looking to buy my first welder

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@RustyRatRod ive been reading that one as well




not sure how great a deal that is
the welder alone is advertised at harbour freight for 189.99


now, this deal i liked, but its too far away
Miller 141 mig welder 110v

Obviously we cant really tell unless we inventory the "lots of supplies" but with the bottle, gauges and cart it's worth a look if you are anywhere near it.
 
any thoughts on the cambell hausfeld mig/flux 105?
the guy is asking $130.00 but i cant find much info on it online

IMG_20180814_085126.jpg
 
It is pretty much a disposable welder. They do ok. nothing special about how they weld. Once something goes wrong with it you just pitch it.
 
What are you trying to weld with it? You'll be pretty limited by 105 amps.
Who knows...the few projects I have so far are patches on a plowblade, building some brackets to add a brake to my son's go kart, and some other odds and ends around the house

It looks like the CH is a no go anyway, talked to the seller and things just don't add up
 
hey guys
im looking to buy my first welder

here is the thing, i know how to weld but i never owned one before
i think there is a welder plug in the downstairs garage, but honestly, all the places where i expect to be welding only have 110

at this moment there are 3 or 4 little projects around the house that need welding but nothing big, so im just looking for something affordable

while were on the topic, how do you guys feel about flux core welding?
does it make sense to go with fluxcore and not need tanks or does the wire cost more then the gas and tanks would?

im hoping to keep this under 500 dollars, and im not opposed to harbor freight

so, what can you guys suggest?

I'm not a professional welder (Journeyman Machinist) but have been welding for 40+ years. Most of the time ac-dc stick. Over the past 25 years I have dabbled in TIG and MIG. At present I teach Precision Machining and Welding at a 9th-12th career and tech school. Our shop uses mostly Miller but we also have a few Lincolns. I don't care for flux core and would rather use MIG as it is much cleaner. If you are working on .060" or less, MIG or TIG work great. If price wasn't a concern, Miller makes a nice 250 multi-process machine package for around 4k. These will weld MIG, TIG and Stick but are only DC. For all around Stick and TIG, a 350 Syncrowave is a phenomenal machine but pushes $5500. For me personally it would have been nice to buy one of these machines for my hobby shop, but I couldn't justify the cost. With that said, I own 3 welders; A Lincoln 250 tombstone (stick), a Lincoln 180 AC/DC/Stick/TIG and an Eastwood 135 MIG. All were purchased used and 2 were from CL. I have about $400 in all 3, less bottles. I have compared my Eastwood to a Miller 140 and generally they weld the same. The Eastwood however has plastic drive rolls and uses less expensive components; switches, knobs, etc. but replacement parts are also inexpensive. Also, the Eastwood has a short duty cycle (10%) at max heat.I am using my 135 with 75/25 argon/co2 mix to weld in panels and frame connectors on my 68 Dart. It puts down a nice bead and is easy to move around. I hope this helps.
 
I bought the flux core 125 welder from harbor freight it is my first welder. I have very limited welding experience and minimal skill I have stick welded a hand full of times and mig welded once in high school. My most recent welding experience was welding on some bolt handles for some mauser rifles I was working on and I had a few projects around the house I wanted to work on after doing some research and watching some videos I decided on the HF. I waited a few months for it to go on sale and got it for 89 bucks. So far I'm really happy with it I have used it to weld nuts in my lca bushings to remove the shell. I have used to to weld up a broken frame on my mower. I used it to weld on my push mower I have fabed some brackets and stuff around my shop. I'm pretty just playing with it right now I found it has been very easy to use and get use to. Now don't get me wrong my welds are ugly...ugly as can be but they are strong and hold up or at least they have so far. I have some stuff I need welded on my project car but I'm gonna keep practicing before I attempt it. I also have some cab corners I need to replace on my truck I'm gonna practice on some scrap body panels before I attempt this too. But so far I'm really pleased for 90 bucks and what I needed it for I love it!
 
I bought the flux core 125 welder from harbor freight it is my first welder. I have very limited welding experience and minimal skill I have stick welded a hand full of times and mig welded once in high school. My most recent welding experience was welding on some bolt handles for some mauser rifles I was working on and I had a few projects around the house I wanted to work on after doing some research and watching some videos I decided on the HF. I waited a few months for it to go on sale and got it for 89 bucks. So far I'm really happy with it I have used it to weld nuts in my lca bushings to remove the shell. I have used to to weld up a broken frame on my mower. I used it to weld on my push mower I have fabed some brackets and stuff around my shop. I'm pretty just playing with it right now I found it has been very easy to use and get use to. Now don't get me wrong my welds are ugly...ugly as can be but they are strong and hold up or at least they have so far. I have some stuff I need welded on my project car but I'm gonna keep practicing before I attempt it. I also have some cab corners I need to replace on my truck I'm gonna practice on some scrap body panels before I attempt this too. But so far I'm really pleased for 90 bucks and what I needed it for I love it!

