120-Volt Pro-Series Arc Welder (PS07572) $69 Free shipping from Home Depot

Quote from nates : Stainless is best left to a TIG welder, and a professional. Those rods you see are for a TIG welder. You do NOT want to start messing around with a nice exhaust system with ARC welding. For the rest out there that are contemplating this welder, understand that while you CAN learn to weld with one, 120V ARC process welding is just not going to generate enough current to get a smooth arc. The above post about learning from a Community College is golden, as it's a process that takes lots of time and practice to do passibly much less well. Everyone starts with ARC welding or gas welding and moves up from there, and both processes are relatively easy when shown by a pro..... YouTube...... I don't konw? I don't like the idea of learning on youtube about something that could potentially kill me. Also for those of you determined to learn this way, who have no way of cutting metal to experiment with DO NOT EVER TRY TO ELECTRICALLY WELD ANYTHING GALVANIZED!! You can get galvanic poisoning, which is not fun in any way shape or form. Lots of folks find galvanized brackets and whatnot to experiment with and end up getting very sick. IMHO you would be better off getting a used Lincoln tombstone welder off craigslist, which can often be had for the same price, and are powered off 220V.

Also don't use brake cleaner or any solvents because they can turn into cyanide instantly. You will either die groom the fumes or lose your sight or be severely paralyzed.

Quote from Krogan : Thank you. I'd rep but it's impossible on Android :-(

Impossible? Check your reps.

Quote from WookyStyle : From a non-professional welder: I recommend dropping $100 and taking a class at a CC like I did. This will teach you technique from a professional (angle, speed, etc.), how to use the welder (settings, rods, etc.), what you can and can't do and what you should or shouldn't do. They will have the gear, materials and PATIENCE to teach you how to do it right. If after the class is over you still are interested in welding, get yourself a good secondhand welder and get some scrap steel to practice on. My roommate had a stick welder (a good Lincoln) I used but I found that most of the things I wanted to weld (for instance, new sheet metal in the floor on my Jeep) were too thin to use with a stick welder (at least for me). A MIG welder would have been better for me to have. I would not run out and buy a cheap, on-sale welder if I had never welded before. Learn the right way and then see if this is what you need.

Sounds like sage advice but I doubt this deal will still be around by the time I complete all of that.

Quote from Skorp1on : How is this compared to the HF one which is $10 more but you get a hand-held face shield? Plus, duty cycle is 20% @ 70A - not sure if better or worse. http://www.harborfreight.com/weld...68888.html

I know you need less amps for arc welding but 50 umm not really sure how great it will be anything past 1/8 thickness. I rather have more amps to have better welds and have the ability to weld something thicker rather than backing my self into a conner with a low amp welder. I've use 90 amp welders before and was pretty pleased for small projects but another larger like fences headache racks, custom bumpers, boat repairs, trailer repairs it just does really cut the job. Anything 70 to 90 would be a good starter and then work up to something more expensive and higher end.

Anyone else bothered by the duty cycle rating? 20% seems awfully low to me.

Quote from OstrichSak : Impossible? Check your reps.

Ice cream sandwich update over the weekend seems to have fixed it. Want a slickdeals problem, just that the way the android browser handled the rep window popup wasn't working properly.

Quote from OstrichSak : Sounds like sage advice but I doubt this deal will still be around by the time I complete all of that.

True.

But I guess I do not consider a welder something I would buy just because it is on sale. If you have been wanting to learn for a while, invest the money in a class, not a welder. To me it would be like buying a crappy car because it is a good deal and you don't even have a license or know how to drive yet; I would take care of the other parts in the equation before I bought the car.

If you know how to weld and think this will work for you, then go ahead and buy it. From what I read, it seems a lot of people are looking to buy this just because it's on sale and they think they could use it or want it. I think those people will be regretting their decision to buy this once they get into it.

That being said, good luck if you buy it. Welding can be fun and useful.

