Harbor Freight (chicago) Mig Welder

[LampLighter]

everyone and every forum say's NO- don't buy. Any experience with it ? Nice sale on right now.

[Rock Chuck]

got parts?

[ncboman]

everbody's got good sales goin on right now.

I'd at least check out the welding supply places in your region and see what they have for how much. You might find a better deal.

[rimrock]

everyone and every forum say's NO- don't buy. Any experience with it ? Nice sale on right now.

got a link to the welder your referring to?
IF its this P.O.S. don.t bother, my B-I-L purchased one and returned it in two hours

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94056

selecting a welder requires knowing what you expect to do with it,and in most cases a decent lincoln, miller or HTP, welder will be a far better deal in the long run, decent welders ARE NOT DIRT CHEAP

http://www.htpweld.com/products/tig_welders/index.htm


http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=907422

http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=K2473-1

http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=907335

http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=907422

[Renegade]

Lamplighter - If that's the one your looking at that Rimrock linked to, then I have that one. Actually probably it's predecessor. My dad had bought it back in the early 90's and I still have it. It a high and low heat setting, not the dial. Now I'm no welder, but for small stuff around the garage or even small projects it seems to work fine. I even had my buddy weld body panels (skins) on my Jeep all around. The only problems I ever had was that it will overheat under prolonged use, and if the wire jambs at the tip it will bend the wire back at the feed rollers.
It won't make pretty welds but I find it adequate for small chores a few times a year. Like Rimrock said, it depends on what you'll be doing with it.

[LampLighter]

Yep. That be's the one. :D I am going to back burner the idea for now.

[greenjeans]

Thats a reasonable price thats for sure makes me wonder though. What are you going to do with a welder? Make some hvac braces and stands?

[Rock Chuck]

I've never done any MIG welding but I'd sure like to have a small wire fed box, even if I just used the flux core wire instead of gas. I've used a little DC buzz box for years but needless to say, it's limited. Welding thin stuff is way beyond my skills, if it can even be done on this thing. From what I've seen, a decent wire fed will start in the $300 range and go out of sight from there, especially if you add the gas setup.

Right now I'm making some steel gates from some .065 square tubing that I got on a 1/2 price sale. I'm getting it done by turning the heat waaay down to where I can hardly strike an arc, but with a wire fed, I'd breeze right through it.

[LampLighter]

Thats a reasonable price thats for sure makes me wonder though. What are you going to do with a welder? Make some hvac braces and stands?


Ah, it's just one of them tools you need around when you have a few acres. Too far from town to go to every time something minor breaks. Always something . A shop, a cutting torch, welder, grinder, vise, some drill bits, and a stock of metal and hardware and one can pretty much take care of himself.

[Sidekick]

Stay away from it. You get what you pay for with wire feeders. Cheap ones have inadequate power supplies and lousy feeders. A bad mig welder is worse than no welder. Think you could settle for flux core wire? Trust me, you don't want to. Make sure you can hook a gas bottle to it. It is so much better it isn't funny. MIG welders are great for the small stuff but someone with an experienced hand can do a lot with a stick especially an AC/DC machine. It's all about puddle control and once you have that figured out there isn't a whole lot you can't do. If you insist on buying a cheap welder get a Lincoln AC 225 (buzzbox). It'll probably last the rest of your life and you can do an awful lot with it.

[rimrock]

flux core is NOT mig welding

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/content/migvsfluxcored.asp

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/

IF your looking into your first MIG don,t get suckered into a low cost FLUX CORE WELDER by the low cost,
youll be MUCH happier in the long run with a 220volt 180 amp mig from LINCOLN,MILLER,HOBART or HTP LIKE THESE
yes IM well aware they cost a good deal more! they are WORTH A GREAT DEAL MORE!
and don,t forget the shield gas and gauges, MIG welding REQUIRES those, and its usually SUPERIOR and cleaner than FLUX CORE WELDING,I DO A GOOD DEAL OF WELDING,....SAVE YOURSELF A GREAT DEAL OF AGGRAVATION, GET GOOD EQUIPMENT , a marginally skilled weldor with good equipment makes far better welds than a marginally skilled weldor with crappy equipment every time, and if you really want good weld quality THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT A TIG WELDER



http://www.htpweld.com/products/mig_welders/mig_160.html

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_180_autoset/

http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WD&Product_Code=K2473-1

http://www.brwelder.com/indextemplate.cfm?file=shop/detail.cfm&ID=1022&SubCategory=10


TIG

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=295

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=77

[Sidekick]

I didn't check out your links but I'll agree with everything you said. A lousy welding machine makes lousy welds regardless of whose using it. Besides there isn't a whole lot of anything at Harbor Freight that I'll put in my shop. Especially if it has a motor.

