Daver77

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I think buying is good advice. I will proceed. Thanks!

jawilson20

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Rent it the way I did.

Buy cheapo Harbor Freight welder for $100,
Teach yourself to weld with it by buidling a Brutus 10.
Take a month to do it (you will need that much time)
Sell it on Craigslist for $80.

A very good $20 rental if you ask me.

Bobby_M

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The one caveat is that I'd recommend the unit that accepts solid core wire and a welding mix tank connection. They don't sell it on the website anymore but a lot of the stores still have them. Flux core is really splatter prone and it makes a beginner sloppy weld look even worse than it has to. Even though a blend is better, I've used 100% CO2 so that I don't have to buy another tank.

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onthekeg

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I would watch craigslist and get a decent welder in the 300 dollar range. Welders are one thing that you really get what you pay for.
You will be able to sell it easier when you are done with it also.

mendesm

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OP, I bought one of these 3 years ago and until then I had never even been close to welder in my life. It works, it is cheap, it is not difficult to work with it and welding is definitely not black magic. You can be making very good welds for your needs with just a few hours practicing on pieces of scrap metal. You won't be qualified to be a welder in a major bridge construction job, but you'll be glad you have one for stuff around the house.

It's just like brewing. Practice makes perfect.

byrdmen

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Just did this today.

Picked up the HF $110 unit (and about $100 worth of other stuff). And yes, I hate it already.



Never welded before in my life, and yes, it shows. My ultimate goal will be to "emulate" MajorWoody's setup.

dmfa200

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I'm really not trying to discourage anyone from trying their hand at welding, but if you don't have anyone to show you how to use a welding machine or how to make a proper weld or even the difference between a good weld and an unacceptable weld, especially
with an under powered make believe welding machine than you might as well invest in a drill and some drill bits and bolt it to together because fasteners would be stronger than poor welds.

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Daver77

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That's actually not bad advice. I might go that route since I already have a good drill. Probably save me some money too

jfrizzell

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"under powered make believe welding machine"? Ha! Good one.

Well, my under powered make believe HF flux core welder is doing just fine on my stand.

If I had to spend $400-600 on a welder to build a stand and be considered a "big boy", I wouldn't have a stand. Instead, I spent $89 and practiced.

Can I weld? Yes. Some things. Adequately. Would I say I am a welder? Hell no.

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dmfa200

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Looked at the specs on harbor freights 90 amp flux core welder.
This thing doesn't even use DC current, and make a false claim of welding up to 3/16" material with a max of 120 amps when the suggested range is 160-170 amps. This would result in cold welds without proper penetration.
MIG welding is done with DC current.
If you guys insist on WIY at least spend the extra 100 bucks on harbor freights 240 volt DC current model Item # 68885.
At least you'll be welding with the proper current.

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