Which welder is better for the price?

[nak18]

The three welder choices for me are:

$100-Campbell Hausfeld 70 Amp Stick Welder(walmart)

$100-Northern Industrial Reconditioned Arc 200 230 Volt, 200 Amp Arc Welder
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200441248_200441248

$140-Northern Industrial Arc 200 230 Volt, 200 Amp Arc Welder, Model AC4180
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381950_200381950


I plan on buying a welder to weld a frame that will use:

1.)1/16 thick sqaure steel tubes
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

2.) 0.058 wall Dom tubing


I don't plan to weld anything major after making this trike.
I'll rather buy a welder than pay $45 for one welding visit when I could buy a welder for $100.

Which is the best welder for these 2 tubings?

 

[DCProductions]

My vote would be for the cheapest one that still has low amperage capability (you will burn up that thin metal with high amps).

Also and IMPORTANT: Please consider purchasing metal tubing ANY other place than home depot. I can tell you from experience it saves SO much money. I spent over $100 dollars on frame components and repairs when I did my first rear-end conversion. Then I learned there was a scrap yard within 20min of my house. I bought 80' of 1" square tubing (1/8" wall thickness!) for $15. You can't get 6' for that price at home depot. Just some advice.

Hope this helps!

 

[tneff]

Depending on where you live, see if you can find a Farm Hand mig welder. They are decent machines, and can be found between $100-$150 and will be a little more versatile for thinner metals. Farm Hand is make by Campbell Hausfeld, but is a step up form the crap you find at walmart. They are usually found at Tractor Supply.

 

[nak18]

My vote would be for the cheapest one that still has low amperage capability (you will burn up that thin metal with high amps).

Also and IMPORTANT: Please consider purchasing metal tubing ANY other place than home depot. I can tell you from experience it saves SO much money. I spent over $100 dollars on frame components and repairs when I did my first rear-end conversion. Then I learned there was a scrap yard within 20min of my house. I bought 80' of 1" square tubing (1/8" wall thickness!) for $15. You can't get 6' for that price at home depot. Just some advice.

Hope this helps!

home depot has the tubing I need for $6. This will be bought for the bottom layer. So the only thing it will do is hold the lower arms and back swingarm to frame. The second layer is where the suspension is added to which means it shouldn't put stress on the 1/2 tubing.

I'm buying some 1' tubing from ebay in bulk, to save on shipping. It's really hard to find a scrapyard in Decatur,GA that has the metal for a low price.

 

[DCProductions]

home depot has the tubing I need for $6. This will be bought for the bottom layer. So the only thing it will do is hold the lower arms and back swingarm to frame. The second layer is where the suspension is added to which means it shouldn't put stress on the 1/2 tubing.

I'm buying some 1' tubing from ebay in bulk, to save on shipping. It's really hard to find a scrapyard in Decatur,GA that has the metal for a low price.

Are you only going to need three feet? Every member of your frame will undergo stress, and you will have to throw on some cross-bracing to keep that tubing from twisting. I made and engine mount out of that same tubing, and my engine bent, twisted, and tore it off my kart.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass on some of what I learned the hard way, but if you can't find anything you have to work with what you have. Check for Recycling facilities as well as scrap yards.

What suspension are you using? This sounds interesting. Do you have a build thread?

 

[nak18]

Are you only going to need three feet? Every member of your frame will undergo stress, and you will have to throw on some cross-bracing to keep that tubing from twisting. I made and engine mount out of that same tubing, and my engine bent, twisted, and tore it off my kart.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass on some of what I learned the hard way, but if you can't find anything you have to work with what you have. Check for Recycling facilities as well as scrap yards.

What suspension are you using? This sounds interesting. Do you have a build thread?

Yep, but it going to longer than 3 feet
I'm building a trike, I plan to use it next year to drive to school, and probably in collage aswell. My build thread is http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13336

I just reliazed I had some old metal in the backyard from 3 pocketbikes and a 80cc chopper.

 

[devino246]

Why are all the welders your looking at ARC?

 

[nak18]

Why are all the welders your looking at ARC?

I'm looking for the cheapest welder that can weld a 1/16 frame. They just happened to be ARC welders. I will most have to buy a welder from a retail store. CL has its cons as in breaking it and warranty, or I just want a different welder.

 

[devino246]

I'm looking for the cheapest welder that can weld a 1/16 frame. They just happened to be ARC welders. I will most have to buy a welder from a retail store. CL has its cons as in breaking it and warranty, or I just want a different welder.

