I recently got an oxy-acetylene setup, and I've been learning to weld with it. I'd like to get another welder, either mig or tig, for all the reasons that make those processes better/easier than o/a. As my decision about what welder to get relates to vehicle maintainence, I'd like to be able to do body work, fab headers, make fuel tanks (for the SVO conversion(s) I hope to do), fix cast iron, etc.

What kind of welders do you guys have, and what would you get if you were just starting out?

Thanks for the input

If you plan on doing body work I suggest a Lincoln or Miller MIG welder.........with inert gas for shielding. You want .023 to .030 wire for sheetmetal. Both companies make several 110 volt units.

If you need to weld heavy stuff then you will need a larger MIG welder with .035 to .040 wire and 220 volts


If you really want to spend some $$$$$$$ and alot of time practicing you could get a TIG welder/heliarc............then you can weld anything, but it takes a lot of practice to get good.

T:D NY

:iamwithst .

I've got a millermatic 135 w/ shield gas and I like it alot. Easy to load up and take with you if you need. If you have or can have 220v then the millermatic 175 is a step up. Miller also has a 110/220 convertible welder where all you have to do is change the plug, I don't recall the number on that welder. The 135 has done me well, although sometimes it is a little small, I haven't been limited to location. I can move it all over the shop without having to have multiple 220v outlets to run a bigger welder. For light fab work the 135 is a good welder with good price. For heavier welding I've always got my bobcat 250.

I really don't want to spend some $$$$$$. I'm hoping I'll be able to get by with a minimal setup for now. I have 220V, so that's no problem. I'm seriously thinking about the MM 135 or 175. I'd just rather not get a machine that's still $500+ and then want to upgrade in a short amount of time because of its limitations. So is it feasible for an amature welder to make headers with mig and o/a? Would fabbing an aluminum fuel tank be out of the question?

I have welded aluminum.............it goes from solid to liquid very quicly.........it is not something you just learn to do...........and you would need a heliarc for that job........

With my 135 I have done light fab work, and this winter I completely rebuilt a late 70's stock trailer. The metal we used for the frame was 3/16's up to 1/4" it welds it fine. Just takes alittle more time and heat. I have never overheated the welder. Unless you are welding alot of 1/2" metal the 135 or 175 should be fine. If you get the 175 don't skimp on the extention cord. You need good clean power to your welder. Most of the time that 10'-12' torch lead isn't enough, opt for a 15' and get all of the reach you can right a way.

Plus the aluminum set up is another $500 IIRC

Lowes sells Lincoln Electric. I bought a mig 175 w/ gas hookup for around $700. I like it for anything less than 1/4". It needs 30 amps

http://us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/41c1d705za14dc5ab/4591/__sr_/4ce0.jpg?phElomCBBg6wSDi7

Sounds to me like your only option is a MIG welder. They are very versitile and easy to use and can weld with shielding gas, hence the MIG, or flux cored wire. Start off buying a nice little Lincoln from Lowe's for about $450. You can add the gas and Al kit later. For doing headers and roll-cages, the best way to go is TIG, but is significantly more expensive and difficult to do. However, if you are really able to weld with your torches (not trying to call you out), then TIG is not toooooo different. Good luck. Let us know what you get.

At home we have a Lincoln 175 and works nice in for what we do. Runs off 220 and welds up to 1/4" It sure nice not having to go elsewhere when you need to weld something up.

I have a MillerMatic 175 MIG and love it.....never regretted that decision. If you're laying a lot of bead, go for the one-size-bigger tank than normally comes with it.

I think I bought mine from www.weldingmart.com ....nah, it was somewhere else on line. Lemme see if I can find it.

You will be able to do thin steel with it, no problem, but keep in mind that it's going to be a functional bead and not the show-quality stuff you can get with a TIG and skill. Entry-level TIGs (for example the Miller EconoTig) run $1300 + bottle + cart + ???. A buddy at work has one and likes it a lot, but he did remind me that the cheaper ones don't have water-cooled torches, which limits the duty cycle, and also does not have a high-frequency start. An industrial TIG with those features is going to be big bucks, up around $3500.

