/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>1665611
>Need a mig welder under $500. Hobart was suggested to me and it's on sale at tractor supply.
>Would this be good enough to weld say, bumpers and car frame thickness metal?
With multiple passes maybe.
>It's for hobby and /diy. Only have the $500 budget.
>Should i buy this or save more?
>What sort of limitations would this guy have, if any?
well, it can't easily weld anything thicker than maybe 1/4 inch steel, so lots of limitations.
of course you could read the manual instead of posting here like an idiot.

You get what you pay for. Remember that.

>>1665611
Better off saving up for something bigger. I wouldn’t suggest anyone ever buys a welder under 200 amp. Of course that’s assuming you have a 240v circuit to use.

Check out Everlast. People will bash them for being Chinese made but they are pretty solid budget machines and have features like infinite dials which you won’t see on Hobart. A 200a Everlast will run you around $600. Of course you’ll also need gas to use solid wire but you could always use flux core until you have the money for gas

>>1665613
Yeah, but then how would i trigger autistic smartass faggots such as yourself?

Mosely going to be cobbling lawn mowers together and other redneck engineering feats

>>1665643
Thank you anon. Will do dome digging.

>>1665646
>Mosely going to be cobbling lawn mowers together and other redneck engineering feats
that's not what (YOU) said.
and the manuals for these things are available on line, they tell you all sorts of things about what they can, and cannot do.

>>1665654
a lot of the ratings given in manuals don't go over shit like multiple passes. a small welder in the right hands can weld shit FAR beyond what it's rated for but it's gonna take a lot more prep and more time under the hood. that's why i always suggest a minimum of 200a. 200a will 1 pass damn near anything the average person is going to be welding while also being useful for bigger shit from time to time.

one of the most important things to remember when buying a welder is that you can always turn the machine down but they can only be turned up so high.

>>1665680
I see. Well thank you. I got a few welderbros and my best friend has $3,000 mig if i need odly large things welded.

OP, look into Kicking Horse welders. I have heard fairly good things about them, they are cheap and made overseas so a lot of people will talk shit on them. I have never ran one, I have a Miller and a Lincoln. KH may be a good place to start for the price.

>>1665817
>OP, look into Kicking Horse welders.

where's the american price, justin? I'd buy one just on the cool name alone.

SMAW is more useful than MIG. MIG is just easy mode

>>1665843
The fuck is a smaw

Will goggle ot now

>>1665843
Is this known as "air arc welding???c

>>1665843
>>1665947

Stick welders (SMAW), or colloquially "buzz boxes" give you a higher amperage at lower cost to get into the game, and are extremely forgiving in regard to poor surface prep work too. Paint? Rust? SMAW don't care. Strike the arc and burn right through surface crap.

>>1665947

"Shielded metal arc welding".

Fagspeak for stick.

>>1665611
Hobarts a good brand but be prepared to pay out the ass for any replacement parts.

>>1665947
SMAW is fag speak for stick, basically if it uses a stick and a stick holder. It's a stick welder.
If it looks like a gun, it's a MIG welder
if it looks like a gun with a faggy pink cup around it, it's a TIG welder.

Stick and MIG are what you learn when you wanna travel the world and get paid ludicrous amounts. Downhill Pipeline gets paid like 70+ to do shit.

TIG is what you learn if you wanna get paid decently well, but also have bragging rights, cause with TIG you can work for NASA/SpaceX, Any Airline, Military Contractors, and several other high profile jobs. Which are mainly used to brag to others.

If you won't use on an often basis then a Hobart or a Vulcan will serve you well but if you want to use it often save for a Lincoln or Miller. A MIG welder works wonders on light/thin metals. The choice is dependent on your needs and wants.

>>1665843
Not for the shit he wants to do.

>>1665834
I had 3 of those fuckers DOA before I asked for a refund. I know a few people that have had zero issues tho.

>>1665843
>>1665956
Yeah dude OP obviously is about to get into pipeline work with his dodge ram mobile welding rig, he will be doing rollouts on Ts and olets in no time at all!
Fucking retard this dude is just trying to fab up some light duty and automotive work, not build a fucking Alaskan pipeline or a mezzanine at a refinery.

>>1665981
Am leaning pretty hard on the hobart. And i could drop this one off at my dads and upgrade latter if i need to. The sub $500 hobart should do most if not all of what i need. Hopefully. I just wish i could try one out first for like 5 minutes

>>1665973
Noted. Thank you.

>>1665956
Ive spent most of my adult life running and welding on shit that makes the first season of gold rush look like new equipment. Old boss bough a drill at an auction for below scrap price.

>anon get the dozer so we can shove it up on the lowboy
>dozer? Hell this sumbitch runs

Spend all winter building 8,000 hydraulic hoses and rigging a piece of litteral trash to drill.

One time my door fell off. No warning. Just rotted off the fucking truck. Hit a giant hole because we are only allowed to use mansand for 100 ton haul truck roads and it fell off.

Fuck

>>1665956
This. Low cost, forgiving, versatile. OP just needs a fucking tombstone and a box of 6011

>>1665611

My friend has that same welder he bought it at Rural King. We have welded bumpers and frame patches allover his jeep and it welded really well.

>>1665611

You don't know it yet, but you obviously need a dynasty 800.

But in all seriousness, harbor freight has stepped their game way up and their welders are actually quite decent and have a good warranty.

>>1666321
Nice! That's what i need then. Tha k you bro

>>1666278
I got that tho. Was spoiled the other day using a buddy's mig welder. First time mig weld since high school over 15 years ago.

Stick a shit. I wanna have fun tinkering instead of melting holes and fucking with 9 trillion rods

>>1666689
>Wants to MIG
>Can't even handle stick
Git gud first