Purchase The Cheapest Welder On AMAZON - amzn.to/34zjS3J

Nothing says consumer confidence like turning it on with a long screwdriver.

"I know you guys in the comments do perfect welds every time" lol

The face shield is handy to have around for someone who wants to watch you weld!

Considering the whole device costs less than my welding mask, the fact that it works at all and comes with a little mask is pretty cool.

Flips a plastic button with a screwdriver for safety, then proceeds to feed the wire and reassemble the gun while the thing is on

Couple years ago I bought my son the Harbor Freight $100 welder (he was 16 at the time) because he was interested in welding. I figured it was a good way to see if was going to STAY interested in it because you would have to really learn with such a low power unit. Now he uses it all the time for light fabrication up to about 1/4 inch steal. One of the best investments I made for him. ;-)

I love these 'budget' tool reviews. I'm one of those 'tinkerers' you mentioned and always buy Harbor Freight for the cost and how often i"ll use them. This falls right into my wheelhouse for knowledge gathering. Thank you!

Lol the helmet looks like a modified dust pan.

“Let’s be safe” Flicks the switch with a bigass metal rod 😂😂

Got one of these earlier in the year, so far gone through two and a half spools of flux core and done a ton of work on two rusty Ford Transits (US equivalent Econoline), still going strong! The only issue I've experienced was the wire fraying on the cheap earthing clamp and needed re-crimping a couple of times.

My dad always said "learn on the old/bad equipment and get good with it, so you`ll be a master on the good equipment", it`s the invertion of the "buy once, cry once" saying. This thing actually looks kinda decent (the same welder is actually under 100Euro here in Germany, a total bargain). Might have to pick one up to learn how to do little welding jobs.

Running a 20 amp welder on a 20 amp circuit that is also powering a few battery chargers will no doubt trip the breaker

The Harbor Freight version of this welder is actually pretty decent. Can reliably weld 3/16 thick plate. I've done 1/4 inch plate too by going slow and adding extra passes. Welds thin gauge sheet decently too.

I have this welder in my shop, it will penetrate just fine with good metal prep. I have over 1000 hrs on my machine. It out performs and has outlasted Lincoln and Hobart's. the switches will go bad , but can be replaced for about $5, and I upgraded the ground from an old set of jumper cables. This is the workhorse welder of Asia, they put these on their back and hang off ropes to weld bridges. Mine was $80 delivered on evil-bay, stray lots of these welders still come from time to time that cheap

I love my harbor freight mig welder. I think I paid $79 plus tax. I got a review on it that has over 100,000 views. The cheap one is all the average Joe needs for once or twice a year projects.Thanks for the video Cody.👍

Can't believe it didn't come with some packets of that silica gel- that's my favorite snack .

As a Career welder having welded for a living going on ten years now I can say even though the welds made me cringe I appreciate your honesty, great videos, keep up the great work.

I had this same welder for 4 years, It's not the best, but it's good enough for what I use it. If I had to buy one now I will buy a better one, but I bought it when I was a student in a budget and don't regret it. You can buy a stick welder for that price and It will be better, but it will take time to get used to it. With this one you can practice 20 minutes and go repair/make something useful.

That Origami style fold up Chinese welding helmet is priceless! Looks like the eye shield is from some left over 3D movie glasses. LOL.

Mate I did a pre-commissioning audit for the first LNG re-gasification terminal in China. This was about 13 years ago. I kid you not... this kit (that awesome face shield in particular) would have been considered LUXURY equipment. A lot of welders we saw did away with the face shield altogether and just wore sunglasses and looked in the other direction to the welding point (seriously). Needless to say we found a few things needing - how do I say this politely - demolition and complete re-work.

I have a welder just like that I have had it for many years. First thing you must remember is that has only a 20% duty cycle, tripping the breaker is because you are exceeding the duty cycle. I can weld just about anything with mine within reason. You can do 1/4" steel with that in multiple passes. The other trick is to remove the silver gas nozzle it's not required with flux core wire. Also use good quality wire the Lincoln wire is my favourite but other good name brands work great as well. You will get the hand of that machine quickly just be mindful of the short duty cycle. You absolutely do not usually need 20 amps I can run mine on a 16 gauge extension cord without issue. Not the best scenario but it will work.

I liked the videos on the welder and plasma cutter. I am building a small shop and am in need of both welder and cutter for small projects. Thanks for testing them, now i have a good idea on how well they work.