A MIG will do a lot of work and it's fairly easy to learn. Just remember that you're going to have to hand-finish the welds if appearance is important.

Here is a picture of mine, it's a Lincoln mig 135 from Lowes, for about $450... comes with a kit to hook up shielding gas. I love it and use if for everything, never had a problem with it... I also use flux-cored wire b/c the gas refills are outrageously expensive!

Dan





http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4145

In my old shop I ran a miller 251 easy to set with the digital displays (has a cheat sheat inside the welder to give you basics for what heat and wire feed to be at for the different thicknesses), can hook up an alum gun to it and change the bottle over less than 2k to purchase, if you look around you can find them on ebay shipped direct as well, very easy weld to use set up and dial in. I'm looking to purchase another one same welder again for it was so user friendly.

You will be able to do thin steel with it, no problem, but keep in mind that it's going to be a functional bead and not the show-quality stuff you can get with a TIG and skill.
A MIG will do a lot of work and it's fairly easy to learn. Just remember that you're going to have to hand-finish the welds if appearance is important.

I disagree you can make very nice(purdy) welds with a mig welder, yeah it takes a little practice but it can be done. But IMHO you need the sheilding gas to get that purdy weld. I have a second bottle of gas because it is a PITA to run back and forth to the local welding shop if you are working on a big project.

So I think I'm definitely sold on not getting an expensive tig welder right off. Seems like the consensus then is to get a mig in the 135-180 max amp range. But just to make sure I've considered all my options, what about an ac/dc arc welder? Between that and the o/a setup, I could do any thickness steel I'd want, right? I could also get a tig conversion kit for the stick welder eventually, and wouldn't stick welding better develop my skills for tig? Also, stick welding (once you get good) produces cleaner prettier beads than mig, correct? What do you guys think?

Thanks for the input.

I disagree you can make very nice(purdy) welds with a mig welder, yeah it takes a little practice but it can be done. But IMHO you need the sheilding gas to get that purdy weld. I have a second bottle of gas because it is a PITA to run back and forth to the local welding shop if you are working on a big project.

Noway, mon. There's a guy at work who, by the 3rd TIG cover pass, can make some bead that's so pretty I don't even want to touch it. All vacuum-quality stuff.

Yeah, MIG passes can be made nice, but with the TIG you have the chance to go over them again and make them unreal. Why do you think all the pro guys use TIG? The answer should be obvious. MIG puts down the metal pretty quickly and is great for production work, but it's not for fine art like the TIG.

And, yeah, I've always used shielding gas. Flux core is the pits.

Agreed,


I just though you were saying that a mig couldn't make a nice bead. IMHO they look good, but I am not making works of art either.:D

Yeah, stay away from flux core (hard)wire if possible. Night and day difference.

Agreed,


I just though you were saying that a mig couldn't make a nice bead. IMHO they look good, but I am not making works of art either.:D

Yeah, stay away from flux core (hard)wire if possible. Night and day difference.

Oh yeah, sorry, didn't mean to infer the wrong thing there. MIGs make terrific beads, especially compared to stick, that's fo sho!

):h Can ya tell, I want a TIG REAL BAD ):h

I have welded aluminum.............it goes from solid to liquid very quicly.........it is not something you just learn to do...........and you would need a heliarc for that job........
I've got a Lincoln Ideal arc 250 w/ a wire feeder and a spoolgun for aluminum.

Never welded Aluminum before but by the time we got 25' of 3/8 plate welded into a dump trailer floor and sides (base metal was THIN), I could do a decent job.

Just takes some practice and some scrap to get the heat settings right, a 2nd person moving the settings while u set up the welder is a help.

Last winter put a floor in a 21' dump truck bed, went much better this time.

