What's a good welder?

Well, #1, I am in a hurry, and #2 I don't use those sites. School starts in 19 days, my "most used" mower is completely apart and I can't move forward until I have a welder. Not to mention learn how to use it. In the mean time I'll look around for one but I'll most likely end up with the one in the link.

The one in the link that you posted is a stick welder.
I'd personally stay away from stick welders, especially to be used as an all-around welder.
Stick welding is a good trait to learn at some point in life but if your in that much of a hurry to start welding go mig.
If it's between the welder in the link and the 125 amp harbor freight one, id go with the harbor freight one..
Do nt expect top of the line welds out of either of them and splatter will be.  
But whatever one you go with all I can say is metal prep is key, along with proper power connections (a good clean ground clamp connected securely to good clean metal. The weld joint needs to be properly cleaned and also chamfered if needs be. Then the machine needs to be plugged in on its own dedicated circuit for whatever amp draw that it needs and no extension cords whatsoever.)

Okay, let's put this puzzle together.


#1, I cannot afford a MIG, whatever it is, it will be an FCAW.
#2, It cannot cost more than $120, helmet and everything needed to weld on the spot.
#3, Splatter does not matter.
#4, I need it ASAP.

I'll be talking with my grandfather about which one to get.

For $120 with a helmet, that's going to be a bit tough to find something decent. I think the helmet that I got was around $50 or $60 and that wasn't a top of the line one. Forget what brand it was, think I got it at lowes. I would say look for decent used equipment somewhere, but if you need it fast then that might not work so well.

Yep. I'm looking for used ones.

No wonder it was $50+, Lowe's is expensive. I think I can get a decent one at HF for $40 or less.

Basic auto darkening helmet at HF is 47 IIRC

Just dont expect it to last forever.

FWIW, when I was fiddling around with welding a long time ago I had the Sears 50 Amp sputter welder.
It was supposed to be used with "contact rods" that had a flux coating just the right thickness so it would make a perfect arc while the flux coating was dragged along in contact with the joint.
I don't remember that working but I did use regular flux coated rods to make welds. The 3/32" rods were available more than the 1/16" ones.
The duty cycle was given as 2 minutes out of 10 minutes, still confusing since I didn't know if it meant 2 minutes with power on or 2 minutes of welding. More than once I smelled wax melting and seemed to lose some voltage from that point forward (so it was harder to strike an arc). I learned that I could do best by cutting the welding rods in thirds, so I started each weld with 1/3 of a rod and I could burn that down to about an inch long.
One time I put 2 car batteries in series and used a set of jumper cables to make a weld. It worked pretty good. The specs for the welder in a previous post show open circuit at 27 volts and 90 amps at 17 volts. It makes sense, doesn't it?
When I need to weld next time I think I'll get the helmet and welding rods and try the 2-battery trick if I don't need to weld a lot. Not sure about the total economics because batteries wear out. 2 alternators in series might work. I also have an 80 volt, 10 amp DC motor from a treadmill that generates voltage when I spin it by hand. This thread has me wondering if it would make welding current if I belted it to the mower deck pulley. My main worry with this motor is that 80 volts is dangerous, 24 volts would be much nicer.
Just to get back to the welding part, I recall being able to do an inch or two of weld in 2 minutes, using time to flip the helmet down, strike the arc, strike the arc again in the right place this time, and use up the 1/3 stick. My welds were often sloppy too, no feed speed or amp controls to match the job.

This thread ain't seen the light of day for while. Anyway, the time has come. I have a little bit better budget this time. So, I need your opinion on this.... For a beginner, what would you think about a 225 Lincoln Tombstone?

AllisKidD21 wrote:

225 Lincoln tombstone!!!

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

There isn’t much to go wrong on them

Murraymountain wrote:

This thread ain't seen the light of day for while. Anyway, the time has come. I have a little bit better budget this time. So, I need your opinion on this.... For a beginner, what would you think about a 225 Lincoln Tombstone?

AllisKidD21 wrote:

225 Lincoln tombstone!!!

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

There isn’t much to go wrong on them

I weld with a stick allot nowadays, its so much more forgiving.. It will weld right thru paint and rust. Fussing with the rods is the hardest part , cant beat them for the price and power.

Yeah I'm definitely going with a stick welder. The splatter isn't bad, they don't look very hard to use, they aren't very expensive... I think I'm gonna go with a Tombstone. I'm always hearing how good they are. So I think that's the way I'm gonna go. I found a barely used one for $175 about an hour and a half away from me. If the guy will respond than I'll probably buy it.

I only use my 180 tombstone for big stuff. Tried to weld the suspension on the mk2 with it and just looks horrible. Part of that is lack of experience

Sounds like it might be alright for the C-channel frame reinforcements on Ole Blue. The frame is about 1/8" thick and the reinforcement angle iron is 3/16" thick. Should be alright I think... Of course I've never done any real welding so what do I know.

Anyway, I found a GREAT deal on a brand new Tombstone right here. $99, free shipping, no tax. Something doesn't add up. Does anyone know any information about this "Fashionazac" website? Doesn't smell right to me.

Street view of the business address is a house in a standard subdivision. DEFINITELY a scam

Yeah and "Fashionazac.com domain" has only been up for 21 days... Looks like I'm just gonna have to stay away from this one. Back to lookin'.

Murraymountain wrote:

He likes the Millermatic 211, but I've never had $650 in my life so that's just a distant dream.

Well, #1, my price of $650 is just a little off. Turns out it was more like $2100. So....

INTRODUCING: MILLERMATIC 211





Millermatic 211 Unboxing

2 helmets, 2 pairs of gloves, some wire, some T-shirts and stickers, and the Millermatic 211 MIG. A total of $1500. The cart was $180, and now it just needs the tank. We already have 250V power in the barn so that's awesome. We're also gonna get a $400 gun that can weld aluminum. Not sure if you can call that TIG or not but it sounds pretty close. So yeah, my $120 budget has escaladed to $2100. Now if I only knew how to use it. I'm gonna watch a whole buncha YT vids and read the manuals when I get some time. Right now I'm working on the ATV and JD L111 and YTH18542 so I don't have time to learn just yet, but we're gonna start practicing as soon as we get the tank.

Anyway, I've been told this is the best welder on the market, so I guess I won't be asking the question "What's a good welder?" anymore. Tell what y'all think!

Oh yah, You're going to love that welder.

For sure. We haven't got the tank yet but my brother has been running it at like 5 AM doing a whole buncha stuff with the Flux core option. The welds honestly look pitiful but they're about 60-70% where they should be strength-wise. He's only been welding for a week now so that really explains why they aren't looking great. I haven't even started yet due to schoolwork overload so. I'm gonna try not to post to many pics yet because 1 it's still on flux core and 2, we're so bad at it right now the amount of what to do/not to do advice would overload and backup the forum.

@Murraymountain I had one of those harbor freight welders for 8 years, used the crap out of it to learn the basics of welding, then I just gave it to my brother and now he uses it. They are great for what you need. Some suggestions #1 throw away the wire spool that comes with it and get a name brand spool of wire like Lincoln or miller. #2 cut off the ground clamp and add a real ground clamp. The gun is pretty decent but I cut down the silver gas collar down to get the welding tip closer to the work. Most of the time I welded with it completely removed. Also if you buy the welder, get and auto darkening helmet that day also. harbor freight sells on that I again used for 8 years. I have since upgraded that. I am also now in search of a new welder, I'm looking at some of the Miller MIGs. Hope any of this helps.

@Murraymountain haha sorry didn't see that you already got one. nice.