Harbor Freight is having a huge sale tomorrow and I'm looking at one of their welders for $75. It's normally $200 and it's a self-shielding flux wire welder (item # 44567, MIG 90). What are the limitations for this welder, like what can and can't it do? I know good welders can make any welder work, but for a beginner would this be a good welder to start with? I'm mainly looking to weld 1/2"-2" pipe and plate, like for cargo racks and body sheet metal. No aluminum right now because that's going to take better skills. I've heard that flux wire and stick welders can burn ลลลล up if you're not careful because they get really hot and aren't recommended for thinner metals. Any and all recommendations welcome.

Thanks!

 

220 Miller....welded with it in Florida with great welds. Remember...ya get what ya pay for now days!

 

True, very true. What were you welding with the 220? I'll be using a welder for light duty types of stuff.

 

I was just welding up tables and stuff for the company for their screen business. Not real heavy steel but like 2"x2" and 4"x4" square tubing for my powder coating racks. Even made me a table for my big aquarium. 220 welders are preached on this forum for heavier steel welding because you need more of a burn to penetrate the metal for it to hold good.

 

IMO, take an entry level welding class, learn some, then decide for yourself

 

I have had a real bad experience with the harbor freight 220 welder. It just wouldn't weld a clean bead. It would sputter and clog all the time. I never got a good strong weld out of the machine.

On the other hand, others have said that they had no problem with the machine. So I guess it is a gamble. You should read what they say about them in the tools section of the forum.

 

I agree with this, you can't really make an educated decision with out some education,you should be able to take a class at the local vo-tech school for around $100, do it and you will say it was the best money ever spent
I have a friend with one of those welders, IMHO about everything that you get from harbor frieght is JUNK!! with few exceptions, this welder not being one of them

 

if youre going to get something from HF, get a hobart 140...

 

I have heard nothing but bad things about the HF welders. The hobarts are worth looking at. They are made by miller and share parts. Plus a shop that services millers will work on the hobarts too.

 

I'm going to look into one of the beginner's classes. It's a pretty good idea. Thanks for the suggestions! I've heard good and bad things about Harbor Freight stuff, but I guess it depends on what you bought and where. I think I'm going to save for a better welder. I can always rent one until I can afford a good one later. Thanks again!

 

get a used one on ebay.

and lots of HF stuff is good, but it may be trial and error to find out what.
ex. their 150$ horiz/vertical bandsaw with a bimetal blade from mcmaster. good

39$ electric die grinder. good

electric impacts. bad

etc. i try a lot

 

another point: for the same money, i would buy a used miller or other quality welder over a spanking new HF or equivalent.

i.e. i got my maxstar for less than 1/2 price at a pawn shop and i wouldnt trade it for anything that HF has. period.

even if the welder from the pawnshop turned out to be a POS, (it didnt) i know it could have been serviced and fixed, and then i would have a quality welder with new parts.

 

harbor freight is now carrying hobarts and thats a good thing..... the mig 90 you are looking at is trash... i have a harbor freight welder and its barely enough to do basic welding.... and its a 100 amp unit....

 

I have one of their 12V impacts and out of the box it did not work very well. But after popping the case open, figuring out how it worked and fidning out that it was simply assembled wrong, I was able to fix it up to work very well. The trouble was in the dog clutch. There are 2 washers used as shims to center the clutch part in the heavy housing. Problem was both washers were on one side, rather than one on each side. Pulling that piece out and placing a washer on each side left it free to move, rather than binding up like it did originally. Put it back together and wow, that thing really works. For $20 it makes a handy trail tool. It is nearly as fast as my air impact and there is no air tank to fill, no air hose to drag out and put away.

Much of the HF stuff is like that, if you can spend the time tweaking it a bit, it actually works quite well. Often things like motors are not the greatest. They will not be NEMA certified and tend to overheat when pushed hard. Have not tried a HF welder, but used is a good way to go. I picked up a 230A AC/DC arc welder used with a whole bunch of extras for my first welder. Or just get some jumper cables and welding rod and hook up a few batteries:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri....shtml#Welding

I did some of the first welding on my truck with 3 batteries, install spring hangers, fabricated braced spring shackles, etc.

 

if you can, learn arc welding.... if you can arc weld, you can mig weld.... knowing how to mig weld doesnt mean you know how to arc weld..... no one really uses tig in an automtive application, not starting out anyways

 

its cool i have 1/2 and 3/8 dewalt cordless electric impacts now.

 

Thanks for all of the replies. Thanks, Roger, for the link. I hadn't seen that on your site yet. I probably had, but was looking for other things at the time. You're right, Jim, about the tig welding. I don't know anyone that really uses it for simple things. One of the guys I work with is going to show me how to weld and then I'm going to take a class when work slows down. It's amazing what you can do when you know how to weld. It's pretty under-appreciated.
Thanks again!
BTW, I didn't buy the HF welder. I'm going to check around first and see what I can find.

 

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=345729

 

I have a Hobart 125 and I would think that it would be the MINIMUM that you want to use on anything other than sheet metal.

I got mine used on eBay for dirt cheap. I got my auto-dimming helmet at HF for $49 and the dead blow hammer, a set of welding gloves, some magnetic holders, some 0.030 flux wire, and all my cutting and grinding discs. HF is good for consumables, but for equipment, I don't think I'd use any of their brands. They do carry Hobart, but Sears has lower prices on the Hobart 125 and 140 than HF does.

 

Here is a good discussion about low cost welders.

welder choices