The Ideal arc is a great welder, got quick disconnects on the wire feeder, the spool gun and a stick rod holder (never needed a tig set up but it would plug right in).
One base machine and do anything u want w/ it.

The wire feeder IIRC is an LN-7 (seperate unit) and can be put on our portable welder if u want.

I've got 2 260 cu.ft. argon and argon/co2 tanks and they will weld a long time.

Spend the money on one good machine.

I was looking at welders this winter. Miller came out with a new machine this year called the Passport that I found pretty intriguing. It is a dual voltage, inverter based, MIG machine. Gives 135 - like performance on 110V and 210ish performance on 220v. Weighs in at about 45 lbs and is the size of a small suitcase. Arc is designed to give good results on straight CO2 (good for me as I am a homebrewer and have CO2 tanks already) and has a minitank built in with the ability to hook up to larger tanks.

Only reason one isn't in my shop right now is the $1,500 pricetag....

So I think I'm definitely sold on not getting an expensive tig welder right off. Seems like the consensus then is to get a mig in the 135-180 max amp range. But just to make sure I've considered all my options, what about an ac/dc arc welder? Between that and the o/a setup, I could do any thickness steel I'd want, right? I could also get a tig conversion kit for the stick welder eventually, and wouldn't stick welding better develop my skills for tig? Also, stick welding (once you get good) produces cleaner prettier beads than mig, correct? What do you guys think?

Thanks for the input.

The reason professionals use TIG for rollcages....is because they can get perfect penetration from start to finish. Think about it. If you use a mig making a fuselage for an airplane and don't have proper penetration the entire circumferance of the tubing, moisture and what not can get in there and cause a real accident. Not saying that it can't be done with a MIG, but that is why race cars, etc, are all built with TIG. MIG does make pretty welds as long as you are using the shielding gas. If you use flux-core, you'll have splatter and slag to clean-up. Good luck and have fun.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think it is possible to convert an arc to TIG for many reasons. One of which is lack of adjustability.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think it is possible to convert an arc to TIG for many reasons. One of which is lack of adjustability.

Here's a link to a conversion kit. I don't know anything about it, but supposedly it converts an ac/dc arc unit to a tig.

http://www.tigdepot.com/products/p35TD-BBTF.htm

Still leaning towards the mig probably a Lincoln SP 175. Lowe's has it for $627. The local welding supplier sells it for $799. I don't know, sure would rather support the local guy. If it were a $50 difference, I wouldn't even have to think about it, but $170!

You want only one?

After a year in welding school, I got a Lincoln SP125+. Very nice little
machine. With skill, practice and lots of work you can weld up to 1/2
steel plate, weld 1/8" aluminum, weld backhand, forehand, vertical up,
vertical down, flat, overhead and lots of other nice tricks.

But it is slow.

Right now I am borrowing a Lincoln PowerMIG 255. Very nice digital
readout with closed-loop voltage and wirefeed control. For welding
heavy sections I can run about TEN TIMES as fast as the SP125+.
It has enough power to run 0.035 aluminum and can hold a spool gun.
I recommend this for anybody doing heavy hobby work or light industrail.
It is 10x the machine of the small units at 4x the price.

An AC buzz box is slow, but does let you weld cast iron with nickle rod
without the expense of obtaining nickle MIG wire.

The Lincoln 185 TIG is a new lower-priced TIG unit. Better than the
EconoTIG by far.

Do not dismiss an engine-driven unit. Need a generator occasionally and
need to weld? Get a Ranger 305D. Stick and TIG all day, plus power all
night on tax-free agricultural diesel.