I bought this exact welder to start bc I didn't want to invest a bunch of money in a welder until I get better. I was practicing beading and trying different settings on a steal rim under supervision of an experienced welder. After a few practice beads, I produced a very nice bead for just starting out. You have to go slow and move in small rocking motions. Play with the settings on scrap. Lots of spatter to be expected from a flux core. It's a good little welder for small home projects. My only complaint is the wire feeder wheels (leads?), if there is a small bend in the wire, it will come out of place and stop feeding, causing the user to have to readjust a bit to get it to feed again. This has happened even trying different adjustments of tension. But that could also be the wire (that came with the welder). I have a roll of Blue Demon I'm going to try at some point.

Very sage advice @11:35 , there's always a place for cheap tools. Even if that $40 spring compressor dies after a single use, you're saving $660 vs the Snap-On spring compressor by not having a tool you'll never use again sitting in your garage.

4:37 LMAO THE LITTLE JUMP BACK HE DOES 🤣💀

this guy is one of my favorite you-tubers and i just thought it was funny that he went from some brackets to a trailer keep up the good work and keep the good videos coming

You've got a great attitude brother, it's good to have guys like you in a work gang, you don't let ego get in your way.

You can get the Horrible Freight one for $90 with a coupon sometimes. The problem with all these cheaper welders is duty cycle (they overheat quickly) , but you can still make great welds with them if you stay within their operating parameters. Especially if you use some nicer wire than what they come with.

I have worked as a professional welder multiple times in my life for a total of about 8-10 years. Once at “Intermountain Lift” in Utah wielding/ Building Rollercoasters & Ski lifts, And 2nd time I worked fabricating and installing Ornamental Hand Railings & Ornamental Fencing. I would suggest when buying a welder for doing small odd jobs &/ or a portable welder, Buy a small portable/ Cheap *arc welder* ( If you know how to arc weld). With an cheap/ small arc welder, You can still use quality arc Rods which will enable you to achieve correct/ high enough temps. to penetrate & bind whatever material your working on securely together.

The flinch when you turned the welder on was priceless lol.... Love the videos keep em coming Mr Wranglerstar!

I bought a $100 Harbor Freight welder and a $30 auto darkening hood a number of years ago. Not top notch stuff but it has worked just fine for the few projects I used it for. It's not the welder's fault, but you definitely do need a dedicated 20A circuit to adequately power one of these and get enough penetration for thicker metal. No power strips as those cheap 15A breakers will trip very quickly - usually before 15A.

I like that you keep your sence of humor in every video.

This is the kind of content that I've missed the most.

Thanks man! You had fun with this as much as I did.

I have to agree with your dad. My Dad told me to "buy the best you can afford". I told my kids the same, and I follow that advise too. I haven't disappointed. Although, I am just a "shade tree", but I have had a lot of enjoyment over the years doing what I do.

I have seen really old...and I mean REALLY old....welder helmets/shields with a handle in front like that. Just not recently.

When ur vise cost more than the welder lol

I'm so glad that you recognize that we all make perfect welds. Thank you! It's about time that a KZfaq creator recognizes the skills of the watchers. On a more serious note, I actually bought one of these a few years ago to help build a jungle gym for my son. I definitely noticed the diminished skills for sure. I was finally able to get a decent weld once I got a LONG cord to go to the breaker that was greater than 20 amps. I was shocked that that little thing kept blowing a 20 amp breaker. You're right on the money. Slower feed and longer hold will get a... decent weld with it. Good luck in the comments on the cheep tools idea. I'm there with you though. Things I use all the time I pay good money for the good stuff. Things I never use/use once, I go with the more affordable stuff. My father-in-law was a financial manager and he always says, "you can only spend your money once." That idea applies to buying tools on both ends of the spectrum.

Super video! Well put together. I'm not a proficient welder but have a little under my belt. I am going to try this product to get started. It's the Crawl, Walk, Run senario. BIG THANKS for your opinions. Have a great Navy day!

6:54 that's electroboom reference right there. Lol

seriously, I have been welding for 30 years and use hand held face/eye protection all the time, similar to the cheap one you have there but alot more sturdy. I think every pro welder has one.

Yesssss, thank you. I’ve been dying to see more welding videos since the Tig one

Interesting. It astounds me that anything like this is available. I appreciate these reviews.

With the wire feed welder, try the initial setup on some flat plate about the thickness you expect to weld (you can run many stringers), slightly point the tip toward the direction you are welding (sort of lead the weld puddle) and you will get a little better penetration and weld formation. Just a tip :) And get some nozzle dip so you don't collect a bunch of weld spatter.

