well im looking to get into welding. i mainly want to make exhausts, downpipes, and hardpipes. http://store.weldingdepot.com/....html <----that one was the cheapest one i could find. do you guys think it is capable? i know about mig/tig welding but im kind of iffy on the arc. can you guys give info on that.

thnx in advance

 

If you just want to do piping, a cheap harbor freight welder will get the job done.

 

Just remember that if you put a pro nascar driver in a Pinto, he's not going to be able to drive very fast. The car will greatly limit his abilities. Just the same, if you try to get the cheapest you can get, YOU will be limited by its abilities.

Do you buy the cheapest house you can find?
cheapest apartment?
cheapest car?
cheapest steak dinners?
cheapest women? (ok, forget that one...)
cheapest clothes?

You get what you pay for and you won't get what you don't pay for.
Save the money and get something good to start, rather than waste money on something you will likely want to use for a boat anchor one day.

 

well the reason i want to get a cheap one, is because it'll only be a hobby for me. just a thing that i'll do when i have spare time when im not doing schoolwork or fixing my car or whatnot. i dont wanna spend alot of money on a welder and only use it twice every six months and im only 16-mom wants me to stay in school and not worry about a job. thats why i want something cheap, but can get the job done.

and can someone tell me about arc welders. theres mig-arc, tig-arc, tig, mig, and arc welders for sale. plain-o arc seems to be the cheapest.

 

I understand that. The problem in the welding machine industry is that there's virtually nomuch for middle of the road machines. You have really cheap ones, and really good ones. In the middle are a couple machines like the Econotig and PT185. Although the prices on these aren't really as low as what the average hobby welder wants, it's more of what the hobby welder needs.

I know the companies do it on purpose. They don't want to compete in a market of who can build the cheapest machine because at some point you have to get down to diminishing quality to achieve the cheaper prices.

If you're gonna get something like these low end machines, and it's your only option, I'd reccomend the Hobarts. They are quality machines, but will resale well down the road when/if you decide to get a better one or just get out of welding all together. You'd be better off to go in and split one of these with a friend than buy the cheapest thing you can find.

 

you should also look into buying used, get a good name brand welder (miller/lincoln/hobart/acklands) second hand for real cheap.

check your local welding supply shops and ask what they supply parts for and what they service. the last thing you want to deal with is a broken welder that you can't get parts for because it's made in some third world country half way around the world.

i stick to lincoln and miller, or their brand-off's because i know i can get parts for them locally without a hassle.
i steer clear of DECA welders and all these little noname type machines, because they're made in italy and by the time you get the parts for them the part costs more than buying a new welder.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 88tsupra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well the reason i want to get a cheap one, is because it'll only be a hobby for me. </TD></TR></TABLE>

It'll start out as a hobby, then you'll be kickin yourself in the nuts for not having a better machine.

ex: 1
My dad started out with a cheap fluxcore machine. It now collects dust and sits in the shadow of a MM135 which is lightyears ahead.

ex: 2
My friend bought a cheap lil matco 110v gas mig - and while it's been great for exhuast/charge pipe work, it left a lot to be desired, so I just bought a used Syncrowave 180sd tigrunner for $1k. The thing maybe has 20 hours on it and is in immaculate condition.

I know people get tired of hearing "save up for something better", but it does actually work in this situation. Look used for a good quality name and you'll not only have much more fun (less frustation too), but you'll probably be able to recoup most of your money back in the event you need/want to sell it.

BTW, I forget who posted the link for the welder I bought (off the miller board), but thank you (I think it was back in january or so)

 

go check out your local welding supply place. last time i was down there they had some smoking hot deals on some lincoln mig welders that had been used at a local highchool/vocational/ tech place thing dunno really what it was but they were like half price and mr person at the desk said most of them hadnt even been used long enough to go through one spool of wire. something to look into.