Think about it. If you use a mig making a fuselage for an airplane and don't have proper penetration the entire circumferance of the tubing, moisture and what not can get in there and cause a real accident. Not saying that it can't be done with a MIG, but that is why race cars, etc, are all built with TIG

Now youv'e got him welding airplane fuselage's-:t , whatever, the mig will be fine. Don't let these guy's talk you out of it. The mig is a good welder for what you want to do.:cool:

Now youv'e got him welding airplane fuselage's-:t , whatever, the mig will be fine. Don't let these guy's talk you out of it. The mig is a good welder for what you want to do.:cool:

NO, no, no. I was just telling him why the "professionals" use TIG over MIG. I already said in a previous post that the MIG is the best and most versatile especially for the money;)

I recently got an oxy-acetylene setup, and I've been learning to weld with it. I'd like to get another welder, either mig or tig, for all the reasons that make those processes better/easier than o/a. As my decision about what welder to get relates to vehicle maintainence, I'd like to be able to do body work, fab headers, make fuel tanks (for the SVO conversion(s) I hope to do), fix cast iron, etc.

What kind of welders do you guys have, and what would you get if you were just starting out?

Thanks for the input
I am a CWI (Certified Welding Inspector), I have been in this business a long time, so if you need help, PM me.

I started out with the Lincoln 100. Nice starter tool. Burned iron & stainless (ya I know, but it is possible) for over 2 years. Traded up to the 135 and bought the gas bottle. Several refills later, I bought the biggest bottle available. Good idea - bigger is better. Flux core or MIG, this little 110 unit is the nuts. Goes anywhere. Mounted beside my new Plasma cutter and the Acetylene/Oxygen cutter on a mobile cart it makes this old man a happy camper! From light sheeting to 1/2" plate (not in a single pass) this combination is sweet for the backyard mechanic/fabricator, and could be your right hand in a small business. Never have had any problems, and at last count I've burned through 13 of the 10# spools of flux core and 5 of the 10# spools of MIG wire. Next to the Dmax, these are the best toys I ever owned!

I am not a professional welder, but I am a professional tinkerer.
I was in the same boat as you are in. a few years back I was using the Lincoln 175 with the 5 lb alluminum .035 spools to build some tool boxes.
The boxes were built out of 1/4 diamond plate marine grade alluminum. All six sides were welded on the outside. The end result was a water tight 24"x14"x14" box with decent beads all around. This was the first time I welded alluminum with a mig. I also used the normal gun, not the better alluminum guns for that purpose.
If you do plan on using alluminum with the standard gun buy a different one for steel. The sleves will gum up with the alluminum. Or maybe just purchase some extra sleves for various types of work.
I did end up purchasing the Lincoln 175 a couple of years ago and have not found anything that I can not take on for my skill level. I just need the damn plasma cutter to go with it now. $$$$$$$$$
Just for a note from a tinkerer like your self, a mig will do some decent to great work with some practice on steel and alluminum, but stainless is different monster. I have tried that as well and it seems to be lot harder to control than the other two.

I use a millermatic 251 with .035 wire. It is basically idiot proof. One thing you must remember is the surface must be clean to mig it, Arc is a little more forgiving. I work for the Ohio Dept. of Transportation, (the people who plow the snow and maintain the interstates), so I see a large variety of weld jobs. With my mig, I can weld 1/2" no problem. Now for real welding we use Miller 250 Bobcat Arc welder, w/tig capabilities.

I feel that Miller or Lincoln are your 2 best choices.

odot,
sounds like you shop at BOC on Mosteller..they have a nice set up there for welding products.
Mark

Lots of info so far. I did a bunch of welding way back when I was in the Seabees. Now all of my welding is just around home hobby kinda stuff, building/repairing trailers, small fabrication projects etc. I have a Lincoln Power Mig 255. My wife bought it for me for X-Mas in 03.. I love it!! It replaced a Hobart 120. You aren't going to buy one of the little mig units and go out and build an aluminum boat. It just ain't gonna happen unless it's a small boat and you have forever to get the job done. They are not designed for big aluminum jobs. The 125-135s need an aluminum kit in order to even come close to doing it right. the kit is two basic items, a new liner, just for the aluminum, needs to be swapped back when you go back to welding steel, and new drive roller(s). The problem with the small units for aluminum is the wire is so soft it does not feed well. The new liner is teflon so there is less resistance and the drive wheel is softer so it can feed the wire without crushing it. I like my 255 for aluminum. It's not designed for huge jobs either, but has dual drive wheels with a full 3 inch feed section so the wire feeds MUCH better than the small units. If I ever want to do production work it will take a spool gun, the only really good way to do aluminum with a mig unit.
As others have said, flux core wire lays an ugly bead. It should only be used if you have to weld outside in the wind! Regular stick welding does a damn fine job but lays an ugly bead as compared to mig and takes MUCH longer to master. Mig is perfect for the home shop. It's just a question of which one and that's based on availability of $$$.

