I have been working with metal lathes, drill presses, mills, etc for
years now, and have used welders a few times a year, but now I am
looking to purchase a decent MIG welder so I don't always have to run
down to the shop everytime I need a bead here and there. I saw the one
Harbor Freight Offers (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93793), but I do not prefer buying from
there ( I have heard some horror stories). I will be welding Mild
steel tubing with about a 1/10" wall. Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob

"Bob1001" wrote in message
...
I have been working with metal lathes, drill presses, mills, etc for
years now, and have used welders a few times a year, but now I am
looking to purchase a decent MIG welder so I don't always have to run
down to the shop everytime I need a bead here and there. I saw the one
Harbor Freight Offers (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93793), but I do not prefer buying from
there ( I have heard some horror stories). I will be welding Mild
steel tubing with about a 1/10" wall. Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob

If you need something reliable, buy a Miller or Lincoln. If you are going
to weld half an hour a year, a HF may suffice. HF stuff is replacement
mentality. If it goes bad, they just give you another. That won't help you
keep a production flow going, and will cost you quite a bit in gas and
running around. Save your money until you can buy a good unit.

Steve

On Nov 15, 5:47 pm, Bob1001 wrote:

Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob

Concur w/ Steve. Be patient and check local newspaper ads or
craigslist, or whatever but eBay is no longer worth the effort, and
look for a Miller or Lincoln. I like Miller myself but it's a
generational thing.
Vic

DO NOT BUY A CHINESE WELDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That includes Harbor Freight.
Stick to named brands and pay the price. You can buy one year old machines
that have been leased for about 60-70% retail. I have bought 4 Chinese
machines and every one of them were crap.
Steve

"Bob1001" wrote in message
...
I have been working with metal lathes, drill presses, mills, etc for
years now, and have used welders a few times a year, but now I am
looking to purchase a decent MIG welder so I don't always have to run
down to the shop everytime I need a bead here and there. I saw the one
Harbor Freight Offers (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93793), but I do not prefer buying from
there ( I have heard some horror stories). I will be welding Mild
steel tubing with about a 1/10" wall. Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob

It's my opinion that you probably won't get a reliable, new MIG welder for
less than $300. I've needed to try to produce work with a cheap welder in
the past, and I spent more time making the welder work, as I did welding.
That's very frustrating when the same moron that bought the welder expected
work to be produced.

In addition to the Lincoln and Miller brands, Hobart is a worthwhile brand,
as you will be able to get replacement parts or service if needed.
I bought a Hobart Handler 135 several years ago and have experienced no
problems with it at all. I adjust the heat and wire speed, and it has
performed consistently well (great) every time I use it. I clean the spatter
from the nozzle and change the availble-everywhere, inexpensive tips when
needed.
I don't weld for a living, and many guys would not appreciate using this
class of welder, but it has served me very well for my projects, fabricating
and repairs.

I can practically guarantee that you will not get that same level of
performance with the almost endless number of cheap, generic, orphan brands
of welders.
You may not have any opportunity to get replacement parts or service, so if
the dealer/seller doesn't replace a unit that doesn't work properly, you're
only option may be to buy another welder.

The only other thing that I would suggest is to avoid using the fluxcore
wire with the dull, dark appearance, because I know of a few guys that have
bought that wire and have had very bad experiences with that type of wire.
My choice is to only buy the bright coated wire and take steps to keep it
clean.

WB
..........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html


"Bob1001" wrote in message
...
I have been working with metal lathes, drill presses, mills, etc for
years now, and have used welders a few times a year, but now I am
looking to purchase a decent MIG welder so I don't always have to run
down to the shop everytime I need a bead here and there. I saw the one
Harbor Freight Offers (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93793), but I do not prefer buying from
there ( I have heard some horror stories). I will be welding Mild
steel tubing with about a 1/10" wall. Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob

Bob1001 wrote:
I have been working with metal lathes, drill presses, mills, etc for
years now, and have used welders a few times a year, but now I am
looking to purchase a decent MIG welder so I don't always have to run
down to the shop everytime I need a bead here and there. I saw the one
Harbor Freight Offers (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93793), but I do not prefer buying from
there ( I have heard some horror stories). I will be welding Mild
steel tubing with about a 1/10" wall. Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob

I agree with the others comments in that if you plan on using it quite a
bit then buy a good one, for occasional use a cheap model may well
suffice. I bought a Eland 160A, thought to be a quite good AFAIK in the
UK, about 20 years ago and the only thing to have gone wrong is the
mains power lead, other than that it has had some consumables. It cost
£500 at the time.

