I am looking at buying a mig welder and I'm curious as to what minimum amperage I need to weld sheet metal on my cutlass. My buddy sez nothing less than a 180 in his experience but I'd like to get some feedback from other bodywork veterans.

 

I have a Lincoln 135Amp, 110 volt works great! Ive had it about 7 years now. It will easily weld 1/4 inch too. I think they have a 175 amp now. I am completely satisfied with mine. I use a mix argon/CO2

 

I'm no body work veteran, but I bought a 135 amp 110 volt mig welder from Eastwood and it will easily weld up to 1/4" stock with no problems. For the occasional welder, 135 amp is enough IMO.

 

I too have the Eastwood135 welder and had no problems welding a new floor pan and also welded patches on the frame mounts. I've been very please with the little Eastwood. It's a little pricey so watch for a sale.

 

I've had a Lincoln 140 for 4 years, does the trick just fine and doesn't need a 220 outlet. I ran flux in it the first 2 years but then graduated to Argon/CO2 mix. ha

 

You gotta remember cycle \ duty times. I have a 125 here and after 30 minutes it starts welding like crap. I borrowed a member's miller 130 that worked on regular 110 outlets and we where welding on 1/8 in. Plate for about 2 hrs before the welder started to weld like poop which meant it needed to cool down. Next on my list of tools to buy is a nice welding set up. Miller finances I belive and so does snap on. A good welder is a solid investment. I do body work and do my share of rust repair so it will pay off.

 

I have a Millermatic 130 that works great. Not sure you need to spend that kind of $'s though. I also have a AHP Alphatig 200X that I paid way less for and I'm extremely happy with it. It will also stick weld. There is a place for mig but I have never gotten any good at welding sheet metal with it. My Tig makes me look like good.

 

I have not learned to tig but I cam mig sheet metal pretty good. There is also a company called HTP our of illinois and their welders are real nice its a new company and their prices are still way under most big name brands.

 

Hey
I bought the Lincoln Handy Mig thru Summit for a really nice price, it goes both ways w/ gas or flux and works on 110V. I have replaced the interior floors and 1 piece trunk floor w/ no problems at all, plus you can buy the new tips, misc parts and both kinds of wire at Lowes and Home Depot. Good Luck.
Thanks Ron

 

Thanks for the input, gents.
What made my decision for me was price and availability. Today I bought a 'Chicago Electric' 180 amp unit brand new for under 300 bones. I know it's an off shore brand but it will suit my skill level (zero) for now as well as my basic needs for now. The equivalent Lincoln Electric or miller would be a grand where I live.