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Lost all my tools - need a welder

rugger

rugger

TheOrginalMiataGuy
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
139
Messages
544
Loc
Roanoke, VA
I'm debating what to do. Money is tied up in retirement. I lost the house in divorce and all the tools there including my Miller.

I'm rebuilding and considering adding a welder to the stable. It would be something that my 15 year old son could learn on and possibly inherit when he moves out. I've just bought a house and am remodeling. So, I want to get a welder on the cheap if I can. Does it make sense to get something like a Forney 298 stick welder @ $200 and pickup up a $100 TIG gun when I'm ready? I'm really reluctant to pick up a wire feed flux welder. I've never welded with one and am concerned about results. I probably wouldn't do anything over 3/16" wall/thickness unless I do some 1/4 but wouldn't have to be full pen. Thoughts?

Forney Easy Weld 298 Arc Welder 100ST, 120-Volt, 90-Amp, Green - - Amazon.com
 
I have a DC stick welder I use every weekend and my MIG has been set up and been in "just needs a ground clamp" state for about 1yr now. That should tell you how I feel about wire welding.

I would spend $200 on a decades old used 240v welder of any kind before I spend that kind of coin on a 120v box.
 
arse_sidewards said:
I have a DC stick welder I use every weekend and my MIG has been set up and been in "just needs a ground clamp" state for about 1yr now. That should tell you how I feel about wire welding.

I would spend $200 on a decades old used 240v welder of any kind before I spend that kind of coin on a 120v box.
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It's been a long time since I stick welded. But, I'm not scared of it. Honestly, the only time that I've TIGed is to build headers.
 
find an old used miller or lincoln 220v mig off craiglist or facebook if you dare to deal with retards.
How much welding do you do anyway? Doesn't sound like much if you let the welder get taken from you. Is the ex going to use it? No? go get that shit
 
samy crawler said:
find an old used miller or lincoln 220v mig off craiglist or facebook if you dare to deal with retards.
How much welding do you do anyway? Doesn't sound like much if you let the welder get taken from you. Is the ex going to use it? No? go get that shit
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I weld very little. Everything has been sold. I let it all go to keep my retirement.
 
Sounds like you'll be fine with that Forney for what you need now. Not like it's a huge investment if you decide you need to scrap it for something bigger in the future.

I just check FB down here and really not much worth looking at in older buzz boxes. People want $300+ even for old AC tombstones.
 
Geeze, you could have at least let us all know you were having a tool fire sale. I could be selling your welder back to you right now...:flipoff2:

I do most of my welding with my Lincoln WeldPack 180HD. Its portable, easy to use and welds up to 1/4" plate just fine. I throw it in a storage bay in the RV for camping trips. It has saved many a rig from being parked the first day of a multi-day trip. Little more clean up due to flux core spatter, but that's what sanding disks are for. You can get consumables at any Home Depot.
 
I would say buy a used Miller Synrowave welder ac/dc and you should have everything automotive covered. But things on the used market seem to be few and far between.
 
Also smart move to on the retirement. Compounding interest is a lost concept for most people.
 
Watch craigslist or the like and pick up a HOBART mig machine with gas.

Flux core is ok and with enough practice can produce decent stuff.

Or hell. Go get a tractor supply credit card and buy a new one.
 
cj3a said:
Also smart move to on the retirement. Compounding interest is a lost concept for most people.
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I couldn’t afford a deep dive or continued surveillance of my assets. I didn’t have to do a financial disclosure and traded a house, six acres, all the contents of the house, garage and my automotive shop. We never have to have discussions about Bitcoin or other investments.
 
if you are doing occasional and generally light welding, don't be afraid of a 115v mig and run flux core.

easy and portable and you are tied to a corner in the garage. 140 amps will do 3/16" and 1/4" if you really want to. just don't buy something that only has 1 or 2 options for heat and speed
 
Yeah I'd keep an eye on craigslist or facebook for an old 220v buzz box. Something will have to pop up in your area sometime.

I've been running the shit out of our Lincoln buzz box here lately. Put about 40#'s of rod through it in the past couple weeks. :laughing:
 
billybob_81067 said:
Yeah I'd keep an eye on craigslist or facebook for an old 220v buzz box. Something will have to pop up in your area sometime.