Regarding real low end units I have had the pleasure of a Clarke 90
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...iy-mig-welders
and a Clarke 150 recently, both fall into the category of disposable if
you can't fix it yourself. The 150 needed setting up and then ran OK,
the main issues being some knob in the design office specified a feed
roller with
a knurled groove which feeds real well and doesn't slip when the wire
sticks to the tip for a second so gives you a bird cage, absolute
minimum roller pressure has mostly overcome that, buying a new roller
without knurl is an option but is it worth it. The other issue with
these low end ones is the wire feed motor is weak and varying loads
effect the feed rate significantly. The 150 wire spool tensioner tended
to stick and so the feed rate varied as the spool went round due to the
irregularities on the spool moulding, some tweaks sorted those.

In contrast the Clarke 90 which was given to me was sweet, it needed a
regulator as that had been lost and a new roll of wire. The 2 machines
seemed almost the same mechanically but 60A difference in rating and 4
settings on the 90 as opposed to 6 on the 150. No knurled roller on
this although the same drive mechanism, a minute or so in each setting
and I was impressed by how nicely it welded for such a basic machine.
The 90 did come with some Ar/Co2 mix and the 150 was using CO2 which I
have been told make a difference, In 20 years I have always used BOC
argoshield (Tri mix in the US?) so no back to back experience with CO2.

Regarding the Hobart Welders: I just found this one
http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200127024.htm and I will be
ordering it if you guys give it the ok. I will be welding only thin
mild steel, for repairing my son's Go-Kart and some Tractor Parts. Im
also going to be using it to finish the combustion chamber of my
turbocharger type turbine engine. Im sure it will hold up for all the
tractor and go kart uses, btu will it provide enough strength for thos
type of combustion chamber? sorry i cannot list the compression specs
of the engine, I dont think it will be enough to break the weld
though...

Thanks,
Bob

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:23:05 -0800 (PST), Bob1001
wrote:

Regarding the Hobart Welders: I just found this one
http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200127024.htm and I will be
ordering it if you guys give it the ok. I will be welding only thin
mild steel, for repairing my son's Go-Kart and some Tractor Parts. Im
also going to be using it to finish the combustion chamber of my
turbocharger type turbine engine. Im sure it will hold up for all the
tractor and go kart uses, btu will it provide enough strength for thos
type of combustion chamber? sorry i cannot list the compression specs
of the engine, I dont think it will be enough to break the weld
though...

Thanks,
Bob

The Hobart Handler is a good unit for thin metal -- up to 1/8" with
gas and 3/16" with fluxcore as a reach. A skilled welder can make it
do heavier in a pinch, but it's painfully slow going.

On Nov 15, 5:47 pm, Bob1001 wrote:
I have been working with metal lathes, drill presses, mills, etc for
years now, and have used welders a few times a year, but now I am
looking to purchase a decent MIG welder so I don't always have to run
down to the shop everytime I need a bead here and there. I saw the one
Harbor Freight Offers (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93793), but I do not prefer buying from
there ( I have heard some horror stories). I will be welding Mild
steel tubing with about a 1/10" wall. Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob
I have one of the 220v. DualMig welders and have been very happy with
it. I don't use it a lot any more, but I used to weld about 8 hours at
a time resurfacing anvils and making blacksmithing equipment. Just
like their auto-darken welding helmets -- I've never had any trouble
with mine.

I'm not an industrial user or anything. I"ve put maybe 30--40 pounds
of wire through it. Also, I don't go all-out for a long time at full
power, but I don't use full power too much. Mostly I use it at about
half-power. I bought mine when, I think, HF first started offering
them, so it's maybe 3--4 years old.

