Viagra suggests a possible 4 hour hard on, rarely happens I suspect, a 1/2" machine for 89 bucks is about at the same level. They're pretty much throw away machines, personally I'd save up and buy something better.

Also, a major part of welding is your prep work, keep that in mind.

My experiance? Certified since 1983 (3/4" flat/vertical/overhead..Mig/Stick)

 

Well I've been welding for a couple years now and I'll tell ya that you never want to go cheap on a setup. If you buy cheap you'll end up with s***. The safer and more economical way to go in the long run would be to buy a trusted welder setup such as a Lincoln AC-225 or go with an Oxy-Acetalyne steup. The Lincoln stick welder will last forever and it's beem in production since forever. You can pick a used one up sometimes for $80. If you want to go with the Oxy-Acetalyne setup you'll have to rent the tanks from a company (totally worth it) but you get free refills and safety checks. Oxy-Acetalyne welding usually yeilds better results than a stick welder and you can expand the setup to things like cutting torches. You'll do well for a little more money. Good luck on choosing man!

 

Yeah I have only welded with oxy-ace tanks. That most likely what I would get, specially for the amount of use it would get.

 

I've welded with mig, tig, stick, and oxy. I love oxy-acetalyne out of all of them. It makes a NICE weld compared to what I can do with any of the other methods. Its real easy to make that roll of dimes haha

 

Heck yeah! I was in precision machining in high school, all my spare time I was on those tanks practicing. I got damn good too!

Plus they are very multi useful.

 

Percision machining? Did you guys have lathes and stuff? You could have made some awesome parts for your XJ in there!!

I took Welding and Advanced Welding for a couple years and I'm great at it doing it now. Hopefully in the near future (when I can afford it) I want to rent the tanks and everything for personal use and I want to fab an offroad bumper for my Jeep because those damn ARB ones cost an arm and a leg!

 

Well I took it 12 years ago in HS HAHAHA :\


But yeah I sure could have. We had 2 cnc machines, lathes pretty much eveything a shop would need.

Look on Craigslist for tanks, 200 bucks you can get a decent little set up.

 

I'd love to own my own tanks. Thats even better because then I only have to pay when i go empty and since I won't be welding everything in sight.... it should last me a while. Yeah I'm glad i'm still in high school because having axcess to the autoshop i work in, does wonders.

 

i have a lincoln electric 100hd wire feed flux welder and suprisingly it is a pretty serious welder read up on some reviews through google

 

I had a Horror Fright MIG a few years ago and was very dissatisfied. First of all it had like a 1% duty cycle, which made jobs very slow, and made it near impossible to properly join thicker metals because you’d have to interrupt each pass so many times.

Also, I had these weird experiences where the welded joint would break unexpectedly. I always thought if you passed enough current through two pieces of metal to melt them together, how you got the current there didn’t matter. BUT. Doing the same exact job side-by-side with my Lincoln 125 amp MIG, the beads from the Lincoln look different (flatter) and are MUCH MUCH stronger. That was with the same wire (Lincoln flux core), same technique, same everything. Even tried varying the amperage between the two.

The Lincoln wasn’t expensive… like $425 from Home DePot, and it came with everything needed to get started welding.

I don’t really know why the HF welder seems to make weaker beads. I bet 10 minutes of Googling would reveal some anecdotes.

 

Do better prep .

 

They're expensive and junk .They have ok clearance , but need mods so they don't bend the first time you catch a rock on corners ...and that's b.s.at $750-800

 

Another welder thread?

Guys, screw GOOGLE, just search THIS forum, we've got tons of well educated welders here who've answered tons of questions just like the ones asked here. You've got a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips, use it!!

However...

People who say prep work is important have it right. But the HF welder does indeed have its limits.

Its a $100 welder. You can't expect it to **** gold. But its gonna get light duty jobs done just fine.

I got one to do exhaust work and mainly for patching the floors in my '87. Its working amazingly, and I've found other uses for it.

Something you all need to consider when suggesting the higher powered, high dollar welders is the power source. Some, like me, can't run 220v to our garage. Its just not economical or practical. So we're kinda screwed.

I'd love to have a nice, high quality high dollar welder that uses gas. I will have one...someday. But til someday comes I'm happy with my cheaper lower quality one that gets the job done.

 

Sort of off-topic, but running 220 VAC single-phase should be a DIY job in any relatively new house (e.g. built in the last 20 years). All you need is enough space in your breaker box for two more breakers, a double-pole breaker, and the supporting parts… wire, conduit, outlets, etc. (The double pole breaker itself is what takes the two spaces in the breaker box. Basically, it is a 110x2 volt configuration.)

The basic jist of getting 220 service is to run all your wire leaving a pigtail near the breaker box. Then shut off the main breaker, pull off the access cover, connect the wires to the new two-pole breaker, snap it into the box and button everything up. There is a bit more to it than that, but not much.

Having said that, I do realize not everyone is comfortable working 12 volt electricity let alone 220. If you run all the wire and conduit yourself, leaving the final electrical hookups to an electrician, his fee should be relatively reasonable.

Black & Decker has an electrical book that is basically a boiled-down version of the National Electric Code (NEC). It has all the pointers you need to do a safe job that will pass inspection for permitting (if you are into that type of thing). I read the book cover-to-cover and it gave me enough confidence to run two new 220 services AND an auxillary panel into my garage to power the lathe, mill, and a couple high-current outlets for other things. Electrician quoted me $1,500 for the job, I did it myself for less than 200.

 

I'm gonna be talking to you once I buy a house.

For now I'm still renting, and the garage is probably 100ft away from the box, so I'm not gonna waste my time.