Quote from Krogan : Ice cream sandwich update over the weekend seems to have fixed it. Want a slickdeals problem, just that the way the android browser handled the rep window popup wasn't working properly.

I'm running CM7 which is still Honeycomb and it has worked for me just fine.

Quote from Favrerox : You don't need THIS welder.

Jedi mind trick.

Quote from Skorp1on : How is this compared to the HF one which is $10 more but you get a hand-held face shield? Plus, duty cycle is 20% @ 70A - not sure if better or worse. http://www.harborfreight.com/weld...68888.html

From the pictures it looks like they are made by the same manufacturer

ProSeries Manual says (http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/...7e77.pdf): Amperage Output: 50 (Low), 70 (High), Duty Cycle Rating 20% @ 50A

HF Manua says (http://manuals.harborfreight.com/...8888.pdf): Welding current: 40-70 amp AC, Duty cycle: 30% @ 55 amp (Rated), 20% @ 70 amp (Max.)

Not sure who to believe...

Quote from WookyStyle : True. But I guess I do not consider a welder something I would buy just because it is on sale. If you have been wanting to learn for a while, invest the money in a class, not a welder. To me it would be like buying a crappy car because it is a good deal and you don't even have a license or know how to drive yet; I would take care of the other parts in the equation before I bought the car. If you know how to weld and think this will work for you, then go ahead and buy it. From what I read, it seems a lot of people are looking to buy this just because it's on sale and they think they could use it or want it. I think those people will be regretting their decision to buy this once they get into it. That being said, good luck if you buy it. Welding can be fun and useful.

Again, all sage advice but I had to call my neighbor last week because I knew he had a welder. He showed up with something comparable to this to weld up a broken weld on my trailer that put my out of business for the entire day during my busy time of the year. He took care of it in a few minutes time and I asked where he learned how to do that. Without missing a beat he told me: YouTube. So, with about $70 invested I could have also watched a YouTube video and fixed that trailer myself first thing in the am when it broke and continued working that day and more than made up for that $70 spent instead of waiting for him to get off of work. I'm a handy person who owns lots of tools and a welder is not one of them. There are several occasions where one would have come in handy but I don't foresee needing it often enough to justify spending hundreds of dollars even though it may work better. While I agree with your advice and don't argue that it is probably the best way to go about this I also think that some people would benefit from an inexpensive welder such as this and a few hours spent watching YouTube videos for the once every few years they need to throw a quick & ugly bead on something. Remember, ugly can hold too. Welds don't need to be pretty work work. I know this first hand because my neighbor just got some weld all over the broken joint on my trailer which looks awful but it's holding solid and has worked great since. It shows no signs of letting loose anytime soon either. I'm just saying this conversation is a two-sided coin so one needs to examine which side is best for them and if time permits and the budget allows learn from a real life teacher and buy a nice welder. Not everyone has the time or money for that though.

Quote from Mike C : don't know what this is, but $50 off and in stock for free delivery, so in 4 1, thanks OP!

LOL! Typical SDer.

I'm going to repeat what a few others have said:

If you want to learn how to weld, spend the <$100 to take a community college course. The one I did was a whole day (8 hour) intro which let me try any welding process (Stick, MIG, TIG, O/A), and all the materials and safety equipment were provided to make pretty much whatever you want.

Then, if you still want to buy a welder, use what you learned to decide what you ACTUALLY need. This particular HD welder isn't going to do anything except maybe frustrate you when you realize it's about as useful as a sixth toe. You can pick up a used Lincoln 225 Tombstone welder for about $100 almost anywhere, and they're bullet proof. And if you REALLY want to go cheap, you can get a similar HF welder for about the same price any day. And even though I would never recommend a HF welder, I'd pick one of those up any day over this HD one simply because so many people do buy the HF welders and you can actually find useful information about them online sometimes.

This is a great example of a shitty product making it to the FP just because it's discounted. It's discounted for a reason, folks...

Pass. I almost bought one of these from HF, but they appear to suck and can't weld the 1/4" SS I'm working with.