familytime

Really,over 30 years of welding and fab experience,certified in Inner-shield all position,ARC all position,MIG .045 all position and i don't have a clue

JKMARINE

Ok, good for you. I'm just saying it is enough for tubing. He doesn't need to waste $100 more.

ridg3runner

Lets think this through guys,, if I go with the cheaper unit I'm going to wind up blowing the money for the extra gear the more expensive unit comes with already,(hood,leathers,,etc),right? I just got roped into buying a sport cage kit that looked like it was built in a highschool shop class on opening day simply because the better company in AZ couldnt figure out how to get rid of thier rectal/cranial inversion long enough to build thier product in under 8 weeks. I'm starting off with tubing but as I get better I have WAY COOLER projects rattling around in my head that I'm dying to see come to life..

Patman

Like most things in life, the more you spend the better a welder you can get. Whatever you do, make sure the welder uses replaceable parts. Most of those HF or other cheapos don't use tweco parts. That means you wont be able to replace common parts that inevitably break, thus giving you a "throw away" welder.

Reason I went with a northern industial welder? Uses standard parts, great warranty, top 10 popular mechanics mig welder, half the price of the miller I wanted

bob-o

I got a Hobart 140 from Northern Tool for $500 and so far I welded my EVO sleeves and gussets and made my own rock sliders with them. Everything works great, bought a bottle of 75% argon 25% oxygen for $150 and the welds come out bitching

D_engel

The Harbor Freight 220v MIG comes with a hand-held mask, wire brush/ slag hammer combo, a roll of flux core wire (I think it was .23) and a couple various tips. You will still need to buy gloves at the minimum, and a proper MIG setup is still going to require an argon/CO2 tank and a regulator.

Regardless of what unit you buy, I also recommend investing in a quality hood. I have a kobalt auto-darkening mask and it was a great purchase. A little pricey, but it makes everything quite a bit easier.

And for those questioning the quality of the HF welder...I've used it dozens of times with stellar results. The cost of this "throw-away" welder is far cheaper than having a shop do all my welding for me, so as far as I'm concerned, I've already recovered my investment. For the money spent, I couldn't be any more pleased with this machine.

fourxfourjeep

I got a craftsman 140 it works great for what I need it for. I made my own sliders and a tire carrier. It said you can weld 3/16". You can also buy the gas adapters for it as well. I cant speak for the HF welder.

helmet10

I bought a Hobart Handler 180, 8yrs ago. I did sheetmetal work on my 70 camaro with .023wire. It worked very well.
It has a small inert gas tank.
I have also done some light chassis work with it. Mainly dirtbike trailer; welding brackets and hooks.
You can bump up wire size for chassis and frame work.
I wouldn't trust my welding to do roll cage work. I'm a booger welder. 240V

Good luck

Ernie

ridg3runner

I didnt see what kind of gear it came with. A handheld hood/goggles? Must've been one of those elusive 3-handed asians that came up with that one i guess.

Woody

As you can see opinions are like butts everybody has one. My suggestion is get a used unit (craigs list) that someone will demo for you b4 ya buy and preferably with gas. Welds are much cleaner and you can just use CO2 don't have to get real fancy in fact if you have a bottle that you air up with just get the fitting to use that one. If you're going to do more and more pay a little more now and not get stuck with something you outgrow. On the other hand you have to have a friend that has a welder that you can bribe?