On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:21:19 -0500, "RogerN"
wrote:

I've been trying to do some body work and rust repair on my truck before I
sell it and I'm getting close to the point of needing to weld in some metal
to replace the rusted metal. This isn't so much to increase the value of
the truck as it is to learn to do some body work and rust repair. My welder
is a Century 145A (IIRC) 230V Sam's Club special that came with the MIG Gas
regulator kit.

For my current location and to weld thin auto body sheet metal it would be
nice to have a 120V welder so I was looking at what is available. Seems the
economical MIG welders (Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc.) are set up for
flux core and the thinnest they advertise to weld is 18 Ga. and the addition
of the MIG kit puts their price near the price of the little bit better MIG
welders.

Looking around, I found a welder that looks interesting, a Millermatic 211.
It will run up to 140A on from 120V or up to 210A from a 230V supply.
Sounds like just what I need, light duty running out to my auto body and
heavier duty shop welding. Plus it is ready for a spool gun (on sale
locally for $179). Everything sounded great until I looked at the price,
$949 on sale locally, sounds like a good price for this welder but still
pretty expensive. It would fill all my MIG needs in one machine plus I
could add aluminum spool gun capability. And it looks like a bottle of
Argon for TIG + MIG aluminum and a bottle of 75/25 Argon/CO2 would set me up
with all the gas I need for about anything I'm likely to weld.

Any recommendations on a favorite MIG welder for auto body sheet metal?

RogerN

You have conflicting objectives, wanting a MIG that can do heavier
welding, including aluminum, but still a best choice for autobody.

An excellent welder for autobody is the Lincoln SP125 plus, may be
SP135plus now, with continuously variable heat setting. If you visit
a restoration or custom body shop, that's what you'll see at the
workstations.