If you want a cheap welder, get a stick welder. They are far usabel.

I totally agree with your assessment of when to by expensive tools. I purchased a similar level welder from HF years ago and still have it and it does what I need. Another option on the seldom used tools is to borrow/rent from the auto parts places. Your spring compressor is a good example. I'm sure Advanced Auto or Auto Zone would have one to loan out.

Yep. Got one of these (in the UK) and have used it for a bunch of different jobs. Like you say, it ain't refined, but it works (and works and works and works)... And I immediately bought a not very expensive but infinitely better hood with automatic dimming - 100% required!

looks like a .....West coast weld to me 😂

"I have no doubt the Chinese guys r good dudes but..." THAT KILLED ME LOL 😂😂💀💀😂😂

Great video, really enjoyed this one! Liked your dad's wisdom as well, smart guy.

I got a similar craftsman welder like that for free a few years ago. It actually does ok for small things. Welds aren’t pretty. I have to bring my projects to where I work if it needs more strength or if I want to make it look nicer. I really think these are great for a lot of people.

I've converted a few of the harbor freight welders (same one) to D.C. with a 150 amp rectifier and a 60,000 uf capacitor and it actually turns this little welder into a very good machine - comparable to my Miller and Lincoln welders. Also throw out the flux core junk it comes with and buy some Lincoln flux core. Flux Core should be DC. Good Video - Thanks

It did better than I thought it would, I'm most impressed by how little slag splatter there was compared to other flux core migs I've tried in that price point.

I have the same welder with a different name on it. My results and experience was similar to yours. I was joining 1/8” plate to a 1/4” wall tube with 1/8” gussets. I honestly am not sure if it is working properly. I could not see a difference between min and max on all the settings. I had wire feed as low as possible and power on max 2. It felt like the wire would hit the workpiece and push my hand away then sometimes while welding midstream it would appear to work properly for just a moment or so. Mine also thermed out a few times. I agree, I think 1/8” is the max. Thank you for your video.

These videos help me out a lot when buying tools I’m not working in a workshop on a regular basis I have no tools and I’m not gonna be using tools every single day shout out to you helps out a lot thanks

It's the same as the HF. They work fine. The HF auto-sense mask as an upgrade for $30 is well worth it.

about 5 years ago I gave up on buying all the expensive equipment needed to do occasional hobbies and such. About 30 minutes from me there is a Hackerspace, which is a place you can pay membership to and use the high-end equipment they have to work on hobbies and such. It's $25/day or $250/year. The only requirement is you have to attend classes on each equipment to be signed off on being able to use it in order to use it. So, for example, I want to try out TIG welding over MIG and took the 8hr class you have to pay $50 to attend and I learned the basics on TIG and now when I need to TIG something, I just go down there with my materials and spend $25 to use a professional grade TIG welder and professional level welders helmet. It's open 24/7 and each room the equipment is located in uses your badge to go in and out of, if you are not signed off on the equipment in that room, you can't enter that room.

Nice video man, we're not pro's either and you did a fine job showing us a cheaper welder and what it can and can't do.

Love your channel, this one had me laughing with the hand hood 😂😂😂. Thanks for your tool reviews 👍🏻

Hahahahahha turning it on with a huge screwdriver. China. Killing the west 1 Amazon prime welder at a time.

had one of these... preheat metal with a mapp gas then welds penetrate very well.

i agree, need to evaluate the case of use to know whats the best tool quality for it. cheers

I love that you laughed at the slag hammer and the erm "hood" made me chuckle

Great Video, would like to point out that this is not a MIG Welder (MIG involves Inert Gas). This is a flux core arc welder (FCAW). Looks about the same as my Harbor Freight 90 amp welder. Pretty much a glorified hot metal glue gun, but I've fixed a few mufflers with it!

It's a flux core welder so you need to treat it like a stick welder, i.e. where there's slag, you drag...... the puddle of weld towards you. I bought a very similar one (240v and it was red....... basically the same machine apart from the input power) and made an A frame that sits behind the welder with a 5kg spool of wire. The wire then goes through a bicycle brake hose through a hole in the back plait of the welder. So much easier then the 1/2kg spools that it's meant to use

Thanks for taking the time and risk to your life to test the cheapest welder on Amazon. I laughed to tears when you brought out the long handle screwdriver. Seriously thank you keep up the great work.

