jaredsmith.tx

sorry if im in the wrong section

no experience with welding, but thinking of trying it out. dont want to spend very much (being a broke college student) but would like to get a cheap welder and try my hand at it

found this http://www.harborfreight.com/90-amp-...der-98871.html

what can yall tell me about this or other inexpensive welders to start on
(let me emphasize that yes i know this is cheap but it seams to get decent reviews and for something i am just wanting to try i dont want to spend very much. if i like it/am good at it i will quickly start to save up for a "real" welder )

94xjstud

Yep wrong section, should be in cherokee chat.

But, there was a topic about this awhile ago and what I took from it was that it is a weaker welder, will have lots of spatter (not pretty), ok for learning and building small non structual stuff (roof racks, tie downs, accessories, and sheetmetal).

alaskan

I have that welder. After a little frustration getting my settings right and some different wire/tips than it came with, I'm laying down a decent bead:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/cr...ux-weld-74307/

Here's the bumper I'm building with it:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/st...omorrow-73766/


I'd describe it as minimally adequate and kind of annoying to deal with but definitely not a waste of $100. It will help you figure out if you enjoy working with metal and will allow you to fix things that would have been nearly impossible before.

For example, I broke one of the studs that holds the sound bar up under the dome light and all I had to do was grind off the screw portion of the stud and tack on a short piece of 1/8" rod to fix the problem. It's ridiculously convenient to have a welder around.