[Wismon]

I don't want to derail the thread but how is Harbor Freight for low-end hand tools? I would think that the like of ball peen hammers, pry bars, punches, and such would be hard to screw up. Then again, if they're made of soft pot metal or something like that then it would definately be possible.

It seems to me that hand tools (all tools, actually) come in several different grades:

Professional: Mac, Snap-On, etc.

Good: Craftsman, Eastwing, Lufkin, etc.

Fair: Stanley, other brands

Low End: Harbor Freight, cheap Chinese stuff, etc.

Am I correct on this? Have I put one or another of these brands in an improper category? Also, it's important to remember that not all jobs require the best of the best. As Arts once wrote, he wasn't one to skimp on quality but that didn't mean he had to drive a Rolls Royce.

Anyway, back to my question (I guess), how good are Harbor Freight's hand tools?

[Rock Chuck]

To me, any tool that's less than the best I can afford at the time is a waste of money.

The bitterness of poor quality lasts far longer than the sweetness of low price.

[Sidekick]

Hand tools? Well it depends. You would think that it would be hard to build a crappy anvil but one of the guys at work had one that lost a big chunk out of it while he was using it one day. That being said another guy has a HF air grinder and uses it almost every day with no problem. My take on the whole thing is this; If you only use your tools lightly and occasionally it probably makes good sense to buy cheap. If you use them a lot or make your living with them you will appreciate quality. You don't need a $40 Estwing to build a doghouse or hang a picture. Or need Mac and Snap On tools to change your lawnmower blades. I buy some stuff from HF but nothing that I expect to last for ten years. I bought a little pneumatic die grinder for $25 once. It was a piece of crap that didn't have enough power to do anything worthwhile. I bought another one for $75 and you have to really be hard on it to slow it down. You definitely get what you pay for in tools. Almost all of my stuff is Craftsman and DeWalt. Some of the power and air tools are 20 years old and still going strong.

[Wismon]

Thanks, folks. I guess that's about what I expected. I'll probably mostly stick with Craftsman, as those are good tools at a fair price and there's always a Sears nearby.

If the low-end folks make anvils out of soft metal they could make, say, a prybar out of soft metal and a prybar breaking at the wrong moment could get someone injured.

And if you buy a tool for a specific job then the cost of the tool usually isn't a factor. Like you said, it's probably better to start out with good stuff.

[Rock Chuck]

Some years ago I entered a grand opening drawing at a Home Depot and won a 150 piece Husky socket set. It's been a good one. Every socket and ratchet is as good as new and it's been used hard. So far, my experience with Husky is as good as with Craftsman. Others might say differently.

[LE]

I actually have had pretty good luck with Habor Freight. Mail order you can't see, but if you have an outlet store in your area you can at least look at it first. I have broken name brand tools (and used them properly) so any thing can go bad at any time. There is cheap and there is inexpensive. I try to buy inexpensive.

[ncboman]

anyone interested in a welder might check this out;

Welder Miller MM210 (http://www.nchuntandfish.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22252)

:)

[Renegade]

Hand tools? Well it depends. You would think that it would be hard to build a crappy anvil but one of the guys at work had one that lost a big chunk out of it while he was using it one day. That being said another guy has a HF air grinder and uses it almost every day with no problem. My take on the whole thing is this; If you only use your tools lightly and occasionally it probably makes good sense to buy cheap. If you use them a lot or make your living with them you will appreciate quality. You don't need a $40 Estwing to build a doghouse or hang a picture. Or need Mac and Snap On tools to change your lawnmower blades. I buy some stuff from HF but nothing that I expect to last for ten years. I bought a little pneumatic die grinder for $25 once. It was a piece of crap that didn't have enough power to do anything worthwhile. I bought another one for $75 and you have to really be hard on it to slow it down. You definitely get what you pay for in tools. Almost all of my stuff is Craftsman and DeWalt. Some of the power and air tools are 20 years old and still going strong.

I would tend to agree with all that was said. It depends on the application. Some tools don't require them to be top of the line if it's for limited use. As for hand tools (automotive) it's hard to beat Craftsman with their lifetime warranty, but their power tools have much to be desired. If I was cutting boards every other month then they would be fine. If I was doing it daily I wouldn't be using Craftsman.

Rimrock - You seem to be the resident welder here, what about Hobart? I didn't see them mentioned and I know Northern Tool and Tractor Supply carry them. How well are their products?

[Wismon]

Yeah, I was referring to hand tools; not power tools.

Also, we do have a Harbor Freight store in this area and yesterday I swung by there and picked up a few of their low-end tools at cheap prices. Hopefully I can't go too far wrong with a couple of low end picks and scrapers, for example.