a wire feed gas lincoln love it and got an awesome deal at vern lewis on it. I have only used it once or twice but its a great welder. I agree with Geoff, do not get flux core, has a ton of spatter. Gas is worthe every penny!

I like to take to empty halves of coconuts and bang 'em together...

You can also get two blue tops and put some jumper cables and make a stick welder for 40$.

For a home mig welder to weld stuff on your Jeep I would recommend a welder that required 220 volts (Miller or Lincoln), in the 180-220 amp range. Defiantely a gas shield style like others had mentioned already. I would avoid the Lincolns that you can buy from Lowes or Home Depot, These are extremely light duty units

The little 110's work good for about an inch or so at a time but they just cant support the duty cycle of welding a good bead more than that.

If you want "portable" get the kind that is designed to bolt to your Jeep and learn how to arc weld. Or like mentioned above, 2 battery's, a pig tail, jumper cables and 6013 works pretty good as a trail welder. (Would work even better if you had proper leads) I know Katvans has a "ready welder" that is a portable mig that uses 2 battery's as well and works pretty good fr a "trail fix" but is bulky to store. Not cheap either I hear.

There's my .02......