Given your automotive interests, you should absolutely think about a
MIG. MIG is *the* way to go for sheet metal work like autobody. It
is easy to learn to do well. It is also easy to do badly, but if you
read Miller's book on MIG you'll be able to tell when you're getting
it right. The book is $28 and well worth it.

Out of position welding, including overhead, is much easier to do
with MIG than with stick. I had no problem doing some overhead
welding on a trailer with MIG, and I'm no pro welder by any means.
Overhead welding with stick while laying on the ground in a rain of
glowing slag is not my idea of a good time.

I had a guy over a couple of weeks ago to try out my MIG. He is a
barely-adequate stick welder. He made very good butt and fillet
welds first try. I suggested he try vertical. He said he couldn't do
vertical yet. I said he can now -- just try it. He did. He made a
very nice weld on his second try. Next stop: welding store!

The little 110 volt boxes work great for autobody. However, if you
intend to weld anything thicker than 1/8" then go with a 220-volt
machine rated for 170 amps or so since you obviously already have 220
available. They will also do the thin stuff well and the price is
only a little more than for a good 110 volt box. . Lincoln, Miller
and Hobart (Miller with a different label) all make good machines.
The Hobart Handler is very popular among automotive and motorcycle
builders. I think there's even a users group.

Another nice thing about MIG in cold climates is that it can be used
indoors. No smoke. I don't like using stick indoors, but MIG is
no problem.

I would shy away from imports. I had an HF import 110volt box.
Pieceacrap. No comparison to a Lincoln of similar ratings. If you
buy a crummy machine you will eventually replace it with a good one --
and discover that some of your problems were the machine rather than
anything you were doing wrong. That was my experience anyway.

If you can scratch up the bread, now is a very good time to be
shopping for a welder, at least in Minneapolis. The welding stores
usually have good sales that run from late November thru 31 Dec, and
this year is no exception.

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 02:15:00 GMT, wrote:

I found it's extremely difficult to weld overhead. Is it always this hard? I
used rod 7014. Is there a better rod for it? Should I just bite the bullet &
buy a wire-feed welder? Thanks!

-Mike