Wire feed vs. Arc HF welders

[Bdiddy11]

Ok... so with my Harborfreight gift cards i'd like to invest in a welder to start doing some minor fabrication. Mainly a roof rack/interior cargo cage to start. Possibly using EMT conduit.

Now my question is, what would be better to invest in... The HF Flux Wire welder

http://www.harborfreight.com/90-amp-flux-wire-welder-98871.html

or the Arc Welder

http://www.harborfreight.com/120-amp-arc-welder-98870.html

I'm a newbie to welding... got some experience using wire feed. Basically need something for small projects that can be used on house/garage outlets. Down the road i'd like to get into doing sliders/bumpers etc...but for now it'll be smaller projects.

So... school me on what each one can be used for (project wise) and help me make a decision on which to buy :wave1:

 

[waxer]

Stick with the wire feed since you are new to welding. That particular wire feed states it will do 1/2" material, which is absolutely nuts to believe that, but you could easily do 1/8 to 3/16" with it, assuming prime conditions and technique.

 

[Begster]

My recommendation would be to not buy a welder from Harbor Freight.

Look at Hobart, which are Miller's economy brand.

 

[Seiler]

My recommendation would be to not buy a welder from Harbor Freight.

Look at Hobart, which are Miller's economy brand.

x2

And look into possibly taking at least a crash course class in welding somewhere local. I'm glad I never tried to do ANY serious welding before I started my classes.

.02

Scott

 

[2stix]

i would use the gift certs for all the other stuff you will need like cut off wheels, sanding discs, grinding discs, wire brushes, gloves, face shield, clamps, vicegrips, magnetic holders, cut off saw, ect. buy a good welder from a welding shop, and get a GOOD welding mask. id say get the wire feed because im betting that is what you would use the most. but learning to stick weld is a good idea. it actually teaches you the fundamentals of welding a bit more. wire feeds can be missleading as they can run a good LOOKING bead but have no penatration. stick welding can to, but not as common. if you lay a good bead stick welding, you most likely burned a good one. like allready mentioned, take a crash course either at a JC, or talk to your local welding supply house, they sometime will teach you, or know someone that will.

 

[jdogg4]

My recommendation would be to not buy a welder from Harbor Freight.

Look at Hobart, which are Miller's economy brand.

have to back this guy up.

I looked on craigs list and found an AC/DC 220 rod welder lincon buzz box for 150 bucks pretty much brand spanking new. Got there it was under a cover and only like 40 rods burned on it.

Its a trusted brand easy to use/learn off of. Learn to weld with a rod and a mig is easy work after that.

Welding supply shops tend to sell used stuff aswell.

 

[stewie]

i bought a Lincoln buzz box for less than $200 with less than a dozen rods used on it. i have used it to do almost all the welding for my rig and others including lots of axle set ups- LCAs, TB mounts, spring perches, shock mounts- sliders, modifying tow hook brackets, welding a step to my boxed rockers, and fabbing a rear bumper tire carrier. its not the best thing to use on thin material but it will work for things as thin as DOM tube.

that said, i just bought a cheap HF gas/gas less mig welder to put my frame stiffies on and to transfer my boxed rockers to my new rig with. the guy i would had borrowed his mig from before sold it so i needed something to get by. but i still have the stick welder for doing things like axles and bumpers