welder recommendation

[MUKAK]

i am in a market for a welder, my budget is around 250-300$ and i am looking for a plug in type ( no gas ) flux welder

HF has the Chicago made 85 amp for 99$ right now but i am sure its junk

the welder will be used to weld up holes from Saiga conversion and minor garage work on my Jeep

and btw i never welded b4 and cant wait to learn!! ( watching youtube vids now haha )

[guns4life]

I'm teaching myself with this.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Weld-Pak-140-HD-Wire-Feed-Welder-K2514-1/100670934

I waited until I got a nice giftcard to home depot before buying. When I went in to the store the welder I wanted(next step down) was out of stock so they discounted the next step up which brought it to about 425.00 IIRC.


You may want to consider banking your funds until you can get away from HF. I spent weeks researching HF vs entry level big brand welders and couldn't get myself to pull the trigger on the HF models even though I shop there often. I didn't want to risk structural integrity with a sub-par welder. I'm a very novice welder so my opinion is worth what it is, I just happened to be in your position not too long ago.

I told my wife that I wanted home depot giftcards for my birthday/christmas if anybody were to ask, haha. It took a couple holiday seasons but santa finally came through.

[Shasta Frog]

You can usually find Miller or Lincoln A/C stick welders for around that price. I've got a Miller 225 stick welder at a yard sale for $75. No moving parts just plug in and set your amperage and weld.

I'd recommend a stick welder for first time over a mig,tig or oxy

[Shasta Frog]

I'm teaching myself with this.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Weld-Pak-140-HD-Wire-Feed-Welder-K2514-1/100670934

I waited until I got a nice giftcard to home depot before buying. When I went in to the store the welder I wanted(next step down) was out of stock so they discounted the next step up which brought it to about 425.00 IIRC.


You may want to consider banking your funds until you can get away from HF. I spent weeks researching HF vs entry level big brand welders and couldn't get myself to pull the trigger on the HF models even though I shop there often. I didn't want to risk structural integrity with a sub-par welder. I'm a very novice welder so my opinion is worth what it is, I just happened to be in your position not too long ago.

I told my wife that I wanted home depot giftcards for my birthday/christmas if anybody were to ask, haha. It took a couple holiday seasons but santa finally came through.

I also have a Lincoln SP135 Plus. Similar to the one in your link. Excellent welders IMO. 90% of my welding is done with this welder up to 1/4''.

Even have the aluminum set up for that welder but haven't used it yet.

[wecf]

I have had a Longevity-inc (256pi TIG) for 3 years and it works great. I use Miller and Lincoln TIG everyday and they are awesome, but not needed unless you are going to weld often.

Get a 220 machine!

You can use your dryer hookups to plug it in, 110 is a joke unless you want to buy a $1000+ welder.

[NytWolf]

Save up until you can get a better welder that uses gas. Learning to weld on flux/gasless sucks. You won't really know if what you're doing is right.

I got a Hobart Handler 140. It's pretty flexible for a garage welder, and you can use it gasless. The internal parts are actually Miller because Miller bought the company a few years back.

Hobart Handler 140 at Northern Tools

[ar15barrels]

i am in a market for a welder, my budget is around 250-300$ and i am looking for a plug in type ( no gas ) flux welder

HF has the Chicago made 85 amp for 99$ right now but i am sure its junk

the welder will be used to weld up holes from Saiga conversion and minor garage work on my Jeep

and btw i never welded b4 and cant wait to learn!! ( watching youtube vids now haha )

Honestly, just pay a professional.

Flux type wire welders suck, no matter how good of a welder you get.
They are fine if you just want to weld up wrought iron fences in windy weather, but they have no place on gun work.

[ar15barrels]

You can usually find Miller or Lincoln A/C stick welders for around that price. I've got a Miller 225 stick welder at a yard sale for $75. No moving parts just plug in and set your amperage and weld.

I'd recommend a stick welder for first time over a mig,tig or oxy

Welding up holes in 1mm sheetmetal with a stick welder would be quite a fun project for someone who has never welded before...

[ar15barrels]

Save up until you can get a better welder that uses gas. Learning to weld on flux/gasless sucks. You won't really know if what you're doing is right.

This is solid advice.
A person learning welding could learn with a gas shielded mig welder.
They would even be able to weld 1mm sheetmetal eventually.
Just don't try to LEARN on the saiga receiver...

[bbgughj]

Stick welder, check craigslist...

[Shasta Frog]

Welding up holes in 1mm sheetmetal with a stick welder would be quite a fun project for someone who has never welded before...

Ya I would say so. I was more or less commenting on general fab work and not so much on guns.

Tig for guns and thinner material and aluminum, hands down!

[TacRak]

just save your money. get one machine that has a nice % duty cycle. even thought its more than you want(ed) to pay. it will be worth it. you wont have to buy another one for a long time if you decide you like it

[klewan]

Miller rep would weld two single edge razor blades together; showed how you could not burn thru. Mig welder... and a butt joint.

[toddh]

Come to my house over the weekend, and I will TIG weld them up for a 6pack of good craft beer.

Then you can save up for a quality piece of equipment.
IMHO...crappy chinese equipment does not belong in an American's garage.

[ScottsBad]

The great thing about the 140 is it runs on common voltage so taking it with you is nice. But the power is just OK.

If you are keeping it at home and can get 220v wired I recommend looking at the 180 model if you are planning on needing it for more difficult jobs. The 140 amp will work for many, but the 180 will give you a little more margin for higher power requirements.

Duty cycle is also important, I didn't know that when I bought my 180 (used so I got it cheap). The Home Depot versions have low duty cycles which means they will shut down quickly if you go too long. I think they have like 20% duty cycle. The industrial models have 20-30% at full power. I believe that's how it works. (I am sure someone will correct me). For what you are doing you may not need the extended duty cycle.