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  • From: Rob <becida AT comcast.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] welding
  • Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:50:19 -0800

I have to agree about the auto darking helmet, that made a WORLD of difference in my learning.
I did a survey on the Vanagon list about the Harbor Freight auto darking helmet and no one who was using it (several people) had anything bad to say about it.

A welder is one of those tools that I had to think about, if it's a once in awhile tool (once I learn to weld) a Harbor Freight welder would work fine. If I turn out to use it more than that or get into a big project then a better quality would have been the way to go.
That gets back to Don's advice about getting the best you can afford. HF is good for a lot of things, USUALLY low usage or low budget (right now) tools. A wire welder might fit that criteria or give to a price range to look for a used 'brand name' one.

Rob
becida AT comcast.net



At 12/23/2008 11:03 AM,Don Bowen wrote:
> My biggest suggestion, no matter what kind of welder/welding you decide
> on, is to buy an auto-darkening welding helmet.

They are nice but don't go for the cheapest ones. The response speed on
many of the cheaper ones is a bit low. Another problem is that you may not
be able to get replacement covers or batteries in the future. I have a
decent quality auto darkening and at the time I also bought a kit with
several plastic covers so I will always have one on hand.

> Inexpensive wire welder
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=94056
>
> Inexpensive helmet
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91214

I am not a fan of the cheap Chinese junk sold by HF. On a wire feed the
mechanism is very important. So far from what I have seen the feed on the
units sold by HF does not look very good and I have been told that they are
prone to snarls. Like any tool, buy the best you can afford so it will
provide good service and you only have to buy it once.

Don Bowen KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html





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