Supercharged111
Truly Awesome
Have you tried the Forney flux core? My 10# roll of Lincoln finally ran out one day and Forney was readily available so I tried that and decided instantly that I liked it better.
Small welder suggestions for a DIY'er?
- Thread starter someotherguy
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Have you tried the Forney flux core? My 10# roll of Lincoln finally ran out one day and Forney was readily available so I tried that and decided instantly that I liked it better.
I have not, but I'll keep that in mind for when I need to stock up next time. I did use some Forney sticks one time and hated them, but I'm sure a part of that was I just wasn't familiar with how they behaved. I like the Hobart sticks.
Jeepwalker
'89 GMC RCSB 4x4
I agree I would probably look at the Vulcan from HF. They have a lot higher quality 'import' stuff than anybody else IMO. Videos I've watched, they seem really nice. I've had their old (blue) chinese plasma cutter for the last 20 yrs and it's never let me down. There's a bunch of Chinese inexpensive welders on ebay/amazon which I wouldn't be afraid to take a chance on if I was a young guy starting out.
I myself am a Miller-Guy. If you did find an older Miller like a 140, or 140A Lincoln on Marketplace which isn't too beat up, it might be worth a look if the price were right. But like I say there are new electronics in them than the old ones had, which make them smoother and easier to start a weld and GET better welds. So.. for those reasons alone, you'd almost be better off with a newer one. Everlast is another good name when it comes to Import welders.
If money WERE no-object, I would get the below welder.
MAN! Those (above) have really gone up in price over the last 15 years!! ~$5k!! Used to be $2k would buy one. The Hobart would be similar but lacks the LED readouts on the face. But you don't need one of those for small DIY projects. But aren't they FUN to look at? Miller has smaller welders tho
I myself am a Miller-Guy. If you did find an older Miller like a 140, or 140A Lincoln on Marketplace which isn't too beat up, it might be worth a look if the price were right. But like I say there are new electronics in them than the old ones had, which make them smoother and easier to start a weld and GET better welds. So.. for those reasons alone, you'd almost be better off with a newer one. Everlast is another good name when it comes to Import welders.
If money WERE no-object, I would get the below welder.
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MAN! Those (above) have really gone up in price over the last 15 years!! ~$5k!! Used to be $2k would buy one. The Hobart would be similar but lacks the LED readouts on the face. But you don't need one of those for small DIY projects. But aren't they FUN to look at? Miller has smaller welders tho
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Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
I have an old lincoln weldpak 100 I bought new 25 years ago. I added a MIG conversion, and have not looked back.
Whatever you buy, you want a true variable speed wire feed, not click settings for wire feed speed. Sometimes you have to fine tune the wire speed and cannot do that with click type feed settings.
Welders are like pickup trucks. Everybody thinks their brand that they have is best. I have no problem using any of them. We have a 220 Hobart and a Miller pro MIG at work. Plus my little Lincoln at home. I use any of em with equal good results. My little Lincoln I have cut and shortened a pickup truck frame with. Any time you weld thick metal you need to V notch the metal to get full weld penetration. For doing light gage sheetmetal as in doing bodywork, a small MIG or TIG is good.
Whatever you buy, you want a true variable speed wire feed, not click settings for wire feed speed. Sometimes you have to fine tune the wire speed and cannot do that with click type feed settings.
Welders are like pickup trucks. Everybody thinks their brand that they have is best. I have no problem using any of them. We have a 220 Hobart and a Miller pro MIG at work. Plus my little Lincoln at home. I use any of em with equal good results. My little Lincoln I have cut and shortened a pickup truck frame with. Any time you weld thick metal you need to V notch the metal to get full weld penetration. For doing light gage sheetmetal as in doing bodywork, a small MIG or TIG is good.
Jeepwalker
'89 GMC RCSB 4x4
I've used a lot of different welders over the yrs different people I've known had this or that. I don't necessarily feel that way. I think Lincoln and Miller are two brands you can't go wrong with if you can spend the $$. It used to be there weren't many other options. Some off-brands over the yrs really surprised me how well they worked. Some weren't as good, none really sucked so bad I couldn't do what I needed to do (even if they were somewhat inconsistent). But I could still get done what the project demanded. I think it's the "consistency" even between welders of the same off-brand model which can even vary.
I agreed to weld on new rockers and cab corners for a guy...but wasn't going to take my welder over there. He bought the cheapest Century flux core welder years ago at the local farm & barn. This was like 20 yrs ago. Looking at it I was like, "Ohhh boy! this looks like a POS ...but whatever." Actually it surprised me! That darn little welder did a pretty marvelous job!
Side note: I know a guy who has a little side-room in his shop. In there he literally has almost every Harbor Freight wire welder they ever sold, including a couple Vulcans and a Titanium..or whatever they're called! LOL. I kid you now. I should take a picture sometime. He's not hurting for dough. I guess he just like them?? I kind of surveyed the room with my mouth agape...looking at those welders. I always wanted to try the super-el-cheapo mig welder they used to sell, but never did. I'll have to ask him one of these days to give it a whirl. I'm always looking to have fun with one...good, bad or ugly. Esp if I don't own it.
