[bddisi]

I bought a Hobart Handler 187 mig welder today. I will be welding 3/16 to 1/4 in plate. Any tips or advice on this. Thanks.

[wannabexj]

Not much to say other than I love mine, still learning though!

[bddisi]

I shopped around and the best price I could find for this unit was $599.00 at Tractor Supply. I told the manager I was trying to stimulate the business in his store and that if he could help a brother out with the price of the welder that I would also buy a Dewalt 4 1/2in grinder. So he gave me the welder for 579.00. So I purchased the grinder also. I was very pleased with the price, and since I am boycotting Walmart, I will be buying all of the dogs food and other stuff there too.

[wannabexj]

Very, very nice!

[NJMike]

You got a really good deal.

[Lifesgoodhere]

I got mine 187 for $500 from T&S a few years ago, got everything except the bottle. I wonder why they raised the price?

[monty97]

When the price of steel and copper goes up so does the price of the welder. I will be buying a hobart next week as well.

[bddisi]

The TS everyday price is 599.99. This was the cheapest I found. You can also deal with them on the price. Now I am fixing the power supply. I have a pile of scrap steel, and am looking forward to practicing. My buddy just purchased a tig welder, so between the two, theres gonna be a whole lota jeep parts fabricating going on.
My list is long. Axle truss for rear 4 link, control arm bracket for upper front for 3 link, rear outward frame shock mounts, shorten front bumper, tube fenders, tube style doors, aluminum dash cluster for gages, add on to existing roll cage. On and on. I realize you need more than a welder for some of this stuff, but I have a buddy that works at a local fab shop and they have all the stuff needed to fill in the gaps. Brake press, tubing benders, etc. I am sure every one starts out with big plans. I will just put all of this on my mind, and stop taking my O.C.D. meds.

[conrasm]

I bought mine at TSC when they sent out the coupons. They do it periodically, but I think I got an additional 10% off. Price may have been $589 at that time, but I can't be certain, but it was decent price in the end.

If your welding 1/4", you may need to do multiple passes with flux core on the 187. 3/16 will be single pass with or without gas. There's a sticker on the panel for recommendations for the settings depending on thickness of steel, wire thickness and whether or not your using shielding gas.

[monty97]

You will get a slightly stronger weld with the flux core, it will just take a little longer to learn to put down nice looking welds while using flux.

[dickensheets]

My best advice is to get an arc welding book at the library or amazon and educate yourself.

Second, get a bottle of 75/25 at your local Airgas or similiar place. I know it's more $$$ but you won't be sorry. I use 80cf bottle and it will last me 8-12 months of garage mischief.

Then practice - and don't forget to have fun!

[Nubster]

I just got a Hobart Handler 140 from Sears. It was 20% off so it seemed like a great deal. It is my first welder so I have lots to learn. I will be getting a gas bottle for it as well locally. I wish I could have gotten a bigger one but I needed something 110v and the 140 was the biggest I saw that ran off 110. First project will be new floors in the XJ.

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally Posted by monty97

You will get a slightly stronger weld with the flux core...

True but that's only an issue on big stuff when the welder is at its upper limit and doesn't have enough amperage capacity left to get good penetration. That shouldn't be a problem for most welds with his 220v 187 amp Hobart, even for most typical 1/4" needs. I don't switch to flux core wire unless it's absolutely necessary and that only happened a couple times when I was still running a 110v 135 amp Hobart and trying to weld big pieces of 3/16". My 220v Miller 180 running gas isn't even raising a sweat on the few quarter-inch pieces I've done and I'm kind of doubting I'll ever even need to use flux core from now on.

[Unlimited04]

Originally Posted by Jerry Bransford

True but that's only an issue on big stuff when the welder is at its upper limit and doesn't have enough amperage capacity left to get good penetration. That shouldn't be a problem for most welds with his 220v 187 amp Hobart, even for most typical 1/4" needs. I don't switch to flux core wire unless it's absolutely necessary and that only happened a couple times when I was still running a 110v 135 amp Hobart and trying to weld big pieces of 3/16". My 220v Miller 180 running gas isn't even raising a sweat on the few quarter-inch pieces I've done and I'm kind of doubting I'll ever even need to use flux core from now on.

I like to use flux-core on scrap and junk work where I don't care what it looks like. I also use flux-core when I need good penetration and absolutely zero porosity. Argon/CO2 gas isnt super cheap, so I only use this when I want something to look pretty.

[bddisi]

Thanks for the advice. The same as some of you have stated, I was told to get the particulars down with flux core, and then switch to gas. The guy told me it would be like going from a beginner to a professional, the difference would be that obvious???