Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[California]

Post links please.

Black Friday welders.
(Upper left of the page under 'Deals & Discounts').

Amazon.com : welder

Just be sure to buy the third-party 3 or 4 year warranty if you choose a cheap one! And read the user comments.

That said, I bought the $149
Amico MIG-130A, 130 Amp MIG/Flux Cored Wire Gasless Welder, 110/230V Dual Voltage
a year ago today and it's fantastic. I see that one of the several listings for it is $139 now. With free shipping. All of those several listings ship from the Amico warehouse in Los Angeles, and Amazon guarantees free return through the end of January. Little risk to try and see if you like this or another of the cheap hobby-grade welders. And - I advise dual-voltage, some of those don't cost any more than 110. A 110 volt welder limits what you can do.

 

[rangerfredbob]

rangerfredbob, Where did your friends find/buy the Husky boxes? Home Depot or Lowes? I'll go look at some if so. Thanks.

Husky is Home Depot, Kobalt and Craftsman s Lowes

Very true, I'm not saying their welders are the best but I'm not the average user, resale value doesn't enter into my equation anywhere and I'm pretty crafty so scabbing on another lead doesn't scare me too bad... my statements aren't for everyone, I know, just sharing my experiences with what I have, my MIG 170 has several thousand road miles on it now and has been fed some dirty power and thrown around in dusty conditions and keeps working, haven't tried running it over with a forklift but don't think that's a recommended test for many things . Name brand welders aren't always in the cards for everyone, sure I'd prefer a $1500 welder... then again name brand welders are getting cheaper too...

 

[jjeff]

Husky is Home Depot, Kobalt and Craftsman s Lowes

Very true, I'm not saying their welders are the best but I'm not the average user, resale value doesn't enter into my equation anywhere and I'm pretty crafty so scabbing on another lead doesn't scare me too bad... my statements aren't for everyone, I know, just sharing my experiences with what I have, my MIG 170 has several thousand road miles on it now and has been fed some dirty power and thrown around in dusty conditions and keeps working, haven't tried running it over with a forklift but don't think that's a recommended test for many things . Name brand welders aren't always in the cards for everyone, sure I'd prefer a $1500 welder... then again name brand welders are getting cheaper too...

Well I view it this way and I'm not just implying welders, but if you learned to become a decent welder on a cheap HF welder you can most likely weld profeciently with any welder out there.

 

[jjeff]

Btw when I melted my friends lead in two the replacement lead for the cheap harbor freight welders was almost as much as the hf welder itself. If I remember correctly the lead and gun were integral one piece. Probably part of the reason why I'm so against cheap hf welders.

 

[rangerfredbob]

Yee, the gun and lead are somewhat consumables really (or should be considered that I'm pretty sure...), they at least now offer replacement liners that aren't too bad, the trigger switch on the 100A deal is cheezy and has shorted out a few times on me causing some issues, even had to make a new rectifier and change a fuse at one point on that dang thing...

 

[jjeff]

Yee, the gun and lead are somewhat consumables really (or should be considered that I'm pretty sure...), they at least now offer replacement liners that aren't too bad, the trigger switch on the 100A deal is cheezy and has shorted out a few times on me causing some issues, even had to make a new rectifier and change a fuse at one point on that dang thing...

In order to make my buddies welder whole again I remember I had to order more than what was needed cause HF only sold it in one piece at the time. I fixed it for him on my dime cause I jacked it up, with him knowing if he needed help welding something ever again he'd have to take it to my place and I'll use my stuff.

 

[Oaktree]

Husky is Home Depot, Kobalt and Craftsman s Lowes

Craftsman is also sold by True Value hardware stores, maybe others as well.
Isn't/wasn't Husky also sold by Tractor Supply? Could've sworn I bought something there once of that brand.

 

[daugen]

another TBN member recommended this, has a 95 percent 5 star rating. Not a cheap tool but clearly a good one.

1200 Lumen LED Rechargeable Underhood Work Light

Amazing deals on this 1200L Underhood Rechargeable Work Light at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[5030]

Myself, I use the Braun magnetic base rechargeable (via USB) trouble light. It throws plenty of light to see with and is much less expensive to boot.

 

[5030]

Btw when I melted my friends lead in two the replacement lead for the cheap harbor freight welders was almost as much as the hf welder itself. If I remember correctly the lead and gun were integral one piece. Probably part of the reason why I'm so against cheap hf welders.

Understandable. You get what you pay for and cheap equates to cheap no matter where you buy it.