Spot welder for use with Arc welding machine?

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Hi, all.Looking at doing some body work on my Pinto. Hey, it is already here and paid for. It is not a Mustang, but at least it is a Ford Pony. Anyway, I am going to need to do some (most likely a lot) of panel replacement. These things are spot welded from the factory for the most part. I have seen spot welders advertised that work with a 70 amp or higher Arc welder. Since I am limited on electric power and stuck with 110VAC only, I was thinking maybe this would be a good idea for me. I am not a welder by any stretch of the imagination. Hope to be someday, but who knows. My questions are do these really work? I have seen them on Eastwood's site, among others. Would they work on one of the cheap Harbor Freight arc welders? I would prefer getting a used Lincoln, but I don't even know if those came in a 110 version?I have a mig capable unit, a Lincoln HD 100 (I think), but no gas kit. Seeing as I have never done any mig, and only a couple of minutes with Arc, I am thinking spot welding would be the best way to go for now. Maybe later on I can afford the kit and go back and mig the joints, at least the ones that are in a rust prone area. Thanks,Russ
Reply:I know of a small repair shop that works on only air cooled VWs & uses such an animal. besides trying it once, I dont have any experience with them otherwise.  I have used other spot welders,I would recomend using a mig though, & a small plug weld for same as spots where necessary.a friend of mine used a cheap 110 wire feed with flux core to put quarters in his 65 Chevelle, he did a good job too. only low & high heat settings. but it did the job.a decent 110 welder with gas will do good work especially if you use 75/25 mix for body panel replacement. I have a 110 volt miller 140 & put in many panels with it.on one of the VW sites many guys replace panels with the cheap Campbell Hausefeld 110 welder. they are cheap!!!!! but can do a fairly good weld, but very small duty cycle. as I own one of those for a light weight welder. as my back hates moving my miller to carry it anywhere.  the cheap welder. I will say its harder to lay a nice weld, but it will do the job. I still prefer a 220 volt machine for panel replacement. but a 110 volt will work.now for a good question. are you planning to cut all the factory spot welds? grind all out & weld in a new panel over where old one was? thats alot more work than really necessary alot of times... usually its better to cut panel & section it. "profesionals" butt weld panels together with a thin gap. but beginers sometimes use flanging techniques & weld to the flange & "bondo" over that.Later,Randy
Reply:Thanks for the reply.I have heard here that flux core isn't a good idea with thin body panels. I agree that mig with gas would be best, just not sure if I can buy all that I would need anytime soon. As far as how, I most likely will be cutting panels to fit rather than drilling out the spot welds. But it all depends on what I end up with as far as replacement panels go. Most likely I will be just using some sheet metal for patches. Pintos aren't known for having lots of replacement parts available. I would probably do the flanging with plug welds or (if I get one)spot welds , and then go back over the seams at some point with a mig once I get good enough. I don't like seams on car panels, they tend to rust. Russ
Reply:yep flux core is hotter  due to needing more amps to burn, & harder to not burn through, but it can be done. but hard to teach yourself.I will highly recomend a 110 volt Miller 140 mig with a gas mix. it is worth saving to get. & I can assure you in body work it does a very good job. its when you need to weld thicker material you will want or need a 220 volt machine.if you flange it with a mig, you dont have to do a complete full length weld. just a stitch every couple inches. & each stitch being 1/2" lengthbest way to weld a panel. is butt welded, & use a mig, 1 spot at a time, jump around to keep heat from warping thin metal, it takes more time, but no stitches. just spots, grind when you think your finished & smooth, & then fill any holes left after grinding.insides can be coated, to not rust, & seams can be coated after welding. you might want to look on some body working forums. or feel free to pm me. I dont work professionally anymore doing body work, but I have clipped many cars, & 1 shop I worked at had 2 of the miller 140s, thats why I bought mine instead of a larger machine.& because of the VW forums is why I have the Campbell Hausefeld 110 welder. it will do a good job, but it is a lot harder to weld with. but for its compactness I cant fault it.anyway feel free to PM me & if you need me to call to discuss body work I can call & discuss many aspects of body work, I been into that scene for 20+ years.I am here learning myself, but I am looking to get into larger stuff. the only place I consider myself good welding is on thin car body, & rusty sheet metal. patching holes in car bodies, or panel replacement.as for the eastwood spot welder it uses carbon arc too spot weld with. but its hard to know when learning if you have good penetration.I picked up a spot welder a few years ago at flea market unfortunately its a 220 machine, but besides trying it out I will say the profesional type machines do a pretty good job. one shop I worked at had a cable type spot welder that you rolled out on wheels, we put many cars back together exactly like the factory. that was an awesome spot welder.Later,RandyRandyLast edited by knucklepanshovel; 06-25-2010 at 08:56 PM.