MIG Welding - Go for it OR Leave it to the Pros

[ITMike5.0]

OK, so I'm thinking of ding the welding work that my 72 Mach 1 project needs on my own.  New body panels, patches, etc.  I found an Eastwood MIG 135 welder online for $259 plus $20 for shipping.  It seems like a pretty good deal and a nice welder and they also have very informative videos online showing exactly how to use it and the proper way to MIG weld.

Eastwood MIG 135 for $259

So what do you guys think?  Go for it and add to my ever growing tool collection OR leave welding to the pros?

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

That depends upon you more than anything. MIG welding with gas is not difficult, but it takes practice to learn to set the machine up, keep it feeding wire smoothly etc. With a 1/2 day of practice you can lay down acceptable welds. If you will work with it on scrap for 3 or 4 days you will be able to lay down nice looking welds that are structurally sound. Learning to recognize proper penetration is important. With body panels you also have to be patient enough to go slow and not warp metal with excessive heat.

If you like to take shortcuts and find yourself satisfied with "good enough" you should let someone else do it.

 

[ITMike5.0]

That depends upon you more than anything.  MIG welding with gas is not difficult, but it takes practice to learn to set the machine up, keep it feeding wire smoothly etc.  With a 1/2 day of practice you can lay down acceptable welds.  If you will work with it on scrap for 3 or 4 days you will be able to lay down nice looking welds that are structurally sound.  Learning to recognize proper penetration is important.  With body panels you also have to be patient enough to go slow and not warp metal with excessive heat.

If you like to take shortcuts and find yourself satisfied with "good enough"  you should let someone else do it.

I would definitely spend some time practicing on scrap metal first, watching videos, etc.  I would consider myself closer to being a perfectionist than one who considers things "good enough"  :  

What do you think about the Eastwood MIG 135 welder?

 

[turtle5353]

Go for it. Its only metal. You can cut, grind, weld, repeat over and over again. Its not like carpentry, you cant piece a 2x4 back together. But metal can easily be put back together.

It is like anything else, takes time to get good.  And like Jeff said, practice practice practice. Eastwood welders are pretty good for the money. Easy to set up, and come with a handy chart inside the cover to help you get your basic heat ranges and wire speed for most thicknesses of metal. Then they are infinitely variable in settings because unlike the Lincoln welders the settings are dials and can be set anywhere. Lincoln welders can only be set at certain settings not in between.  I have the 220volt version Eastwood 175 mig. I love it, had it for years with little to no issues. Their customers support is top notch and comes with a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty.  I weld alot more than the average DIYer and that welder has served me well for years. I actually just ordered the new TIG200 digital from Eastwood.

 

[ITMike5.0]

Go for it. Its only metal. You can cut, grind, weld, repeat over and over again. Its not like carpentry, you cant piece a 2x4 back together. But metal can easily be put back together.

It is like anything else, takes time to get good.  And like Jeff said, practice practice practice. Eastwood welders are pretty good for the money. Easy to set up, and come with a handy chart inside the cover to help you get your basic heat ranges and wire speed for most thicknesses of metal. Then they are infinitely variable in settings because unlike the Lincoln welders the settings are dials and can be set anywhere. Lincoln welders can only be set at certain settings not in between.  I have the 220volt version Eastwood 175 mig. I love it, had it for years with little to no issues. Their customers support is top notch and comes with a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty.  I weld alot more than the average DIYer and that welder has served me well for years. I actually just ordered the new TIG200 digital from Eastwood.

Great info...thanks!  Given the fact that I have never done any welding before what other tools, welding accessories, etc will I need?  Obviously gloves, welding mask, some good clamps for welding body panels and patches...  I'm sure there is more I'm not aware of.

 

[turtle5353]

Go for it. Its only metal. You can cut, grind, weld, repeat over and over again. Its not like carpentry, you cant piece a 2x4 back together. But metal can easily be put back together.