On Nov 15, 7:47 pm, Bob1001 wrote:
I have been working with metal lathes, drill presses, mills, etc for
years now, and have used welders a few times a year, but now I am
looking to purchase a decent MIG welder so I don't always have to run
down to the shop everytime I need a bead here and there. I saw the one
Harbor Freight Offers (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93793), but I do not prefer buying from
there ( I have heard some horror stories). I will be welding Mild
steel tubing with about a 1/10" wall. Any good MIG's that you may know
of under $300 would be very helpful. I live in the Philadelphia,
Valley Forge, region, so if there are also any local places anyone may
know of that would be great! Also If you do have something good or bad
to say about the Harbor Freight MIG welder let me know.

Thank you,
Bob

Hi Bob,

I went through this a few years ago and this is what I found.

Cheap welders are not worth pursuing...they MIGHT work and you will
have no support and likely no consumables available in the
future....and nobody wants a no name welder on the used market.

Used welders...well get in line because EVERYBODY is looking for a
name brand used welder. Anything you will find will cost close enough
to a new welder while not having a warranty.

I would stick with Lincoln, Miller or Hobart.

Hobart is a subsidary of Miller whose products benefit from this
relationship.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/wirefeed/

You will find that the welding market is a tightly held market with
little competition...which means very few discounts to the consumer.

What I would recommend is to buy a refurbished Hobart unit either from
these guys...

http://www.toolking.com/category/sea...-machines.aspx

or during the holiday season I have seen this company have starter
kits priced reasonably....

http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp...1011&sonID=600

I would also take the time to read posts in this discussion group...

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/

I would recommend trying to buy as large a welder as you can...buying
too small can mean buying twice.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

TMT

"Bob1001" wrote in message
...
Regarding the Hobart Welders: I just found this one
http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200127024.htm and I will be
ordering it if you guys give it the ok. I will be welding only thin
mild steel, for repairing my son's Go-Kart and some Tractor Parts. Im
also going to be using it to finish the combustion chamber of my
turbocharger type turbine engine. Im sure it will hold up for all the
tractor and go kart uses, btu will it provide enough strength for thos
type of combustion chamber? sorry i cannot list the compression specs
of the engine, I dont think it will be enough to break the weld
though...

Thanks,
Bob

I'm sorry that you are not paying attention to what has been posted. What
type of combustion chamber are you referring to? If it is any type of
aluminum or magnesium alloy, your chances of fixing it with a MIG are thin
unless you have LOTS of experience in these things. And remember this. You
get ONE try. You either fix it, or have a nice paperweight.

Do you remember anyone mentioning red or blue?

Hobart? Wouldn't own one, although Hobart was one of the pioneers in
welding.

Just me.

Steve

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:21:46 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:


"Bob1001" wrote in message
...
Regarding the Hobart Welders: I just found this one
http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200127024.htm and I will be
ordering it if you guys give it the ok. I will be welding only thin
mild steel, for repairing my son's Go-Kart and some Tractor Parts. Im
also going to be using it to finish the combustion chamber of my
turbocharger type turbine engine. Im sure it will hold up for all the
tractor and go kart uses, btu will it provide enough strength for thos
type of combustion chamber? sorry i cannot list the compression specs
of the engine, I dont think it will be enough to break the weld
though...

Thanks,
Bob

I'm sorry that you are not paying attention to what has been posted. What
type of combustion chamber are you referring to? If it is any type of
aluminum or magnesium alloy, your chances of fixing it with a MIG are thin
unless you have LOTS of experience in these things. And remember this. You
get ONE try. You either fix it, or have a nice paperweight.

Do you remember anyone mentioning red or blue?

Hobart? Wouldn't own one, although Hobart was one of the pioneers in
welding.

Just me.

Steve

Uh, Hobart *is* "blue" now,or vice versa. If you look at a Miller
and a similar model Hobart, you'll find that they are identical
machines except perhaps for minor features, as perhaps a convenient
socket for an angle grinder or something.

