Welder Recommendations

[paulsharvey]

This is why I've emphasized the third-party warranty listed alongside the purchase price on Amazon's cheap beginner welders. (And the expensive ones too). For an amateur, down for a while while you wait for that 100% purchase cost reimbursement should be an acceptable tradeoff for a cheap purchase price.

But I like your advice that HF's immediate exchange warranty is the best possible warranty for a welder in pro use where downtime is unacceptable. That sounds more practical than a backup spare expensive welder standing by 'just in case'.

There's near nothing inside a transformer welder that's delicate. Or easily damaged. Or difficult to repair. Just massive near-indestructible components. At least in the old machines that were sold for professional use.

Yup. Looking at this from the cheapskate end of the spectrum (occasional farm repairs and nothing time-critical), IGBT is great for convenience. While an elderly $100 transformer welder is a great backup. As well, its something to learn on that a beginner can't damage.

So, I have seen, and kinda thought about those Amazon, $3/month for 36 month 3rd party guarantees, but never dug into them much. No, not doing that on a coffee maker, or blender; but for a $300-600 welder/lathe/plasma cutter; i wonder how easy/well it works

 

[Cub 7275]

I don't understand how anyone could 'weld' like that, just laying bead on top of one side. Amateur here, but the minimum spec while welding is that the pool has to cut into both sides of a joint and have some obvious depth.

Maybe I wasn't clear. During the welding process, hood down, if I don't see any penetration on one side of a weld then I stop immediately and figure out what the problem is. I thought everyone does this. No?

Yep, once proficient the person welding should know by sight and sound if their weld is going well. If not, stop, grind it out and start again.

If you cannot see the weld your making, how can you tell if the weld is being properly done, or not? It's been over 48 yrs since I welded in Jr HS Metal Shop. Made a bench press out of angle iron and used it for over 25 - 30 yrs. Had 325lbs on it and it held up perfectly. All angle iron

Before we painted it blk, i remember taking a sm pointed like hammer and always knocking off the slag. We only had stick welders then, but i got an A on the project & the welds were pretty robust.

Being in my 60's eyesight is becoming an issue. Mig and Tig gas nozzles interfere with getting a good view of the weld puddle. Also the use it or lose it adage is very true. Trying to do the same welds compared to back when welding everyday is frustrating. Lack of muscle memory I guess. It takes me about a full day of welding to get comfortable again, though most tasks don't take that long.

We can also note; this jack took load in an un-intended way, and was side loaded, at the end of a 24" lever. It was designed for straight tension (the jack pulling vertically away from the tongue), but when they drug the jack; they introduced a bending moment. If it was Designed to resist that, it would be specifically welded at the corners, to prevent the start of the bending.

Still, more amps, slower travel speed, better pre-weld cleaning, and a post weld/post clean-up inspection would show the weld wasn't great.

So, if Mig, the pass should have looked down to the frame if swirling, or should have been at a 45, right in the V of the joint, with a slower speed, and "possibly" more amps, but not necessarily.

If Arc, your amps look fine, but the rod needs swept down to the frame more on each "C", looks like we just stuck the rod and got an arc and rolled with it.

A weld is a weld and that the jack got loaded the wrong way is irrelevant. Not sure why you keep excusing the poor workmanship. That Mig weld had a lack of fusion which is seen time and time again with Mig. Here is a picture of a section of a pressure vessel that failed. The entire v notch was filled with weld, but as you can see there is only a paper thin amount of fusion (red arrow) on the outside edge, which is what one would see inspecting the weld from the outside. The vessel passed the pressure check only to fail in the field from pressure spikes it would have easily handled if the weld was good.


Bottom line is Mig makes it easy to make a decent looking weld that isn't worth a $hit. Rookie welders need to get good at Mig before doing structural projects where life and limb are at risk. Welding is fun and rewarding. Like anything, know your limitations and use sound judgment when considering the failure modes of what you are working on.

 

[Runner]

Bottom line is Mig makes it easy to make a decent looking weld that isn't worth a $hit. Rookie welders need to get good at Mig before doing structural projects where life and limb are at risk. Welding is fun and rewarding. Like anything, know your limitations and use sound judgment when considering the failure modes of what you are working on.

This is why I am extremely reluctant to weld anything for anyone else. I know I'm not a great weldor, but am willing to accept the risk for my own stuff. I will occasionally weld something for a close friend or family member if it's not life-safety related, but otherwise, don't want the liability.

That being said, I've never had anything I welded break, other than things that were just tacked together for proof of concept. But I still know that I am not a professional weldor and can't guarantee my work.

 

[LouNY]

Well to get back on track;
My wife got me a new welder for my birthday, it's an Arccaptain TIG200PACDC.
It is capable of DC stick and AC or DC TIG. My brother brought up a small bracket for me to weld and while I haven't used this welder for anything so far, decided to give it try on stick welding.
I was quite surprised by how well it worked, it's also the first arc welder I've used that has hot start, and arc force as well as the amperage.
Did a bit of playing on some scrap 1/8" with some 6011 rod, then welded up his bracket.
As of now I'll say that this little chinese welder is pretty good.
Especially for the money.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

My first welder was a Lincoln PowerMIG 180C, which I still have. Later on, I added an AlphaTIG and a Titanium Unlimited 200. The latter machine is from Harbor Freight. It does MIG, stick, and DC TIG. I thought it would be nice to have a backup and also have more than one type of wire loaded at all times.