It is like anything else, takes time to get good.  And like Jeff said, practice practice practice. Eastwood welders are pretty good for the money. Easy to set up, and come with a handy chart inside the cover to help you get your basic heat ranges and wire speed for most thicknesses of metal. Then they are infinitely variable in settings because unlike the Lincoln welders the settings are dials and can be set anywhere. Lincoln welders can only be set at certain settings not in between.  I have the 220volt version Eastwood 175 mig. I love it, had it for years with little to no issues. Their customers support is top notch and comes with a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty.  I weld alot more than the average DIYer and that welder has served me well for years. I actually just ordered the new TIG200 digital from Eastwood.

Great info...thanks!  Given the fact that I have never done any welding before what other tools, welding accessories, etc will I need?  Obviously gloves, welding mask, some good clamps for welding body panels and patches...  I'm sure there is more I'm not aware of.

You can get by with basic tools. but the more you do this, the more tools you will accumulate.  Definitely need angle air grinder with 3m roloc discs. 4" andle grinder. a set of body hammers and dollies. air saw. 3" air grinder. grinding face shield.  air flange/punch tool. duck bill pliers. spotweld cutter bits. well stocked welder cabinet with consumables.  tin snips. various size c clamps. wide mouth vise grip clamps. 90 degree magnets.  air hammer with sharp chisel bits.  Nice EXTRAS  would be  torches. plasma cutter.3ft sheetmetal brake. Obviously you don't NEED all this stuff but they are nice!!! 

The list could go on and on.

 

[midlife]

Why not inquire at a local Vocational Technical School and see if they offer welding classes? That's what I did before plunking down a lot of cash for my MIG welder. I wanted to know if I had the aptitude for welding. What I learned was: there are days when I can do no good, and to just simply walk away. And then there are days when I could do no wrong. Those were more plentiful than the bad days, so I plunged ahead. It was a good investment of my time.

 

[turtle5353]

Why not inquire at a local Vocational Technical School and see if they offer welding classes?  That's what I did before plunking down a lot of cash for my MIG welder.  I wanted to know if I had the aptitude for welding.  What I learned was: there are days when I can do no good, and to just simply walk away.  And then there are days when I could do no wrong.  Those were more plentiful than the bad days, so I plunged ahead.  It was a good investment of my time.

That's a good idea also!!

Another thing is...... I weld WAY better after a few Budlights!!!

 

[Don C]

A good reference book, that includes some metallurgy and welding, comes in handy. I have an older version of the "Machinery's Handbook" that is one of my favorites. It has an amazing collection of information.

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

And regarding equipment, get a good helmet the cheap solar powered ones don't give you as goos a view of the work. Seeing what is going on is crucial to getting a good weld.

No experience with the Eastwood. My Lincoln 135 works well for sheetmetal, but I wish I had a bigger 220 unit.

 

[ITMike5.0]

So do you think this would be a good first project if I do get into welding?  This is part of my fender apron and as you can see it's a bit of a mess.  If I were to purchase a repro section of this particular apron and cut out only what portion I actually need would this be pretty straight forward?  Cut out the cancer and replace with new, grind the welds and paint?

 

[turtle5353]

So do you think this would be a good first project if I do get into welding?  This is part of my fender apron and as you can see it's a bit of a mess.  If I were to purchase a repro section of this particular apron and cut out only what portion I actually need would this be pretty straight forward?  Cut out the cancer and replace with new, grind the welds and paint?

Easy fix. And do not need to buy the panel. Just bend your own patch. Patches with 90 degree bends like that are the easiest to learn on. Take a look at this build I did last winter. 

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-new-project-for-this-winter-71-mach-1?page=11

 

[ITMike5.0]

So do you think this would be a good first project if I do get into welding?  This is part of my fender apron and as you can see it's a bit of a mess.  If I were to purchase a repro section of this particular apron and cut out only what portion I actually need would this be pretty straight forward?  Cut out the cancer and replace with new, grind the welds and paint?