Have fun welding 1/16 with an arc welder. I hope you've got lots of experience. Otherwise, you'll be burning through every joint.

 

[r97]

If you want to have a welder to weld stuff later, buy one, but if its just this and maybe another small project later, have someone weld it for you. buying a welder, buying a helmet, gloves, consumables, electrodes, and possibly having to install a 230v outlet, plus all the time and materials required to get good at arc welding, and then more to be able to butt weld 1/16" round tube. you could have spent a ton of money for just one little project, and then have it use up space. that said, chances are you will probably want to weld more stuff later once you learn, but now your stuck with a knock-off northern tool welder, and you probably can't weld much below 1/8" (possibly not being able to even weld the frame yourself because of the thin metal(note that I am basing how thin you can arc from what i have read, no experience (yet))).

To suggest an ideal welder for your situation, i would say you should be looking at new or used name brand wire feed welders 90-140A, with flux core and ideally MIG capabilities.m a name brand welder new comes with a warranty and retains a decent resale value. A used mane brand welder would be a good price (probably not far above a new cheep-o one) and still retain its high level of quality. look for Hobart, Lincoln, Miller, or ESAB welders. This is a great deal, name brand, MIG capabilities, 120A, wire feed (easier to learn, and welds thin metal), 5-3-1 warranty, and 120v input. I bet you could sell it for $150 easily after a few solid years of use. (have seen this as low as 300)

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200447703_200447703

this is a good deal to
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200434915_200434915

P.S. search for "steel yard", or "metal supply" etc on google maps, or in the phone book. it is worth it even for small stuff, home depot was charging $13 for 4ft of 1" x 1/8" flat bar, total ripoff (I think i got like 8ft for a few bucks from the steel supplier), and an amazingly limited selection.

 

[nak18]

@r97
I'm buying a welder, because overtime running to these welding places will get expensive and like DIY stuff. Theres always will be improvements. I also do BMX, so I'm going to weld some rails.

From the advice given:
I'm setting my goal on buying the Northern Industrial 125 Flux Core Welder. It has a warranty, so if anything happens within the first year I can replace it.
It's wire-feed, and can weld 18g.(0.5)-11g.(.125) steel.
It has positive reviews and has a video of a guy welding a go-kart.
Run on 110/120v. Haha found out that 2 rooms in my house has 200v outlets, they'll be used one day.

When I get it I'm going to weld immediately to see if it works, if not, back in the box with the receipt stapled.

I plan to obtain the following:
1:Helmet(from school or friend)
2:Hobart H222108-R19 0.035-Inch
3:Gloves&jacket(friend)
I think the consumable should last the first month of welding.

 

[machinist@large]

Have fun welding 1/16 with an arc welder. I hope you've got lots of experience. Otherwise, you'll be burning through every joint.

The machines he's looking at, he can dial the amperage down to what he needs. They're not like the mig/ flux core units that most of us own where you only have 2 to 4 power settings and that's it. Buy the correct dia. rod and its relatively easy to do. That's not to say he's not going to have a steeper learning curve by going with an arc unit.


nak18, you didn't post a link to the C-H unit; if it has the same low range amps. as the 2 from Northern, then any of the three using 1/16 in. rod would be fine for what you say you would like to do. Just be aware that it takes more effort on your part to master arc welding (once you get it tho, it's a lot more versatile). Good Luck!!!

 

[nak18]

Buy the correct dia. rod and its relatively easy to do. That's not to say he's not going to have a steeper learning curve by going with an arc unit.


nak18, you didn't post a link to the C-H unit; if it has the same low range amps. as the 2 from Northern, then any of the three using 1/16 in. rod would be fine for what you say you would like to do. Just be aware that it takes more effort on your part to master arc welding (once you get it tho, it's a lot more versatile). Good Luck!!!

Yeah, I'm avoiding arc welding for now. The welder I'm looking at is a wire-feed welder. Northern 125 Flux Core http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200403263_200403263

This should get the job done. It can weld 18g.- 11g. and is wire feed.

 

[machinist@large]

To bad it can't be converted to full MIG later; oh well. At the very least, my personal experience with Northern has been good; you shouldn't have any problems with customer support. Enjoy!!! (And send pictures!!!)

 

[devino246]

Ive used that NT wire welder and I must say, it welds NICE.

 

[nak18]

Well it's settled I'm going to work this weekend and next weekend and should have it by September 20th. Might get lucky and buy it at the beginning of next week.