Harbor Freight Flux Core welders

[Soundguy]

what you have there can easily be done with a tombstone and stick and KNOW that it will last but still look as bad. 60XX rod may look like crap but it penetrates. With the HF machine I would not trust it.
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I'd wager that a 1st pass with a 1/8 6011 rod, followed by a 2nd pass with a 6013 rod may actually produce a -better- looking weld, with perhpas 100% penetration. Heck.. the 6013 may have given just as much penetration as the 1/4 plate could take anyway, and still look like a row of dimes.. even on an ac stick welder.

When I ended up buying my welder.. i went cheap.. ac only.. not ac/dc.. but I only do odd projects. TSC's 239$ hobart 235a stick welder was a hard deal to pass up. With the thin stuff I weld.. i can run 100% duty cycle too.

Still .. if I ever find a good mig cheap.. I may have to get it. I've used ours at work.. a 200+ amp unit using 25/75 gas mix.. and it's slicker than snot..

Still. in the end.. I built my HD trailer ramps using 1/2" angle and plate, and used a big lincoln tombstone to do it.. and I'm sure the welds are good.. no matter what they look like..

Soundguy

 

[rjgogo]

HomeBrew2]Ok, how 'bout this, I'll pretend the welds I make to get my stuff fixed so I can actually get out of the freaking shop and get some real field work done are "good for me". You can lament about my POS unit and it's poor results and my bad habits while you admire your high-dollar unit and expert skills and flawless welds. I say to the original poster that the unit works well for me with my published examples, and you say it's a POS while providing no real examples with a comparable unit. Does that seem fair?

[/font]

Every Picture tells a story.

AC or AC/DC stick would be a better choice if funds are scarce. That is where I started. I probably have more time on a tombstone then a mig.

Also my unit was not high dollar, Wish I had the 250 amp miller, but alas I can not afford nor justify that purchase. I have posted pics of my welds in this thread, so there are published examples. If you want detail please let me know, I do not portend to be an expert.

This forum seems to be about giving good advise to folks trying to learn. I am very thankful to have found it as I have learned a lot here. I have searched topics and really made myself more knowledgeable and solved some problems.

My issue with this thread and your pushing the HF welder is of great concern. Frankly, for the kind of welding that is necessary here, there are two or three choices. An AC or AC/DC stick unit or a mig. If you want to go cheap, An AC/DC unit will work just fine and it rocks, and it is cheap and it penetrates. It may be difficult to start but once you get going you know you have a solid weld.

Mig is much different. You can weld a very pretty line, and that is all it is. It can fall apart if you don't know what you are doing. Mig is as good as stick with a good operator and a good quality machine and Great preparation.

My concern here is that an inexperienced person will read this, buy the HF Mig set up, not know crap about welding, try to fasten some stuff together and it will fall apart with catastrophic results. Possibly injuring someone.

The HF welders may work well with sheet metal and in the hands of an experienced welder may be passable. But for a newbie they are most likely crap. There is a reason professional shops don’t use the HF machines. If you can find a pro shop that uses HF machines to do the work I would be impressed and may change my tune. Your pictures of your welds do not sway me. Frankly, they scare me. Reminds me of when I was in high school. Don’t mean to insult, really, but I don’t want an inexperienced person thinking that those are okay.

 

[rjgogo]

I'd wager that a 1st pass with a 1/8 6011 rod, followed by a 2nd pass with a 6013 rod may actually produce a -better- looking weld, with perhpas 100% penetration. Heck.. the 6013 may have given just as much penetration as the 1/4 plate could take anyway, and still look like a row of dimes.. even on an ac stick welder.

When I ended up buying my welder.. i went cheap.. ac only.. not ac/dc.. but I only do odd projects. TSC's 239$ hobart 235a stick welder was a hard deal to pass up. With the thin stuff I weld.. i can run 100% duty cycle too.

Still .. if I ever find a good mig cheap.. I may have to get it. I've used ours at work.. a 200+ amp unit using 25/75 gas mix.. and it's slicker than snot..

Still. in the end.. I built my HD trailer ramps using 1/2" angle and plate, and used a big lincoln tombstone to do it.. and I'm sure the welds are good.. no matter what they look like..

Soundguy

Bet I could drive most anything over them, I would not mind driving behind you, I know nothing is going to fall off. Used a Lincoln Tombstone for my swing away tire carrier, it's been there 4 years. When you want penetration there is nothing better then a big old tombstone and some 60xx rod.

 

[Dargo]

When I ended up buying my welder.. i went cheap.. ac only.. not ac/dc.. but I only do odd projects. TSC's 239$ hobart 235a stick welder was a hard deal to pass up. With the thin stuff I weld.. i can run 100% duty cycle too.