Jeepwalker
'89 GMC RCSB 4x4
I've looked over the Forney's. Yeah, they look interesting. Guess they're out of CO, huh (components made in Mexico)? I haven't personally run across anyone around who has one. I was surprised they were pretty price-competitive to lower cost welders. I like the new Green!!
I almost bought a Panasonic welder years ago. Had it's own running gear. Similar to below. The one I was looking at had a few extra tweak dials as I recall. Could do stick. I read great things about them. The weld shop guy at the local welding supplier said they welded smooth, almost an industrial unit. I think I tested it out. But just didn't seem like enough support should something go awray, and an equivalent Miller was less. Couple yrs later the weld shop stopped carrying them and picked up Essab (also Miller/Lincoln too) ...not because of any issues (the guy told me). Not one you run across a lot. Now if they put taller & wider wheels on the back with chrome spoked hubs....I might have been sold!!
I almost bought a Panasonic welder years ago. Had it's own running gear. Similar to below. The one I was looking at had a few extra tweak dials as I recall. Could do stick. I read great things about them. The weld shop guy at the local welding supplier said they welded smooth, almost an industrial unit. I think I tested it out. But just didn't seem like enough support should something go awray, and an equivalent Miller was less. Couple yrs later the weld shop stopped carrying them and picked up Essab (also Miller/Lincoln too) ...not because of any issues (the guy told me). Not one you run across a lot. Now if they put taller & wider wheels on the back with chrome spoked hubs....I might have been sold!!
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someotherguy
even worse in person
I think the biggest issue with ANY choice of welder is the availability of repair parts. It doesn't matter how great of a welder it is, once it breaks, if you can't repair it - it's junk, which to me, means it was junk when it was new, just shiny and currently-working junk.
Unfortunately, seems even some of the big brands suffer from this. Recent example, my buddy just went through this with his Miller plasma cutter. It's an older model, but wasn't cheap.. it crapped out and appears to be the control board. Can't buy one. There's a repair service for them that is around $700 IIRC. I referred him to that guy but not sure why he chose not to do it - either lack of funds/willingness to part with the funds, or maybe the guy told him his wasn't repairable.
Anyway y'all please don't think my lack of activity on choosing one means it was time wasted typing up these excellent responses. I will eventually get one, it's just low on the list as I don't have a pressing need (at the moment) and I've still got plenty of backlog to catch up on from what feels like going on 2 months of health issues that have kept me out of the garage. I swear the last 2 days worth of work out there felt like a LOT.
Richard
Unfortunately, seems even some of the big brands suffer from this. Recent example, my buddy just went through this with his Miller plasma cutter. It's an older model, but wasn't cheap.. it crapped out and appears to be the control board. Can't buy one. There's a repair service for them that is around $700 IIRC. I referred him to that guy but not sure why he chose not to do it - either lack of funds/willingness to part with the funds, or maybe the guy told him his wasn't repairable.
Anyway y'all please don't think my lack of activity on choosing one means it was time wasted typing up these excellent responses. I will eventually get one, it's just low on the list as I don't have a pressing need (at the moment) and I've still got plenty of backlog to catch up on from what feels like going on 2 months of health issues that have kept me out of the garage. I swear the last 2 days worth of work out there felt like a LOT.
Richard
Komet
I'm Awesome
Well, repair parts is a factor and I get wanting to avoid your buddy's scenario because he got the worst possible outcome. But, I think the likelihood that a hobbyist quantity of welding brings a used welder (or a new Chinesium special tbh) all the way to failure is low.
There's gotta be more guys out there that bought brand new small welder setups, ran maybe an hour of beads, and hung it up than there are little machines pushed to the brink of failure and then maliciously sold.
Of course, I'm biased with my excessive risk tolerance and $500 Miller that works like new but it only took me a month to find that deal.
There's gotta be more guys out there that bought brand new small welder setups, ran maybe an hour of beads, and hung it up than there are little machines pushed to the brink of failure and then maliciously sold.
Of course, I'm biased with my excessive risk tolerance and $500 Miller that works like new but it only took me a month to find that deal.
It doesn't help trying to run one past its Duty Cycle. If you wanna lay down a 300' bead all at once get a bigger machine.
Jeepwalker
'89 GMC RCSB 4x4
I agree. Don't overthink it. By waiting, you're going to lose a couple hundred bucks ...paid to uncle don. Figure out what 80% of your welding needs are and shoot for that. How often are you going weld over 1/4"? Are you *Really* going to weld aluminum? If you do...maybe you don't need a spool gun..really. Or if you DO need a spool gun then you almost need to buy a pretty new model which has integrated SG features.
Wirefeed welder technology is 'out of the box' anymore. Many import welders (and I've watched tons of reviews) seem like they work just fine and pack them full of advanced features. Therefore...IDK if it's worth buying a really old model welder sans..good features. And there are even guys who repair import welders.
If funds are a big concern, just go get a HF Titanium (or Vulcan) when they come on sale (think the Titanium is on sale now), and buy the multi-year warranty if failure bugs you. Or a basic 2010's on up Miller/Lincoln in nice shape online locally if you see one. Or Forney ..seems to have a nice competitive product and USA company (seem less $$ than L&M). I would definitely get one where you can hook up shielding gas. Even if you don't think you'll need it -- you will. And buy a cheap cart. One that looks good...
Once you get a welder you'll likely find more projects and use it more than you thought you would.
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