Thanks a lot for all the input. It seems that a mig is the consensus, and I think that's what I'm going to get. I'll probably splurge for the Miller or Lincoln 175. Just need some time now to get down to the store.

Tip for the day....

Don't buy a welder cart.

Pick your neigbors trash :D ..... get that old angle iron mattress frame with casters. Cut it up and weld it up.... walla

Why not make your first project... a free welding cart!

Okay, so I just bought the Lincoln SP 175. It was a toss up between Red and Blue. Red is a little more compact, and seems to have more accessories available with it. So what size breaker do I need for this machine? The machine says 21 amps, but it has a 50 plug (on a 12 guage cord).

Read the front of the manual. It will tell you what the electrical requirements are.

Make sure you have "gas". You won't ever regret it!

Yeah, I read the manual and it says a 40 amp breaker, so that's what I did. Have a dedicated circuit now just for the welder.

Yes, I did get the gas. Started welding up a cart yesterday. Wow. What a sweet machine! Almost too easy. Can't wait to get back out to the shop today.

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

just bought the mm350p. It's a pulsing mig welder. you would not believe the potential of this machine. And if you weld aluminum , this is it. nothing compares.

I wanted the 350p but the money wasn't there. Had to settle for the Miller 175. Still a nice welder though.

Even if I had the 350p I think I'd still keep the 175 for small jobs. I'm not one to sell something once I get it.

Well, I guess I come from the old school. If I had to choose one machine only to go with an OA outfit I would choose a buzz-box stick. Either a Lincoln 225AC like the one I've owned for 40 yrs, or one step up to the AC/DC buzz-box.

This combo may not be as fast as the AO&Mig combo, or lay as pretty beads, but it has far more versatility when it comes to the different things you can weld. That combo was my choice (of economic necessity} for 30 years, race cars and all sorts of things.
I now still have the OA and the same buzz box, plus an HTP 200 Mig, a Miller Regency 250 Mig set up with a spool gun for welding aluminum, and a Lincoln Ideal Arc set uo for tig, complete with water cooled torch. And also a 35 amp 230V/3ph Plasma cutter.
But you can accomplish an awful lot with a torch and a stick. Aluminum can be welded with OA.

This combo may not be as fast as the AO&Mig combo, or lay as pretty beads, but it has far more versatility when it comes to the different things you can weld.

Just curious. What can you weld with a stick that you can't with a mig?

Rusty metal;)

For one thing, there is not, at least to my knowledge, a commonly available wire to weld cast iron, as is done with Ni- Rod with a stick, nor a low hydrogen, for high tensile steels as can be done with dc stick.
And a stick with good ol simple, easy to find AWS 6011, will burn thru rust, dirt, and grease to get a good, solid, well penetrating, strong weld. It better be clean and rust free with a mig or tig.

I don't know about you but I sure would not want to weld on somthing that had rust and expect it to last.
If I weld somthing it will be done properly. Cleaned of rust and preped not only to make sure I have good penatration, but to also make sure what I am welding is worth welding together.

I don't know about you but I sure would not want to weld on somthing that had rust and expect it to last.
If I weld somthing it will be done properly. Cleaned of rust and preped not only to make sure I have good penatration, but to also make sure what I am welding is worth welding together.

AKDiesel, I couldn't agree more that, in a perfect world, all metal shal be spotlessly clean and rust free when welded, but, the world ain't perfect.