I suggest watching welding videos on the Miller webpage. They go into great detail on welding techniques. Once you have your machine set for material thickness, its practice, practice, practice!
 
any thoughts on a millermatic 130?
there is one for sale, the next village over for $600, including tank, gloves, cart and helmet
 
hey guys
im looking to buy my first welder

here is the thing, i know how to weld but i never owned one before
i think there is a welder plug in the downstairs garage, but honestly, all the places where i expect to be welding only have 110

at this moment there are 3 or 4 little projects around the house that need welding but nothing big, so im just looking for something affordable

while were on the topic, how do you guys feel about flux core welding?
does it make sense to go with fluxcore and not need tanks or does the wire cost more then the gas and tanks would?

im hoping to keep this under 500 dollars, and im not opposed to harbor freight

so, what can you guys suggest?
Look at Eastwood! They have a great selection of welders for the car guy.
 
any thoughts on a millermatic 130?
there is one for sale, the next village over for $600, including tank, gloves, cart and helmet
Miller makes a good machine. I paid $375.00 for my Argon owner bottle. Make sure it IS a owner bottle and not a rental. Then it depends on how "used" the welder is.
 
Miller makes a good machine. I paid $375.00 for my Argon owner bottle. Make sure it IS a owner bottle and not a rental. Then it depends on how "used" the welder is.

do i just look for a company stamp, and if there is none, it must be privately owned?

i had no idea tanks would be so much
 
I think each state is different. In Fl,it has to have a R stamped on the neck to be a owner bottle If I recall correctly. Best thing to do is call your local welding supply shop and ask him how to identify an owner bottle. I and others have been burned in the past on this. Problem is if it is a company bottle(which it is usually stamped around the neck) nobody will fill it but them. Then they will want you to rent or lease it from them.
 
do i just look for a company stamp, and if there is none, it must be privately owned?

i had no idea tanks would be so much
Talk to your local welding supply. An 80cf in a home shop should last you plenty. I just inquired myself for a second bottle for a new welder and an 80cf runs $200 plus the gas($45-65 for c25) in it around here. Shop around because gas prices can vary quite a bit. Most will also rent the bottle for a few dollars a month. I never saw a whole lot of purpose in that but it might be easier to get you started that way. You have to watch used bottles. Without any paperwork they won't know if it's somebody elses rental contract bottle or been swiped from somewhere. If they will take it they'll be looking for date codes to see if it needs re-cert at your expense. Most bottles I've had my hands on have had the co. name casted into the neck ring so they don't really make mistakes.
 
I gotta say it.....and a lot of yall will laugh. But a few years back, they got me a Craftsman MIG welder for Father's Day. It came with flux core wire but had everything to go MIG. SO I get the thing set up and realize it's made by Clarke. Tweko everything. So parts are super easy to find. SO far, I've welded all the way to 1/4" with no fuss in one pass. And all with just 85 amps. The transformer has to be one of the cleanest I've seen with a small machine. When they gave it to me, I could hear the voices in the back of my mind sayin "what a POS", but it has been a really good machine. Done everything I've asked of it.
 
I bought the flux core 125 welder from harbor freight it is my first welder. I have very limited welding experience and minimal skill I have stick welded a hand full of times and mig welded once in high school. My most recent welding experience was welding on some bolt handles for some mauser rifles I was working on and I had a few projects around the house I wanted to work on after doing some research and watching some videos I decided on the HF. I waited a few months for it to go on sale and got it for 89 bucks. So far I'm really happy with it I have used it to weld nuts in my lca bushings to remove the shell. I have used to to weld up a broken frame on my mower. I used it to weld on my push mower I have fabed some brackets and stuff around my shop. I'm pretty just playing with it right now I found it has been very easy to use and get use to. Now don't get me wrong my welds are ugly...ugly as can be but they are strong and hold up or at least they have so far. I have some stuff I need welded on my project car but I'm gonna keep practicing before I attempt it. I also have some cab corners I need to replace on my truck I'm gonna practice on some scrap body panels before I attempt this too. But so far I'm really pleased for 90 bucks and what I needed it for I love it!
This is exactly what I did about 3 or 4 years ago. I bought Harbor Freights cheapest welder and it's been great doing all kinds of jobs for years now I mean everything under the sun. And I did work at a machine shop where I had all the professional welders. I was there lead bracket designer. II wasn' the greatest welder by any means but I knew what I was doing. Design was what I like more.
I've laid down tons of crappy welds with it, but when I needed to I could lay down a decent weld with it.
Just my-2...
 
