Welding Tips and Tricks

I recently finished at a technical college for welding and I am looking to pick up a relatively cheap machine for some projects around the house. In school I used Miller but currently don't have the money for that(all though I would love to) so when I saw Chicago Electric at my local harbor freight i started to think I could afford the couple hundred for a mig/flux machine. I'm only looking to build some small fire pits, yard art etc. so it wouldn't be anything super heavy duty. I am wondering if it is worth getting or just waiting until I have the money for a Hobart machine. Thank you for your advice/thoughts.

In my opinion...I would wait. Look around on craiglsist to for a cheap wire welder or maybe a stick welder if it suits your needs. Buzzboxes or a Hobart handler 140 are popular in some parts of the country on Craigslist. Horrible freight may be cheap but they aren't reliable (duty cycle included) and if I remember right they have a constant flow of electricity so if you set the gun down and hit the contact tip on your table-you get an arc.

Do you want to waste 200 bucks or make a 400 dollar investment?

In the area that I live in the closest Miller service center will honor the warranty work on Hobart machines bought from a
Fleet Farm store.

That makes it a better deal than an Everlast in my book.

Best to stay away from most harbor freight products that have an electrical cord.

I've done a little more research and think I am going with a Hobart for now and Miller later on down the road

tschmitt wrote:I've done a little more research and think I am going with a Hobart for now and Miller later on down the road

Hobart is made by Miller - look at the Hobart stickmate compared to the Miller thunderbolt

I think for the small projects I am planning right now I will go with the Hobart handler 140 mig welder then get something more serious. Another question I have is about flux core. I know how to mig but I have never done flux core, are they basically the same thing with the only major difference being that has is not required for flux?

Overall they are about the same. With flux core though you should always pull the gun as goes the saying if there is slag you drag and then cleaning flux off at the end. And if I remember right I think the self shielded flux core wires are not supposed to be used on multi pass welds. That may be just the wire I use but I think it is universal. Now have I done it-yes. Did they hold-yes.

Farmwelding wrote:Overall they are about the same. With flux core though you should always pull the gun as goes the saying if there is slag you drag and then cleaning flux off at the end. And if I remember right I think the self shielded flux core wires are not supposed to be used on multi pass welds. That may be just the wire I use but I think it is universal. Now have I done it-yes. Did they hold-yes.

It is not universal. Many common flux core wires are multi pass.

Considering their use in large industrial applications, why would you think different?

Example: multi pass 71t-11 and 71t-8 and many others.

Listed as single pass: 71t-gs and 71t-14

Read the designation listings to decide what you want - there are many more than what I listed.

tschmitt wrote:I think for the small projects I am planning right now I will go with the Hobart handler 140 mig welder then get something more serious. Another question I have is about flux core. I know how to mig but I have never done flux core, are they basically the same thing with the only major difference being that has is not required for flux?

You won't go wrong with a Hobart. I've been using a handler 210 for 10 years now and have had no problems with it. Only had to replace the work clamp after a few years.