I've been running the shit out of our Lincoln buzz box here lately. Put about 40#'s of rod through it in the past couple weeks. :laughing:
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Stick welders go cheap because hobbyists are afraid of them. :laughing:
 
whats your budget? I picked up a hobart 210MVP and it has done everything I have needed. I believe it was just shy of $900 delivered from cyberweld with a hood, gloves and a set of sleeves.
 
wvracer821 said:
whats your budget? I picked up a hobart 210MVP and it has done everything I have needed. I believe it was just shy of $900 delivered from cyberweld with a hood, gloves and a set of sleeves.
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Honestly, I don't want to spend that much. Every $500 I spend on tools is $500 that's not going to my remodel. So, I'd say that I'm sub $500 and would like to keep it on the lower side of that not the higher.
 
I have an Everlast PowerArc 200STi that was around $300 in 2018, it will run on 120V (up to 120A) or 240V (up to 200A).
So far it has done everything I wanted it to do from exhaust work to 3/8" steel.

Aaron Z
 
Harbor Freight 240v mig machine would be my choice. Gas capable, cheap, puts out decent welds.
 
Dude, hobart or millermatic 135. Thats all you need if 3/16 is all your gonna deal with. If you end up with a project that is 3/8 or thicker then spend $120 on an old lincoln stick box. But until you have a project like that those miller/hobarts 120v will handle your needs and are seriously time tested.

I have a miller multi process and barely use the tig or stick. Also have an old lincoln generator/stick on a trailer that gets used once or twice a year. I have an oxy/acy torch and a decent plasma too...the plasma BARELY gets used.


I guess my point is, yea its nice having the options but those options just dont get used much and it sounds like since youre budget dictates your purchase...id go with the best welder for your budget and not any extra add ons that would only satisfy 15% of your projects. Which sounds like a miller 135/hobart. Time tested.

Your situation might be different by the time you have a project that needs a bigger welder, so just wait till then bc for $500 any wire feed that comes with extras or multi process is gonna be junk. But a dedicate miller wire feed for $500 will last 20+ yrs
 
For long term general use on the cheap I’d go with a Lincoln Buzz box or Hobart 140. That Hobart was my first welder probably 15 years ago and was used then. I just sold it to a buddy this year as it needed a new gun and drive roller, I bought a Hobart 210.

I also bought a Hobart Stickmate 160 to have something lightweight that can run on 110 for stuff like steel trusses. The down side to the inverter welders is they will eventually blow a board and be scrap.

If you use a Home Depot credit card or Pro Xtra account, they will send you coupons. If you buy enough remodel stuff there you’d easily end up with a free Tombstone.
 
If you are proficient with a stick welder years ago I would have suggested an old tombstone. But I have been using a cheap 140 amp 120/240 longevity stick welder for almost a decade. It doesn’t weld as nice as a bigger machine but it has made me thousands of dollars. Newer ones are probably better. Being able to plug into any 15/20a outlet is great.

If you are not great with stick Welding buy a cheap mig/flux core machine and don’t look back.
 
Woodrow Hudson Real Estate Brick Home & Shop · Carwile Auctions

Do you have a day to kill this weekend? Most people don't have the patience to wait out a farm auction these days. You may be able to outfit yourself with more than just a welder for a few hundred bucks.

Or everything will go for new price, in which case you will have wasted a day. It's a crapshoot.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Stick welders go cheap because hobbyists are afraid of them. :laughing:
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just picked one up not too long ago for $60
hobart 220v 200ish amp AC only
I felt a little cheated even though I knew it was too new to have copper in it, and sure enough its just got alu in it, welds decent though
 
Pony_Driver said:
How about a $550 Hobart 140 110V Mig unit? I've been happy with mine and I have taught a few kids how to weld with it.

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Slander said:
This! I love mine and can lay down some damn good welds with it on flux core, a wire wheel on a drill or grinder takes that slag right off. I did my SAS, front frame build and welded knuckle balls on with one of these and haven't died yet.
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This. It’s way more versatile than I originally thought. Everything I’ve built with it is still holding together.
 
BDK said:
Geeze, you could have at least let us all know you were having a tool fire sale. I could be selling your welder back to you right now...:flipoff2:

I do most of my welding with my Lincoln WeldPack 180HD. Its portable, easy to use and welds up to 1/4" plate just fine. I throw it in a storage bay in the RV for camping trips. It has saved many a rig from being parked the first day of a multi-day trip. Little more clean up due to flux core spatter, but that's what sanding disks are for. You can get consumables at any Home Depot.
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I'm happy to hear of someone else rocking the HD (only sold at Home Depot) welder.
 
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