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I know price isn’t always an indicator, but, I would spend what you can for a good machine. I good machine, duty cycle etc makes for learning much easier. Welding isn’t hard, but a POS will make it more difficult and frustrating. If possible, I would stay away from flux core.

Miller, Hobart, Lincoln, there are many other good brands, those are just pretty solid.

I have an old Craftsman 220v I got off CL, works decent.
 
about the closest thing to a good deal ive seen is a lincoln pro mig 140 for 350
i dont see the gas regulator in the pics, but i dont know if its included

any thoughts?
 
My thoughts on the promig. I really dislike the fact that they built the contol pots into the main board and then made the stems plastic. If you accidentally hit one of the knobs with something while moving around the shop there is a good chance they will break. Then you need to replace the board which will run close to what you paid for the welder. The promig also got a less robust drive motor system than the powermig 140 which is their construction hades machine. I have replaced a couple of drive systems on then due to failure
 
A few years ago I got a Hobart 140 off CL for $225 including an empty bottle and the gauges.

I see they are $520 new without bottle, etc.

It's done everything I've asked it to do.

Hobart specific parts are at Tractor Supply.
That could come into play on a brand without local support.

Lincoln is at Lowes.

Either brand is quality.

Either will do flux.

After you you flux a few times...the first time you do MIG, you will likely not want to go back to flux.
 
Harbor Freight has all the generic accessories, like gloves, sleeves, slag hammer, magnets, clamps, etc.

I just wouldn't get the welder there.
 
diymirage:
Don't know if you ever bought a welder or not but here's a story that might be worthwhile to you or someone else. The story covers about two years plus

Working with bodywork on a car for a friend I started out with a Sears wire feed with flux core and did adequate. I could weld up 1/8plus metal fairly well but with sheetmetal, 14-16 gauge, I would burn holes or "weld/grind, weld/grind, weld/grind." Obviously not pretty and ended up with wavy metal. I used this for a while but when I'd go to car shows/swap meets, I'd stop at the welding booths. I'd tell them my issues and the best I could claim was that I was inept but muddled through with a degree of success. The responses were always the same, use gas, get a better welder, and at that time, get an auto darkening helmet.

Well, because funds were tight, I opted for a gas kit and gas first. I couldn't get the Sears unit to hook up to gas so I bit the bullet and bought a Campbell Hausefield wire feed that hooked up to gas. Better, about two steps improvement but still inept. Also bought an auto darkening helmet in there somewhere and there is no discussion on that, just get one. Used the Campbell for about 7 months before it started leaking in the handle but I had kept the receipt and it had a one year warrantee. During that time, I still went to car shows/swap meets and again, I'd stop at the welding booths. I told them my issues and the changes I had made but the best I could still claim was that I was inept but a little better.

The responses were again the same, get a better welder. So when I went to Lowes to exchange the welder, I asked them if I could pay an upcharge and get a Lincoln. I already had the gas, lines, and regulators so I bought the little 100amp unit they sold at that time. WOW, the welding guys I had talked to for two years couldn't have been more right. I cannot say why one welder is better than another, they both have current and speed adjustments, but there is a huge difference between the two units I had been using. I went up at least 5steps in improvement. Same guy, same skills or lack thereof, same wire, same gas...

As time went on I gave that one away and bought a 130amp which ended up stolen with all it's equipment after a couple of years. Years went by and because of what I had learned, I would only buy a Lincoln or other quality unit. So I watched and finally found a deal on craigslist for a 145amp with tanks, cart, and unit for $350 after negotiating, (started at $400). It's all about watching for a deal and jumping on it.

After all this time I can say I am much less inept; I still don't feel "ept" yet but I'm much better for a novice. I have told my story to several people over the years to just suck it up and start out with a used quality welder instead of a new cheap welder. Go turn in steel and cans for six months if you have to. This is my experience for what it's worth. Also, if buying used, make sure you see the welder in operation before you hand over any cash.

BTW, as far as a decent weld goes, DO NOT underestimate cleaning the metal. Yes, the rust and grime burn off in the slag, NOT!!! You get that one for free. dan...
 
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