Put yourself in this position: (A) You are a maint. toolmaker in a big 3 auto assembly plant (B) You are assigned to the body construction dept., and one of your responsibilities is a huge floorpan assembling press, which is being used past it's expected and designed for life. And this press is a major link in the body shop line, if it doesn't run, hundreds of line workers stand around being paid to do nothing.
OK, a bracket supporting a hyraulic cylinder fails because it's been used "just one more year". You have to fix it, and as fast as you can (remember all those idle employees?). Everything is dripping in water based hydraulic fluid (non-flammable) and generally grimy. The bracket is barely accessible to a welding rod without removing additional components first.
Every boss in the plant is looking over your shoulder (including yours).
You aren't going to remove those other pieces, get cleaning solvents and wire brushes, maybe make up a couple of gussets, then clean it all up before you weld it all back together.
No, you're gonna get it wiped and blown out as best you can do quickly as you can. Then you're gonna weld it up enough to make it to the end of the shift. And you are thankful for a 6011 or similar to burn thru all yhat crap you couldn't clean out. After the line goes down, you tear it all apart and fix it right so that it will last out the rest of the year model and hope like hell the new model id enough of a change that they have no choice but to junk this old relic!
And there are other times like this in the world of welding.;)

Cool, I think my mig will probably work just fine for my needs. So that's why stick welders are used to build bridges and other huge stuff -- an added measure of security against imperfect workmanship or imperfect real world conditions like rain, wind, deadlines, etc?

I have mig for the shop but the portable welder I use out 4-wheeling is stick. I can run a grinder off of the 115 outlet on the welder but you can't always get a grinder to the piece that needs to be repaired. Not out in the bush at least. Sticj with 6011 has gotten more than one broken truck home!!!

Well even tho I only just turned 18 and taught myself to weld a few years ago, I guess i'm from the old school too...I love my trusty Lincoln AC/DC 225/125 stick welder (yup, the same one Lincoln has been making for the past 500 years) as much as the next guy loves his latest and greatest TIG welder... Mainly because I dont do any body-work welding. Most of my welding is metal sculpture, stuff around the house, and structural (last summer a made a front end loader for our compact utility tractor). I highly recommend it and you can get surely find it for cheap. Just dont expect to weld body panels with it!! I also use an ESAB Powercut 875 that has also been one awesome machine.

----Ben

dirty old man,
That is sort of comparing apples to oranges. A large corporation should have the tools to get the job done such as an AC/DC, Mig, and a Tig machine on hand for the repairs just like you mentioned.
I am by no means a professional welder, but you have to look at the types of work you want to do and the types of hobbies you take on. I believe the original question was what type of welder would be good for personal use for someone that is not that familier with welding.
If you are an offroad junky then YES I would suggest an AC/DC type that can easily power up with a small gen set or even one that comes off of your alternator.
If you are not going to be out in the boonies and do things at home then I would go with the mig set up. Ease of operation and you have lot more uses for it.

About a year ago I was looking at TIG welders. I ended up buying a thermal arc 185TSW tig/stick welder with a Argon tank. I wanted a Miller welder but the price is insane and all your buying is a name. So far I've been impressed with it. You just can't beat a square wave inverter for welding. The thing doesn't make any noise and is sooo small. For light duty work it can't be beat and body work TIG's are much better in my eyes. No whiskers from wire and excellent penetration. Oh and Tig'ing AL is easy you kust have to CLEAN it very well and PREHEAT!!!!

AKD is right on with that one. The mig will be much better for home use by a non-professional!

Another consideration the thickness you need to weld. If you are going to weld thicker stuff (aka, over 1/4") on a regular basis then you'll have to buy a fairly expensive mig just to do what a regular 220 stick welder would be able to weld.

I've got a cheap little mig and a good ac/dc stick. The little mig is great for tacking stuff, filling in holes or places where you accidently burned through, etc. The stick is great for welding on rusty machinery, etc.