I did enjoy this content. I don’t weld at all, never had a need to, but very interesting to see how it works.

My old mig welder the welding wire came out the middle of the lead... That welder actually sounds quite powerful! Why is it the gas always runs out when your halfway though many times I ended up welding things gas less with a gas might

When he laid the wand down on the metal table and it sparked like a bad short in a jumper cable , priceless !! Turning on the welder with a screwdriver with a plastic handle on the screwdriver , the power switch is a plastic switch and a dry piece of wood with gloves on would have been better ! Wire speed ? Amperage setting ? Assembling the wand parts with it on ?

Great clip You right between DIY at home and Pro. daily use Thank you .

My arc wielder was around £100 and it works for me Mine looks similar to this with the orange case Slag hammer broke and the brush wires are bent The wielding hood i use for family members who may be nearby when I wield

Could buy a shop full of cheap tools and, when one needs replacement, buy a high quality replacement. That way you buy quality where you have proof that you need it.

You should do the test again, but pre heat the steel with a torch. I bet you’d be able to lay down beauty beads

I've never cracked up laughing at an instructional video before! The part where you attached the handle to the "protection" was hilarious.

Oh goodness I have a similar welder, a 125 amp 110V DC positive flux core welder that does everything I need it to. When I bought it someone told me I wouldn't be able to weld more than 10 inches with it without having to let it rest. I thought about that for a minute and realized I probably don't weld more than 10 inches in a whole year between five projects but when I need a welder nothing else will do. So far everything I needed it for has been fixed. And I use the handheld face shield more than I do the regular head-mount one that I have. Thanks for the fun video :-)

3:59 "well, we'll see" you may never see again.

07:00 i noticed that when you tried to assemble the welding mask

Love the tool testing videos!

I just saw this from a while ago BUT was thinking about getting a little garage welder for light stuff. Growing up my dad had a full fabrication set up building our Cat trailers and our heavy equipment repair. That was a long time ago and forward to today when I was looking at these for a possibility. Thank you for showing it good/bad sides but still probably will do all I need. Appreciate the video my friend..

As a welder everyone has room to improve. We always learn something new everyday 🤷🏻‍♂️

This is my welder lol. I use this for everything. I get really good welds now that I know how to weld, and besides the large amount of spatter, it’s great!

I just changed some struts for a friend and used the big C-Clamp to compress the spring well enough to remove the strut.

You do good video blogs. This one is a good review of a cheap welder that a DIY can use for one or two little projects. That's me, and I may even buy one of these...plus a long handled screwdriver to turn it on and off with. Keep up the reviews...you're exceptionally good at them.

Putting the handle on the outside and not realizing that flux core makes a slag? What are you doing reviewing a welder?

Something my father told me, and his father before him: Always buy the best tool that you can afford at the time. A lot of cheap stuff - not all of it, but a fair amount - if it's looked after, will outdo and outlast expensive gear that gets neglected.

great stuff mate love your down to earth videos,i quite often binge watch channel

I normally weld left to right, helps me see the molten pool better. Not sure if youve tried already but just an idea

Probably do fine on sheet metal too - like auto body repair work.

I do not do perfect welds everytime... But they do hold (assuming a working welder)...

It would work perfect with like a lower case c wave pattern over and over, drawing the material and heat from metal to metal evenly. Or a zigzag at least. It looked like a strong duty cycle! Thanks for the video and addressing the cost. 👍🏻

Oh my gosh. When you said, "well maybe the guy is an accountant..." You were talking to me. Lol Nail on the head comment. Awesome. Thank you for making my day.

I bought a decent mig welder from harbor freight for 100$ my friend brought over his 650$ mig and it put down comparable beads.

your turning it on with probably the longest screwdriver ever, jsut made my day!!!! KUDOS

This MIG welder makes me love my Lincoln AC/DC arc welder even more

LOL. I was yelling - "HANDLE ON THE INSIDE! HANDLE ON THE INSIDE!" Love this review. THANKS! - Johnny from Hendersonville NC

this is an ac welder, most flux mig wire seems to like dcen best. so any ac results are going to be subpar at best, even if the welder itself is good.

3:35 when you where struggeling to put it in the right place i only thought " yup thats 100% american only " every body would just look at it and knew it would go on the inside

I have the 240V one and its great! I added a dc recitifier and capacitor with inductor so it doesnt splatter so much.

Appreciate the review and enjoyed the vid