My recommendation would be the Linc (red), as SP125+ or whatever they
call 'em now, because of its continuously variable voltage. Steps
work fine with thicker metal, but continously-variable heat is a big
help with 16 gage and below.

This thread started looking for el cheapo so I didn't bother to
respond. Buying a cheapo MIG is very educational. It clearly teaches
why it's better (and cheaper in the long run) to buy a good machine
from the outset. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

"Don Foreman" wrote

This thread started looking for el cheapo so I didn't bother to
respond. Buying a cheapo MIG is very educational. It clearly teaches
why it's better (and cheaper in the long run) to buy a good machine
from the outset. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

Thanks, Don. My crusade is go get people to buy a good welder from the get
go rather than burn money on a bad one, then have to go out and buy a good
one.

Steve

On Nov 17, 8:20 pm, "SteveB" wrote:
"Don Foreman" wrote

This thread started looking for el cheapo so I didn't bother to
respond. Buying a cheapo MIG is very educational. It clearly teaches
why it's better (and cheaper in the long run) to buy a good machine
from the outset. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

Thanks, Don. My crusade is go get people to buy a good welder from the get
go rather than burn money on a bad one, then have to go out and buy a good
one.

Steve

A worthy cause.

Friends don't let friends buy cheap welders.

TMT

Thanks, Don. My crusade is go get people to buy a good welder from the get
go ...

Anything qualify as "good" other than Lincoln and Miller?

--
-Ed Falk,
http://thespamdiaries.blogspot.com/

On 2007-11-21, Edward A. Falk wrote:

Thanks, Don. My crusade is go get people to buy a good welder from the get
go ...

Anything qualify as "good" other than Lincoln and Miller?


I would qualify "good" as in "works under heavy to normal use much
beyond warranty period and has vendor support".

i

"Edward A. Falk" wrote in message
...

Thanks, Don. My crusade is go get people to buy a good welder from the
get
go ...

Anything qualify as "good" other than Lincoln and Miller?

--
-Ed Falk

Ed, I must qualify my statements. I have done a LOT of welding, and I base
my opinions on welding machines based on hard use.

Now, the average home hobbyist welder will not use their machine nearly that
much. Some people use their welders only minutes a month. At that rate,
even a HF unit (Harbor Freight, not High Frequency) would last quite a
while. It's just when you start using a welder a lot that you find out how
good it is. Or, say when you have used it a minimum of 200 hours, or to
that point when you start having the problems. Some people have owned a
welder for ten years and don't have 200 hours on it. And they will swear
and avow that it is just the best welder in the world, even though it's a
Chinese clone, and they haven't had a problem with it, and everyone who says
they're no good is full of hot air.

And then there's the big point of just how much do you need this welder? If
you really need this thing to fire up and work every time and for parts,
service and repair to be reasonably convenient, you want quality. And if
it's something that can idle two guys and a truck that you 're paying by the
hour, then it goes to another order of magnitude.

I like quality. Sometimes to the point of overbuying. Yet, there have been
times when I couldn't afford the good one and took the lesser. Some worked
out and some didn't.

I don't want to come off as a snob and say that a Rolex is the only good
watch to buy.

When it comes to welding machines, though, there are many parameters. And
if you just want to buy something that is going to be reliable, serviceable,
and cost effective, you can't beat one of the major brands.

After that, it's just each person's own personal experience. Sometimes you
can get welders so cheaply (as used ones) that they're a throwaway. If they
just get THIS job done, it's similar to a rental fee.

But, if you want something that performs consistently, one of the top brands
is the way to go. If you're going to weld a lot, go red or blue. If you're
only going to weld a couple of hours a month, something less may suffice.
It's just when you get in a corner and it doesn't work or you can't get
parts or consumables that you will know the true value.

Steve

"Edward A. Falk" wrote in message
...

Thanks, Don. My crusade is go get people to buy a good welder from the
get
go ...

Anything qualify as "good" other than Lincoln and Miller?

Fronius, Kemppi, WIA, BOC, CEA, some of the new units coming out of france,
and yes, even some of the units coming out of china.