Harbor Freight Mig Welder?????

[crazytrain]

Is a Harbor Freight Mig Welder worth $20.00?


Found this, Is it worth $20.00 or not. I would only be using it for light duty home use.

Harbor Freight Mig Welder - $20


http://www.flickr.com/photos/93748745@N03/9766602565/

It works as it should. Nearly new. I just dont want it.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Is a Harbor Freight Mig Welder worth $20.00?


Found this, Is it worth $20.00 or not. I would only be using it for light duty home use.

Harbor Freight Mig Welder - $20


http://www.flickr.com/photos/93748745@N03/9766602565/

It works as it should. Nearly new. I just dont want it.

Not really a welder I would ever purchase, but they are around $100 from HF. If you only need a welder about once a year to fix your lawnmower have at it. If you are looking to weld with this unit regularly and for long periods of time, you are wasting your money. This is only my opinion, but I've been welding for about 20 years.

 

[oldestof11]

WeldingWeb has a good writeup on these units. They even have ways to spend a few dollars and make them almost as good as a cheap Lincoln.

 

[Kaervak]

I owned one for a couple of years. For $20, I'd pick it up for the hell of it. It's not very versatile in terms of power settings, but for the occasional quick and dirty job it will do. It's also not MIG, flux core only which does limit it a bit but not the end of the world.

 

[therealwormey]

Is a Harbor Freight Mig Welder worth $20.00?


Found this, Is it worth $20.00 or not. I would only be using it for light duty home use.

Harbor Freight Mig Welder - $20


It works as it should. Nearly new. I just dont want it.

if you dont want it why bother asking. if you use it one time it will have paid for itself

 

[crazytrain]

if you dont want it why bother asking. if you use it one time it will have paid for itself

That is in the ad. I am waiting on an email back from the guy.

 

[92GreenYJ]

No. Just no. I wasted my money and time with one of those. It blew a fuse on me once and while at the local welding supply house looking for a replacement I played with a Miller 220v mig. Instead of the fuse I bought a Miller 175 and promptly scrapped the HF unit and never looked back.

 

[zkling]

For $20 and it was close, I might grab it just to play with a few times then put it back on CL for $20. A learning experience I would call it. See how it compares build and performance wise to my MM210. I'm sure it would be a good laugh.

If you just want something to play around with and it works fine, sure $20 ain't much. On the other hand if you are planning on building trailers or the like with it, don't waste your time and go for something bigger. My 2¢

 

[hofferwood]

Buy it!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kracin]

you can do some stuff with a cheap flux core welder.

the first welder i bought for myself (and still have) is a cheapo lincoln flux core from home depot, about that same size...

you can't lay down super pretty wels, but you can weld **** together and make it stick.

i do all kinds of welding, cutting, brazing, etc at work and just never had the need for an expensive unit at home... although im planning on needing a better one soon. but if it helps you decide, i did a complete exterior body restoration on an old 69 chevy c-10 using nothing but that cheapo lincoln welder that looks just like that, (a dial for wire speed that barely adjusts anything, and two switches for different ...... power settings.... if that is what youd call them on that lol).

it works, it does what it needs to, but it isn't going to be the best or prettiest, good way to get into welding without knowing whether or not it's something you really want to do yourself.

 

[TwoInch]

i have used that exact welder many times, i would get it for sure for $20 bucks if it works.

they arent the best, but once you figure out how to set it up, which is a ***** because you can only set the speed essentially, you can get some work done. wont be pretty, and it wont be perfect, but it will fuse two pieces of metal. doesnt work well for really thin gauge steel, or anything over like 3/16s. its got a narrow window for thickness

 

[therealwormey]

That is in the ad. I am waiting on an email back from the guy.

didnt realize that, thought it sounded odd, now it makes sense,,duh

 

[jacked_72]

I have a similar HF unit for periodic home use and it does fine. I use it maybe 3 times per year. When you need it you need it. For $20 I'd get it in a minute.

 

[Professur]

I think there's about $20 of copper in it.

 

[crewchief888]

if it works,and is nearby, i'd probably grab it.

similar welders sell for more than $100 on CL

 

[erty67]

For $20 and it was close, I might grab it just to play with a few times then put it back on CL for $20. A learning experience I would call it. See how it compares build and performance wise to my MM210. I'm sure it would be a good laugh.

If you just want something to play around with and it works fine, sure $20 ain't much. On the other hand if you are planning on building trailers or the like with it, don't waste your time and go for something bigger. My 2¢

this

 

[toomanytoyzz]

No. Just no. I wasted my money and time with one of those. It blew a fuse on me once and while at the local welding supply house looking for a replacement I played with a Miller 220v mig. Instead of the fuse I bought a Miller 175 and promptly scrapped the HF unit and never looked back.

I've heard that the customer service (if you can even call it that) for these units is horrible. With that said it's only $20 which will pay itself back if you can learn to throw down some half decent beads with it. Youtube has a lot of good vids showing guys welding with it. Fluxcore is a little harder to get than MIG welding. I remember one that put it up against a Lincoln and the poster said you couldn't tell. He was obviously a newbie to welding since the proof was in the heat signatures on the pieces front and back. Just because a weld looks decent doesn't mean the penetration is good. That is achieved in the amps of a better unit versus this one.

 

[91bronc300]

I think there's about $20 of copper in it.

I doubt that.

 

[BD1]

Buy it for $20 and resell for $ 40 ?

 

[sloppy]

I would buy it right now for $20 they weld OK.

They make a nice back up machine, or light travel unit.

 

[ShaneMSnyder]

I bought one awhile ago when they went on sale just to tinker with. It's pretty crappy to say the least but it's also cool and fun at the same time (for a 100% novice). It's very limited in amperage, wirespeed, no mig option, and it's got a hot tip which some don't like. I'd get it if you're thinking about it because dudes around here try to sell them for 120-140 bucks on CL used all while they're on sale for 90ish bucks at HF.

 

[neonnblack]

built this

and this with it.


It works-ish. Ugly little welds, had to be ground down (i wanted it ground anyways so it wasnt a big deal) I melted the amp selector switch, so i opened it up to try and find a new one and it has another side of terminals on it??? Three terminals. I plugged the wires into the other side to see if it would work, and it worked better than it did before. Its very hard to get used to but can do okay with things.

Just ordered a Hobart 210 mvp a few days ago, so my little HF welder will be put to pasture. It's served me well for the past 7 1/2 years.