Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cheap welder.

I am considering getting a starter welder, specifically to spot weld on some wolf traps.

What would be some options?

It is O.K. if you union haters recommend harbor freight, we have one here.

My 17 yo daughter will do the welding, she is always bringing welding projects home from school.

This is a rose that she built in welding class.

She done good. Congratulations. Do you want mig rig or stick? A little Lincoln or miller cracker box does decent work.

A good welding machine does not you a good welder - conversely, a cheap welder can make a good welder……bad! Jus Say’n!


By the way…….your daughter did amazing work! 👍 Congratulations! memtb

Oh wow that’s cool

I have very little idea what you are talking about. I asked her and she went on about different types, and said that stick is really easy for her, so she likes stick.

If she's that good, I'd just ask her what she wants. Buy her one and ask her to do your welding for you. And maybe teach you.

Her and her brother both weld. What I should do is start up a custom jet boat shop.

I looked up the Lincoln welder and I always knew those as wire feed welders. I have done some wire feed welding when I did steel framing in Alaska.

Sometimes school's sell used shop tools

Miller,

You don’t know enough to be dangerous on this subject. Ask your kids if they want an ac/dc stick cracker box or a Mig. The good news is that there are some talented members on here (not me as I’m somewhere below that).

It really depends on the amount of welding to be done and what they are putting together. Building BBQ pits and picnic tables in quantity then spring for a MIG. (Everyone “wants” a MIG eventually)

A Cracker Box Lincoln like most of us learned on in AG will do plenty of stuff and is never a bad addition. A friend of mine welded a 3” crack in my pickup bed from the toolbox not allowing enough flex yesterday. Small wire little Hobart MIG machine.

#1: What's the budget?

#2: Will you ever do anything with it beyond spot welding on wolf traps?

#3: Do you have access to 220V power?

If the answer is "as cheap as possible" and no, and no, then run down to Harbor Freight and grab a little 110V wire feed unit. The Chicago Electric uses flux core wire, so it does not need a bottle of gas. And its a $100. The upgraded "Titanium" flux model is $150.

Welding 1/4 inch plate Aluminum will require a substantially greater investment.

If i were" spot welding" i would want TIG

It is on the pricey side but.
Lincoln make a Multi task machine.
Stick , DC Tig , Mig and Flux Core.

If I was to purchase a small machine this is the one I would get.
If your Daughter decides to do heavier work a Multi task may be good for her.

You get a cheap machine and most of the time that is what you get.

She is young and she would have that Lincoln a very long time if she treated it right.

I think Miller make one as well.

I had a kid tell me he purchased a Vevor and he burned it up on his 1st real job.
I also met a welder that cheeped out and purchased the Northern Tool machine.
It lasted him less than 6 months.

If you can swing it pay up at first and do not look back.

By the way
That Rose is absolutely Gorgeous
She has a real Gift.

I have a Miller, hasn’t missed a lick since i bought it in 89. I’ve burned many a damn box of rods with it.

Miller, and Smith are top of the line.

Great job on the flower.

With your last name Miller how can you go with Lincoln?

Hal

I have a Miller stick and a cheap Harbor Freight 120 V wire feed. Miller for serous jobs. Wire feed for smaller thin stuff. Lot of the smaller stuff I can do better with brazing using the torch set

Lots of inverter welders out there, that weld stick, mig, and tig. The tig on these are usually drag start and won't do aluminum! $2500 should put you where can do most anything. I know it's not cheap!

I have a Lincoln EazyMig 140. I don't recommend it. It welds fine but I've had to replace the cable, the switch, and mess around with it otherwise, mainly because it'll take spells where it won't feed. Parts are very expensive. I got a new aftermarket cable from Amazon that was 1/2 the price and works better, too. The OEM cable first had a broken wire inside from the switch to the feed on the box. I taped a wire down the length of it and that worked for a year. Then something else went wrong and it wouldn't feed at all.

That is where the $150 dollar machine comes in.

It will work great for two or three hours a year as a hobby machine. If the hobby turns into a business, one has accumulated experience with a very small investment. Very few dollars wasted if one just tosses it into a dumpster and moves up to that $5000 Miller Multimatic at a later date.

They'll work pretty good as long as you pay attention to the duty cycle... ignore that and you'll burn the best of them up in nothing flat.

Phil