el-cheapo- tig / arc welder at HF

[DMF]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( About the only CE stuff I have are those little 4" angle grinders that are about 9$

I have 2.. one is about 10ys old.. the bearing makes noise.. but it runs.. the other one is new.. in anticipation of the old one dieing.

i abuse those little hand grinders about like you do your tractor /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I have a feeling if I had a makita. I'd not do about 75% of the things I do with the chineese one.

I have one of those clamps that turns your grinder into a cheapy chop saw.. so I usually leave one in that with the skinny cutting disc on it.. and the other beater one I leave with a meaty surfacing disc on it. It gets the duties like cutting welds out..and removing rust prior to welding sh#tty metal.. etc.. and sharpening brush hog blades.. cutting wrenches down.. re-sizeing round bolt heads.. etc. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I expect them to fail. At this point each of them has given me more than 9$ worth of work.. So I figured I've actually beaten the curve... with my luck.. I'll go home today to use them and both will have died in their sleep! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Soundguy )</font>

I have two of these too! I beat the heck out of them and they just won't die? They even send you replaceable brushes for the motors with it; who does that? For $9 each I've certainly gotten my money out of them.

Sorry - Back to the welder conversation....

 

[MadReferee]

Those CE and Drill Master 4.5" grinders from HF can really take abuse. I just got a second DM unit for $9.99. Just last week I had my CE unit so hot from continuous use that you could not hold it without gloves. It still keeps on running fine.

 

[davesisk]

I have two CE grinders also...I keep a grinding wheel on one and a wire brush on the other. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I've definitely gotten my $9 worth out of both of these Chinese-made tools.

My first welder was a CE flux-cored wire-feed welder...so-called "gasless mig". It was a piece of crap, but it got me started and allowed me to prove to myself that I could actually learn to weld and make stuff out of metal. That $150 worth of training was worth it. Actually, I sold that one for $100, so I think of it as a 1.5 year rental for $50. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The key to buying cheap tools made in China and sold by US companies is to buy the heavier duty stuff...it's about the same ruggedness as the medium-duy name brands, but half the price or less. Sometimes it's just hit or miss (and sometimes even with the same tool...can you say "quality control"?), so if you get something that sucks, return it and try the next model up. If that doesn't work, return it and go buy the name brand.

I'd truly prefer to buy all American-made tools. But, the issue I face is that I wouldn't have some tools that I use quite a bit if they weren't available cheap from China, etc. I haven't fully resolved this in my mind yet. I guess if you apply that to tractors (completely American made) the list of brands and models to choose from gets pretty small. In fact, the only one I know of that's compact size and fully American-made are the Power-tracs (and I can't even say for sure that there are no parts in the thing that are manufactured in a foreign country). Someone please correct me on that last point if I'm wrong!. My Massey-Ferguson 1220 is obviously made by Iseki in Japan...there are stickers on it to prove it! I guess part of the debate would be "American-made" versus "American-sold"? Like I said, I have not decided a firm position on where I actually stand on this issue. That said, many of the name brand tools are also made in foreign countries.

And looking back, I guess I went off on a tanget, didn't I? Sorry folks!

Dave

 

[Dargo]

I'm glad the CE items have worked for you. Really. For me, it's just the "burned once, burned twice....okay, now burned 20 times" so I've been burned so many times I'm on fire. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif I assume that they must sell something that works; I just haven't found it. And, I never will, since they have been off my list for a while. After getting burned so many times, I had to go along with the consensus about Chicago Electric stuff.

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The huge majority of people there are pretty much against anything from HF other than if HF happens to sell a brand name. The common opinion on anything "Chicago Electric", or unknown name is to avoid under any circumstance. )</font>

Well, that certainly is normal and expected. However, that does not make it good advice.

I bet more Chicago Electric welders are sold anually than Hobart. So maybe Hobart should be called the "unknown".

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have two of these too! Sorry - Back to the welder conversation.... )</font>

Uh, gee... I only have 1 of them. Now I have grinder envy. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif


I think some of the Hobart users would REALLY be embarrassed if a HF owner would show them a bead from their $200 machine that was just as good as their expensive big name machines. In fact, I have seen beads from home made welders that were top notch.

I have nothing agiainst Hobart welders or owners. One needs a heavy-duty rig for big projects and professional use. The big name welder owners need to lighten up and admit you don't need to spend way over $1000 to lay a few inches of bead a year.

 

[MadReferee]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I think some of the Hobart users would REALLY be embarrassed if a HF owner would show them a bead from their $200 machine that was just as good as their expensive big name machines. In fact, I have seen beads from home made welders that were top notch. )</font>

Any welding machine can lay a good looking bead.

The real question is will the welded joint hold. In this case a lot depends on the machine, the person doing the welding and several intangibles like joint prep, rod used, machine setup, etc.

Pretty beads do not always equal good welds.

 

[ScottV]

There is real weldors using those for stick.
I guess for the price it could be ok.
I found a almost new(Mint) Esab 161 like Daves for $450.00 and thought that was a much better investment. The Esab would sell for about three times what I paid for it. The Harbor would be worth
exactly half what you paid right after you bought it and it's all down hill from there!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Think Chinese tractors!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[davesisk]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I found a almost new(Mint) Esab 161 like Daves for $450.00)</font>

Dude, you are making me sick! After I decided the inverter-based ESAB was the best ticket, I looked for a used one for 6 months. I saw one used machine on Ebay for $1400. I said to myself "self, I'll buy a new one w/warranty for $1500 before I buy a used one for $1400", so I did. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Seriously, that's a fantastic deal you got...use the heck out of it, and if you sell it in the next 10 years you'll actually make a profit! High-end welding equipment seems to generally go for near-new prices unless it's ancient, huge, or 3-phase! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Dave

 

[Dargo]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( However, that does not make it good advice. )</font>

Certainly does for me, especially when it comes to my money. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif