any opinions on this? I'm not looking to do anything more than tinkering and the occasional repair. Would this be a good welder to learn on?

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...06098

or

 

Well, if you have a specific project, I would suggest getting the Campbell Hausfeld from Wal-Mart...they have a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy. I decided to redo my exhaust and got one with the vague intention of keeping it, but decided I should 'step-up'. So, it's a good place to start, with no worries. I'm not sure how easy it is to return used tools to harbourfreight, though...

I'm planning on getting a harbour freight arc welder and 'converting' it to a TIG, but am now also contemplating a MIG instead, since it's easier to do larger projects, as it takes less time.

Anyway, for a welder that can handle gas, the one you show is a pretty damned good deal. It does have a truley weak duty-cycle, however. 20% means only 2 minutes of welding every ten minutes. This is thermally regulated, so if you slapped a cooling fan in/on there, you could get longer use out of it, I'd wager.

Actually, that price is so good, I might consider picking one up, as well! So, I say it definitely isn't 'professional grade' by any means, but for foolin' around

 

I am by no means an expert on this but I do have some advice.

First, the welder is advertised as being able to use gas, but I think with that one you'll need to buy a MIG kit (with gas fittings, etc) to let you MIG weld.

Second, I have a friend who has used a similar welder for a while - he actually built a car with it, which you can see at http://www.grabercars.com - and he tells me he wished he went with a better unit to begin with. The one you're looking at is cheap to get into but if you're upgrading down the road it's a waste of money.

It comes down to one thing and that is how much welding do you plan on doing? Have you tried it at all? If so, do you like it? If you see yourself welding pretty often in the future then I think you should skip this one and look into a Hobart or Miller unit. On the other hand, if you don't have access to a welder at all $175 isn't much to pay to at least get a taste of it.

This site - http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/ might be a better place to ask this sort of question.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Justin

 

Another choice, and available at Lowes or Home Depot as well as professional supply houses is Lincoln Electric. NOT CHEAP-but not a lot more for the basic unit. They have a real welding school in Cleveland if you are serious about learning the right way to weld.
Keep in mind that a cylinder of gas is not cheap initially and you have to be careful about the mix you want (you may need 2 different cylinders (CO2 and Then one for an Argon mix). This expense along with either flux coated or standard wire in various sizes can make a difference in overall cost. If you want to tinker consider any of those mentioned and even check out Sears.