The biggest disadvantage I see with a stick (other than speed) is that it is more difficult (in my experience) welding on a non horizontal surface with a stick than a mig.

I have 3 blue machines, a MM251 MIG, a 180SD TIG and a Spectrum 2050 plasma cutter. I bought them from www.cyberweld.com (great prices) a few years ago and have nothing but the best to say about them or the machines. I started out with a Hobart 175 but it was too small. I routinely weld +1/4" so the bigger machine works better for me.

I hardly ever use my plasma cutter, I use a cut-off wheel in my grinder or the ox-act torch 90% of the time!

I think i use a hack saw more.... :blahblah:

Here's a few pictures of my welders. I have a Lincoln SP-175T and a Miller SyncroWave 250, Both are 220vac. They both have thier advantages! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either to anyone. (Also a picture of the cart I made for the TIG Machine, to do away with the piano dolly!)

I have a Hobart 135 with gas. It uses a Miller gun and looks just like it's Miller cousin. I believe they are both owned by the same company and the products seem identical except for the colors. You can buy a spool gun which is used to weld aluminum but I have never used or seen one. Look for duty cycle on the one you buy. Mine does fine for what I use it for and is adjustable to do sheet metal to 3/16" mild steel. I can't remember what I paid for it but it came with the regulator and you have to buy a tank. I got it from cyberweld.com a couple of years ago.

Yes, Hobart is now owned by Miller. After they bought them out they dropped the Hobart 120 and rebadged their 135.

If you need to weld thicker stuff using mig you can use gas shielded fluxcore wire.The
bead will look like 70 series stick welds if the machine is set right.More heat will give better results with shielded fluxcore.The only problem is finding it in small diameter and spool sizes to fit you machine.CO2 is the shielding gas used mostly and it's better for 1/4 min to thicker .I you want a dc machine to stick or tig with buy an ac and dc
buzz box then you can tig all metals with it exept aluminum.I'm a pipewelder by profession and have only used light to heavy industrial machines so that's what I bought but there are some companys that are making just as good equipment as the name brands for less money.If you want to get good, practice,practice and practice.
I'm up to my ears in recertifications that i'm practicly living at the lab..Also there is an iron powder cored mig wire that has a bead like solid wire but with better penetration and no flux.If there is a welding store near you they should be able to get you set with the right consumable for what you want to do.Good luck and protect your eyes.

I have a lincoln powermig 215 with spool gun. I can weld any thickness between .04 to .375 with no problem. I haven't experimented too much with the spool gun, I have it set up for aluminum.

Since we are showing off a little here. Here is a picture or two of my cart with the Lincoln 135 with gas and the Hyperterm Plasma cutter. I have large wheels so I can hook up to my lawn tractor and take it to the point of use on the property. I have about 200 feet of 8 guage extension to go with the 50 foot of 10 guage on the cart. damn few places I can't get to at home. the top plate is 1" aluminum I have 1" holes in the corners so I can utilize pipe clamps for on site jobs.

i've got a small miller 130 that i am running on flux core right now... it does an ok job, but not pretty at all... my next machine will be a tig, as it will let me do steel and aluminum easially, i can pull the torch off and put on clips and use it as an arc welder with some 3/32 or 1/8 rod which i can get for next to free [6011,6013,7014,7018,7024 and a few other types] and do heavier stuff that needs good strength.

I have a small 110V 100 amp Sears (Century) stick welder. Works great on 16 guage to 3/8" steel. I use 6010 (5p+), 7014, and 7018 LoHi rods. Also have a 20 year old Lincoln 200 (hopped up!).

Speaking of professional welders, my father (pro since late 60's) currently runs a Lincoln 300D welder with 400 amp brushes and a few other tweaks. On any petroleum based construction site you ONLY use stick, unless there is some stainless work, then you can use a tig (very slow). Also, a welder rarely gets hired unless they have either a Lincoln 200 or 300D. Other brands are generally not trusted for the job (100% xray).