What a difference the proper tool makes

[Atlas Knife Company]

Last night, I went and bought a 110A 220v welder at Harbor Freight, #94164. For those on the fence of buying the 80A 110v welder for $109, or the 110A 220v welder for $179, I thought I'd show the difference.

The first is a 1/8" to 3/16" weld I did a few months ago. The second and third are 1/2" to 1/2" with the smaller welder and the bigger. All welds are from the same spool of flux-core wire. I'm sure not all my welds will be this nice, but I'm amazed at the difference, especially the reduction in the amount of splatter with the bigger welder.

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

The third weld is the best of the 3 pictures.

It's the same with mills,lathes and grinders. You can do little work on a big machine, you can't do big work on a little machine.

 

[Patrice Lemée]

I'd go to see the doc cause for the first two, it looks like you had a stroke while welding.

Kidding aside, sadly in the machinery department, bigger is often better. If you can afford it that is.

 

[javand]

Well, fortunately, in the machinery department, bigger is often cheaper, if you know what to look for. It's often just a matter of going *big enough*.

Big hobby, is often outrageous. Small industrial, is usually pennies on the dollar, but too big for 90% of the hobbyists out there. My 36" industrial metal cutting band-saw I got for 1/20th the new price, because I was able to a) recognize the value, b) move it, c) put it to use

For almost everyone else, it's too big, too heavy, can't be run on the power they think they have access to, etc. etc.


Anyway, slightly off-topic, but I just saw a bunch of scrapped welding power units at the scrap yard, so along the lines of the OP, I wanted to remind people, that sometimes you have to think really really big to get the best deal.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

I got my welder, a Lincoln Pro Mig 140 from Lowe's for a STEAL. I happened to catch them when they only had the display model left before they switched models and bought it. I don't remember how much I gave, but it was SIGNIFICANTLY less than the posted price! And I would put that welder against the 220V HF welder...it does AWESOME work for a 110V unit!

 

[Brian Sargent]

Always make sure that you remove any slag/scale from the surface. Wire wheel the area. Use denatured alcohol or paint thinner to remove any grease or other contaminates. Make sure there isn't a lot of air flow moving past the area while welding. A can of anti spatter will help keep the the spatter from sticking to the parts.