Venice

OK i just picked up my 1st welder today and its a Snap-On MW120 . It looks like a older one but fuck it i got it for a hell of a price . The guy i picked it up from said it could do mig/tig (has the bottle holder and hose ) all i need to pick up now is the regulator and some more wire .

My question for everyone is what is/was your 1st welder ? And has anyone used or have this same welder .

Please all the negative childish shit keep it to your self . I'll get picks up tomorrow .

LivinDreamsDC2

My first welder was Miller135 mig/flux welder when I was 17 in High School working at Vertex Motorsports. I brought it used for 700.00 with a cart, gloves, tank, wire, head and tip kit, and two different heads(flex and fixed). It took me for ever to pay it off. It was wroth it though, I end up using it for every thing at the begining, custom turbo kits, jdm front end conversions, intercooler piping, exhaust work, custom brackets, and etc. I had it for years untill I sold it to AUP about 4 years ago where it still is now. Still work great till this day(I come in some times for them for welding work)

Now I have A Millermatic 180 Mig Welder (230volt) and a Miller TIG Welder - Miller Syncrowave 200 AC/DC TIG/Stick. Just sucks that I haven't used them as much as I use to because I'm in the process of tring to find a new and bigger location.

Venice

I looked at the miller line of welders was looking for something small and portable new or used it didn't matter as long as it was in good condition .Well the one i picked up was slightly larger then i needed and looked to be in ruff shape but it works . I plugged it in this morning and struck a arc on a rake but it was out of wire . Now you said something in regards to the heads do you have pictures of the different ones . While cleaning up i found 4 of them lil tips don't know if its the same but idk(1st time ) .Another question the wire that was in the gun was thin and the guy i got the welder from gave me some thicker wire but it doesn't seem to fit in the feed thingy. Do you know good place to get wire from i was thinking about going to harbor freight since they sell them and pick up some .Any good cleaning tips (and i mean for the tips) .Also if i wanted to get the gas for it where would be a good place to get it .

quick26

from what you are decsribing, its a mig only machine. the wire should fit through the feeder with proper adjustment. that machine should take the large and small spools. the only thing you should have to change is the tip size for the differnt wire. go to any welding supply for gas. as for my first home welder, i have a hobart 125 (i think its a 125) mig. i am still using the gassless flux core in it due to the portability and ablility to weld anywhere with it and not worry about the gass being blown away. at work i use to use all miller stuff. for stick we use the big miller 6 pack machines, for tigging on the ships we use the dynasty or maxstar machines. tig in the shop use the big liquid cooled millers, and for dual shiled flux core and alumnium we use the suitcase hooked to the 6 pack.

Venice

Yeah its a MIG with the bottle attachment .I also got a extra spool of wire (which is to thick ) and 2 masks and a face shield . I looked to see if there was any way to make the larger wire fit and there aren't any adjustments that i can find .Also you mention the diffrent tip sizes i found 4 tips when i was cleaning it this morning .I might as well pick up some tips while i'm getting the wire .

I'm not to worried about the wire I'm gonna pick some up this weekend . I think i got a good deal on this welder even know it doesn't have the right wire i picked it up for a little bit under $ 500 and its a snap-on so i know its supposed to be good . I also get the ability to have it picked up for repairs as well as order parts from the salesman that stops by work .

If someone has some good tips on makeing clean/strong good looking welds .I would love to hear them because again this is my 1st .

Thanks guys .

quick26

there is a ton of how too info out there. you really need to see it instead of being told. i am sure you can google it or find it on youtube. get tips that match the wire size.

Venice

True i was thinking about Youtube and watching the videos and then trying to duplicate the same results .That might be my entertainment for tonight .

quick26

travel speed, wire speed and your heat setting. usually the machines have reccomendations for the wire speed and heat. what you wind up using will come from practice and experience.

Venice

Yeah i was talking to some ppl in work today that own welders to see where they pick up there wire and tips form .So saturday i will be buying some wire and starting my pratice on some metal shelves i have out back .

Also from what i have kinda explained about my welder do you think it would be good enuff to weld exhausts and do some frame repair .

thanks for your help .

I know there has to be more then 2 other ppl on here that have welders .So lets hear about them .

quick26

exhaust it will be plenty. framework, it should be fine, you might have to slow you travel speed to make sure it burns in. ususally the number in the model is the amperage that it will put out and 120amps would be by far enough to do what you want to do. my father in law uses a 120 lincoln in his auto shop when he does exhaust. i used it when i ran my exhast over there, its plent for that. most frames are between 1/8" and 1/4" so again you should have plenty of current there to do it.