Bought my first MIG welder today...

[linx310]

I bought this guy

Miller - MIG Welding - Millermatic® 211 Auto-Set? with MVP?

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/spec_sheets/DC12-54.pdf

It can switch between 230 and 120 and will weld up to 3/8 inch thick. On some of the welding forums some have reported doing 1/2 if you go slow.

I priced out renting a mig welder for some of the items I need done, panels on M1009, exhaust for turbo, custom receiver hitch, and some minor stuff on my jeep and renting the thing for a day was 1/8 of the price.

I figure it will pay for itself...though it is the most expensive garage tool I have ever bought.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I'm wanting one of those real bad! My little 120 mig WAS nice, but now I want more.

 

[Stalwart]

I have the 212 Auto-Set and I find that you cannot set the wire feed any better than the machine does by itself. The darn thing runs silent until you ask for some serious power or run it a really long time. I'd buy one again in a second. I've had it misbehave twice, I had to shut off the power and let it reset itself. Otherwise it has been the best welder I've ever used from thin sheetmetal up through 3/8" steel. It kills the bigger Snap-On I replaced with it. The Snap-On had a better duty cycle though.

 

[linx310]

Yea now I am trying to decide if i should just rent a pair of bottles or buy one.​

 

[Stalwart]

I bought mine, always have.

 

[wreckerman893]

I have a big stick welder and a MIG......I use the MIG more than the stick for small jobs.

If you make multiple passes you can weld pretty thick plate....you just have to go slow and get plenty of penetration on the prior pass.

 

[mistaken1]

I need to learn to weld ..... think of the things I could build ......

 

[m16ty]

Yea now I am trying to decide if i should just rent a pair of bottles or buy one.
​

My local welding supply said it depends on how much gas you use. He said that if you rent bottles the gas is cheaper per cubic foot but you have to pay rent. If you don't use alot of gas though, the cost of rent will out weigh any savings on gas price.

For most homeowners, it's cheaper in the long run to buy your bottles. This also gives you the advantage to switch suppliers whenever you wish.

I did some trading awhile back and ended up with a Miller 252. I'm a old school stick man and this is the first mig I've ever owned. It has taken me a little while to warm up to it but I find myself using it more and more lately. I'll still use the stick on heavy metal or jobs where I don't feel like getting it super clean though.

 

[diesel-demon]

Don't rent your just throwing your money away, and the ability to switch suppliers can be nice.

 

[Boss Doug]

I have 3 welders. One is a miller stick that works grate on the big stuff. I also have two mig welders. A miller that I use gas with and a craftsman that I use shielded wire with. I would have to say I like the craftsman better for bodywork, although I have welded some heavy stuff with it to. If I could only keep one it would be the craftsman.

 

[Boss Doug]

The next purchase will be a plasma cutter.

 

[jesusgatos]

That's a great little welder. You're going to love it. Be careful with those bottles though. Just dropped one on my foot a couple days ago.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Is that a Frodo foot!?









BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHAHAHAHHHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

 

[swbradley1]

The last time I saw a toe that looked like that it was amputated a few days later. No, I'm not kidding.

sw

 

[jesusgatos]

Looks worse than it is. Don't think I broke anything.

 

[akonitony]

Soak it in some epsom salts 2 or 3 times per day with water as hot as you can stand. Do this for about a week, and you can be sure to keep your toe, provided you do not have diabetes. If you do have diabetes, you need to see a doctor immediately. I'm not doctor or nurse, BTW, but I am a registered dietitian and one of my main duties in the hospitals I covered was wound healing. You can also go to Walgreens and buy a supplement of Juven, which will make the wound heal in about half the time. Foot injuries are nothing to take lightly. You loose your ability to ambulate, and life is pretty much over. You won't have a leg to stand on...

 

[jesusgatos]

Thanks for your concern guys, but really, it's fine. going to lose the nail, but that's no biggie. Good call on the epsom salts though.

 

[linx310]

Soak it in some epsom salts 2 or 3 times per day with water as hot as you can stand. Do this for about a week, and you can be sure to keep your toe, provided you do not have diabetes. If you do have diabetes, you need to see a doctor immediately. I'm not doctor or nurse, BTW, but I am a registered dietitian and one of my main duties in the hospitals I covered was wound healing. You can also go to Walgreens and buy a supplement of Juven, which will make the wound heal in about half the time. Foot injuries are nothing to take lightly. You loose your ability to ambulate, and life is pretty much over. You won't have a leg to stand on...

DO NOT DO THAT!

I work in podiatry...aka foot medicine.

Soak it in cool water with normal table salt. Epsom salt will cause it to dry out to much and can cause damage to the skin. Warm water will cause it to swell and hurt because it increases blood flow to the site. The warm water also makes it a breading ground for bacteria.

We see about 12-15 people a week with this same problem. You may have to have the nail removed if it starts to grow improperly.

 

[akonitony]

DO NOT DO THAT!

I work in podiatry...aka foot medicine.

Soak it in cool water with normal table salt. Epsom salt will cause it to dry out to much and can cause damage to the skin. Warm water will cause it to swell and hurt because it increases blood flow to the site. The warm water also makes it a breading ground for bacteria.

We see about 12-15 people a week with this same problem. You may have to have the nail removed if it starts to grow improperly.

It sounds like you are treating this as an open wound, but from the pics, wouldn't you classify it as a closed wound unless the nail is debrided? A closed wound is perfect for breeding an abscess, so wouldn't hot epsom salts work better? Sort of like mimicking a fever at the site, which bacteria do not like. Not sure from your description above if you are a podiatrist, or just work in an office for one, but one of the podiatrists who I work with at the hospital looked at the photo and said hot epsom salts is the way to go unless the nail is debrided, and then he would switch to packing it with sugar. Anyway, just thought I would throw that out there - not trying to play doctor, and if you are an MD, then my apologies for second guessing, as I am just wanting to learn what I can from you guys as usual.

 

[goldneagle]

I bought this guy

Miller - MIG Welding - Millermatic® 211 Auto-Set? with MVP?

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/spec_sheets/DC12-54.pdf

It can switch between 230 and 120 and will weld up to 3/8 inch thick. On some of the welding forums some have reported doing 1/2 if you go slow.

I priced out renting a mig welder for some of the items I need done, panels on M1009, exhaust for turbo, custom receiver hitch, and some minor stuff on my jeep and renting the thing for a day was 1/8 of the price.

I figure it will pay for itself...though it is the most expensive garage tool I have ever bought.

I can buy a Deuce from GL for that much money! I have a Lincoln 175HD that can do up to 1/2" with .045 fluxcore wire. It's not automatic, but it sells for less than 1/2 of the price. I guess it all depends on your budget and needs.

The big plus of Fluxcore is the ability to use it outdoors where the shielding gas would be blown off by air / wind.

I have seen them use it in place of stick welders for building construction. Obviously they used much bigger units.