Stick welder aint that bad. Yall make em sound like the devil or something. There are a lot of good things a mig has over a stickrod most being creature comfort things (no slag, no left over rod ends to clean up) but u can accomplish the same task with it as u can a mig welder. For me and my garage? Ill probably end up with a crackerbox cause I'm not gonna drop that kinda cash on a miller and not use it enough to get that much more benefit over the stick machine.

I say get what ur comfortable with, what u can afford without going cheap meaning go with dependable brand and gas option and bigg enough power wise, go with what's going to suite ur needs.

I welded my whole life with stick and did just fine... BUT there is now a small 220V MIG (Lincoln 175) in my garage now, and I won't use my arc welder unless the stuff I am welding is like 1/2" thick or a 100 lb hunk of cast iron. Then I'll probably end up begging Mike to weld it up with his big MIG.


X2 on the classes.

Now I will say the mig is definitly nice with the thinner stuff.

thanks all, still want a buzzbox.

A nice, auto-darkening helmet will greatly enhance your arc welding experience. I like to use a very bright halogen worklight to illuminate the work area.

Brand names are still the way to go with crackerboxes... I love Harbor Freight but not their welders.

I see a lincoln tombstone, almost new on D/FW Craigslist for $215

thanks tony i am looking at those right now. i want a dc unit to allow me to use other rods as well, thinking the lincoln ac dc 225/125. these are a bit harder to get a hold of but i am holding out.