Easy fix. And do not need to buy the panel. Just bend your own patch. Patches with 90 degree bends like that are the easiest to learn on. Take a look at this build I did last winter. 

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-new-project-for-this-winter-71-mach-1?page=11

Nice...looks like my car!!  How would you like to come visit Florida for a few days??  Lol 

Where did you buy the sheet metal and what size/gauge did you use?  What did you use to shape it, your sheet metal brake?

 

[turtle5353]

So do you think this would be a good first project if I do get into welding?  This is part of my fender apron and as you can see it's a bit of a mess.  If I were to purchase a repro section of this particular apron and cut out only what portion I actually need would this be pretty straight forward?  Cut out the cancer and replace with new, grind the welds and paint?

Easy fix. And do not need to buy the panel. Just bend your own patch. Patches with 90 degree bends like that are the easiest to learn on. Take a look at this build I did last winter. 

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-new-project-for-this-winter-71-mach-1?page=11

Nice...looks like my car!!  How would you like to come visit Florida for a few days??  Lol 

Where did you buy the sheet metal and what size/gauge did you use?  What did you use to shape it, your sheet metal brake?

Florida sounds nice about this time!!!  I buy my sheetmetal from a local metal shop, but you can get same stuff but its more expensive from tractor supply, lowes, homedepot. I use 18-20 gauge.  I used my sheetmetal brake. But you can use duck bill pliers or 2x4's

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

Lacking a brake, I get the sheetmetal shop to bend metal for me If you can measure and figure out what you need, it tends to be fairly cheap to do it this way. Duckbill pliers are great for tweaking bends and bending smaller pieces.

 

[tony-muscle]

Go and buy the Mig. I was in the same shoes you are now when I started doing sheetmetal in my car. The first project was replacing the floor pans. I had no prior knowledge of welding. I bought Eastwood's 175 mig welded and with the amazing help of this forum I was able to complete that project and many more. Here is a link to the thread:

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-muscletang-needs-new-floor-pans-advice

In that thread you will see a lot of tips and the fun of learning the new skill. As mentioned, it takes a lot of practice. The most difficult skill is to weld sheetmetal because the thicker stuff is much easier. You won't regret it. It is worth the effort and you will feel much better that you did it yourself.

In regards to accessories, I ended up paying about the same in accessories than the welder. Including a helmet, cart, the tank, a jacket, a blanket, gloves, welding table (not needed, but good for practice and small jobs), etc. The blanket has been very useful to protect paint or other parts of the car when welding and grinding, plus used to protect my legs or body in occasions when the position puts my at risk of being burned. Here are a pair of uncommon tips that have been very useful: have a spray bottle with water on it nearby in case of flames (yes, I needed it once), and wear ear plugs to keep the splatter out of your drums (as you learn you will generate a lot of splatter).

 

[midlife]

Why not inquire at a local Vocational Technical School and see if they offer welding classes?  That's what I did before plunking down a lot of cash for my MIG welder.  I wanted to know if I had the aptitude for welding.  What I learned was: there are days when I can do no good, and to just simply walk away.  And then there are days when I could do no wrong.  Those were more plentiful than the bad days, so I plunged ahead.  It was a good investment of my time.

That's a good idea also!!

Another thing is...... I weld WAY better after a few Budlights!!!

Yeah, and the women at the local bar look a whole lot better as well! ::devil::

 

[red351]

To be honest my first mig was a 120v unit and it was lets just say it was ok, but if you could afford a better 220v unit. The voltage output is much more stable keeping the wire speed more constant and heat. Much less frustrating and far less grinding. It pays for itself in the short run.

 

[turtle5353]

To be honest my first mig was a 120v unit and it was lets just say it was ok,  but if you could afford a better 220v unit. The voltage output is much more stable keeping the wire speed more constant and heat. Much less frustrating and far less grinding. It pays for itself in the short run.

I agree 100%