Welder advice?

[loudoun]

It is time to delve into learning to weld and replace floor pans/frame rails on some of my 240Zs.  I have a rotisserie that I picked up locally as part of a trade, and now is the time to look for a welder.  I am looking at the Millermatic 211 as a possibility, and a one-year old one is for sale locally.  I wanted to ask you guys with welding experience (especially if you have a Miller 211):  is this a good machine to learn to weld on and can you 'grow' with it as you learn, or will you be looking for another machine down the road.  I have a spare parts body to practice on before I touch a project car.  Thanks!

[crayZlair]

I have a 211 and I like it! The welder has been good for everything that I have wanted to weld. You will want to use 220 volts if you have it available, and stay away from flux-core wire. Use the solid wire and CO2/Argon shield gas. It will mig-weld aluminum if you get the optional feed gun and proper shield gas, but I do not have that setup.

[heyitsrama]

+1 on the co2/argon blend, someone advised me to use that from this forum, my welds are way cleaner.

I have a Lincoln 3200 HD for my mig work it performs very well, but i'm thinking of getting a Everlast 210 EXT for Tig work, plus the AC/DC will let me switch between metals and do other work.

There are some Everlast units that can do MIG/TIG/Plasma cutting, they seem like a good deal if you are looking for one machine that can do a lot of work.

Consider taking a class at your local community college, I was able to learn a lot, and got plenty of time under the hood (saved a lot of money on material).

[Patcon]

The Millermatic should work just fine. It will weld up to 3/8". You will have to get into some big metal to out grow it. Shield gas is a must! I run 0.24" wire. I find it is a little easier to get the current right and requires less current to puddle. It can give me feed problems but I am running a little larger Hobart machine

[Mark Maras]

Co2/argon is my choice for shielding gas but pure co2 will work as well as the mix. I used it for years in one of my jobs. I've found there's a bit more splatter to clean up but the big plusses are the cost and you get more co2 in a bottle than co2/argon mix. It was explained to me by an employee of Airgas that when you add argon to co2, the gas will no longer compress into a liquid. Using argon/co2 you'll have less clean-up but higher costs.