The Titanium has worked perfectly, and the torch is handier than the big Lincoln torch. I rarely touch the Lincoln now.

There is nothing wrong with MIG. America used it to make stuff that was used to fight World War Two, and there were no news stories about MIG disasters. If you're an idiot, you will make bad MIG welds that fail, but that is also true of every other process. Just don't be an idiot. Learn to make a good weld. It's not rocket science. MIG makes strong welds very quickly and easily.

That being said, I agree with whoever said you should do stick first. Stick will work fine in horrible conditions, and it's cheap. It's hard to learn, but that is helpful, because if you do MIG first, you will be less motivated to learn stick later. I am horrible at stick because I have not had the patience to study it.

A 115V welder can weld large stuff if you do multiple passes, but there are plenty of dual-voltage welders out there that make it unnecessary for you to choose.

Some advice about carts: don't buy one. They're all pretty bad compared to what you can make for yourself. I took US General tool carts and made rolling frames for them. Most carts are cheap and flimsy, and they put all your stuff out there in the open, in the way, with the grinding dust. A tool cart will keep everything clean and handy. I put something like $325 into each of my carts, and they're way better than anything I can buy. These days, call it $425.

I used the existing bolt holes in the carts, so they aren't modified at all. The frames screw right on.

The Lincoln and Miller carts I've seen are especially pathetic, and the prices are silly.

 

[stevem5215]

Agree 100% with the guy above. Learning stick welding is what I did first. I did it poorly and my welder friend who taught me laughed at my early welds. Practicing made me better but the MIG even with no gas works nicely even with a cheap welder (as long as you are not pushing it's limits too much). My tractor bucket hooks have never fallen off ! lol

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Here is a great example of a stupid, overpriced welding cart you should not buy. This is a Miller, and I found it online for $360+. I had something very similar from Vulcan, and it was very sturdy, but it was also stupid. I paid $100 and sold it for $50 just to make it go away.

Note how everything is out in the open. Note the tiny hooks for holding cables. Those hooks don't really work. Cables are stiff, and they don't like to coil nicely. If you use hooks like that, your cables will stick out and get in your way. Whatever you put on this cart will end up covered in abrasive grit and metal dust, and you will have no place at all for things like clamps, consumables, and pliers. And where do you put your tanks? Add in the obscene cost, and it's a recipe for regret.

 

[TMGT]

Here is a great example of a stupid, overpriced welding cart you should not buy. This is a Miller, and I found it online for $360+. I had something very similar from Vulcan, and it was very sturdy, but it was also stupid. I paid $100 and sold it for $50 just to make it go away.

Note how everything is out in the open. Note the tiny hooks for holding cables. Those hooks don't really work. Cables are stiff, and they don't like to coil nicely. If you use hooks like that, your cables will stick out and get in your way. Whatever you put on this cart will end up covered in abrasive grit and metal dust, and you will have no place at all for things like clamps, consumables, and pliers. And where do you put your tanks? Add in the obscene cost, and it's a recipe for regret.

View attachment 3686365

Have to disagree about the Vulcan cart, I have one I use for my XMT 304 with a 24a feeder. My only complaint is the tank holder is too small for my 300cuft tank, but that's a pretty easy mod.
The hangers for the cables are decent, no problem wrapping the 15ft 400a gun up.

I bought it open box so was on $85, I was going to build one, but it was another project on the long list I already have.

Now I am going to one day finish my cart for the TIG, that one is already started (started it only about 8yrs ago!)

 

[Runner]

I like to cut a piece of pipe in half and weld to the top side of my cable hangers to make a little smoother surface for them to hang on.

Have seen people use all kinds of things for this purpose, such as small wheels cut in half, garden hose racks, etc.

 

[5030]

Here is a great example of a stupid, overpriced welding cart you should not buy. This is a Miller, and I found it online for $360+. I had something very similar from Vulcan, and it was very sturdy, but it was also stupid. I paid $100 and sold it for $50 just to make it go away.

Note how everything is out in the open. Note the tiny hooks for holding cables. Those hooks don't really work. Cables are stiff, and they don't like to coil nicely. If you use hooks like that, your cables will stick out and get in your way. Whatever you put on this cart will end up covered in abrasive grit and metal dust, and you will have no place at all for things like clamps, consumables, and pliers. And where do you put your tanks? Add in the obscene cost, and it's a recipe for regret.

View attachment 3686365

Interesting and false comment about the Vulcan wheeled welder cabinet. Not the cheap Chinese one in your picture either. I have 2 actually, they both carry 3 120 cubic foot bottles and numerois machines and are very well built. One has my Pro-Tig on it plus an everlast water cooler and one plasma cutter, the other has a pair of Hobart MIGS in it and a second plasma cutter. Drawers all lock, operate smoothly and have plenty of room inside even enough room for 2 hoods. I really don't believe you know what you are talking about as the Vulcan cabs are top shelf. My employees are very happy with them as well.