Ah, no wonder you got so much of a better deal than I did. You had me feeling that I got robbed. I'll have to check the model number, but my Hobart is AD/DC. The difference is that I seem to be able to keep the spatter down quite a bit on DC. And, as you alluded, I can run a bead on 1/4" with a 6013 rod (on DC positive polarity) and get a weld that looks as nice as one from a MIG with plenty of penetration and strength. With A/C only, the only disadvantage I see is that you need to hit the surrounding areas with a quick pass with your grinder to remove the 'pimples' from the spatter. Otherwise, you can get just as sound of a weld. I have loads of rods, including some odd specialty rods, and unless I really need strength, I find myself just using 6013 rods. Since you do not have DC, I'd use 6011 rods for most of your applications. It's high cellulose potassium coating is very forgiving with less than perfectly clean metal.

 

[bx23barry]

While migs and tigs are great things, stick welders have put alot of stuff together. I don't really need anything around the place better than what held liberty ships and sherman tanks together.

 

[Sully2]

While migs and tigs are great things, stick welders have put alot of stuff together. I don't really need anything around the place better than what held liberty ships and sherman tanks together.

BUT...on the other hand...I...me personally...I DONT NEED a welder thats capable of welding Liberty ships OR tanks back together.
And from what I gather...its "kinda tough" welding Aluminum with a "stick welder"..??

 

[HomeBrew2]

[/font]

My issue with this thread and your pushing the HF welder is of great concern ....

My concern here is that an inexperienced person will read this, buy the HF Mig set up, not know crap about welding, try to fasten some stuff together and it will fall apart with catastrophic results. Possibly injuring someone.

Your pictures of your welds do not sway me. Frankly, they scare me.

I withdraw myself from this thread from here on. I made a resolution some time ago to not engauge anyone from the 'Fraidy Cat Club aka Safety Police. I am sure you have saved many lives and/or limbs with your posts and you should be commended for that. Carry on.
Cheers!

 

[Soundguy]

I use 6011 the most, and 6013 if it has to look 'perty. I've found the 6013 runs fine on ac.. slag usually comes of fin one piece, leaving a row of dimes under it.. again.. which is about as good as I can get with a mig anyway...

Soundguy

Ah, no wonder you got so much of a better deal than I did. You had me feeling that I got robbed. I'll have to check the model number, but my Hobart is AD/DC. The difference is that I seem to be able to keep the spatter down quite a bit on DC. And, as you alluded, I can run a bead on 1/4" with a 6013 rod (on DC positive polarity) and get a weld that looks as nice as one from a MIG with plenty of penetration and strength. With A/C only, the only disadvantage I see is that you need to hit the surrounding areas with a quick pass with your grinder to remove the 'pimples' from the spatter. Otherwise, you can get just as sound of a weld. I have loads of rods, including some odd specialty rods, and unless I really need strength, I find myself just using 6013 rods. Since you do not have DC, I'd use 6011 rods for most of your applications. It's high cellulose potassium coating is very forgiving with less than perfectly clean metal.

 

[garyhgaryh]

I withdraw myself from this thread from here on. I made a resolution some time ago to not engauge anyone from the 'Fraidy Cat Club aka Safety Police. I am sure you have saved many lives and/or limbs with your posts and you should be commended for that. Carry on.
Cheers!

HomeBrew,
Thank you so much for posting pics of the HF unit and the type of welds it can produce. This is an old thread, but it was useful and your post was the most useful in terms of answering the questions I had.

I'm no expert welder, but I think those welds are decent and I would be happy with them.

I wanted to buy either the Model 94056 (the one you have) or the 98871 version. The later version has a duty cycle of 25-40 and comes with some sort of face mask and a slag tool. At the last minute I decided to go with the 220V mig they had on sale for $199. The HF floor guy went to the back
to find it but couldn't so I decided to get the 110v model 94056 since it has a higher amperage than the 110v 98871 (80-104.3AMPs vs 55-90AMPS).

Reg price: $149.99. Sale price: $109.99. 25% coupon for news years only tool the price down to $82. 10 bucks more than you paid, but I'm happy.
My next welder will be a Miller Econotig or a syncrowave machine. But this HF welder will hold me over till then. I also bought a spool of .030 wire just in case the included one sucks (too greasy).
Gary

 

[California]

Back in 2006 I wrote in this thread that a HF 94056 simply didn't work, all it did was spit. I returned it.

A year later I bought another 94056 and this one works properly. It is made better, particularly the wire feed tensioner, and it came with usable flux-core wire. While it is still a beginner's welder, it works as well as I had hoped. In a thread elsewhere I commented jokingly, that I wonder if this exact model is used all over China to assemble all that just-good-enough stuff, with ugly but sufficient welds, that is sold at Target and Walmart.

Over on WeldingWeb there are several threads discussing this model. I posted a photo in this WW thread with links to others. My technique could use some improvement, but all the welds I have made are solid.

I attribute the improvement to suitable wire provided with this later 94056, in contrast to junk wire that was included with that first 94056 back in 2006.