Spot welding

[mrraford]

I see that our friends at Harbor Freight have a sale on spot welders this month (surprise!).
Since I am not fully wired for 220 in my garage, the question comes to mind whether the 110 version will provide adequate welding capability to install my fire wall. Given the thickness of the metal pieces, does anybody here want to weigh in on whether those units will actually apply an adequate spot weld? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Bill Underwood]

I have a 110 unit that is very old and not Harbor Freight. It is USA.
It will spot two pieces of 18 guage. It is all in the amount of time you leave it welding rather than the volts or amps.

At least that is the way it works for me.

[29restorod]

If Harbor Freight sells it, RUN the other way. Over the years I have had nothing but bad luck with their tools. I just threw away 4 wood clamps that were worthless. Almost burned down my garage when a grinder caught fire. I also have a scar on my head after one of their wrenches broke.

[Jim Huseby]

This exact subject came up about three years ago when several barners reported a life span of these things as under 1/2 hr. of welding time, if I remember right, and were unrepairable. I claimed I thought I had figured out a way to keep one going (after burning up two of the 220v. units), then mine quit the next day! BTW, after warrantying the first one, they refused to replace the second one. You could see from the tongs and tips that I had never overheated them. I'm not telling you what to do.

[nick c]

I have owned a Miller 250A mig welder for 20 yrs. Many times I've needed to spot weld a 2 pieces of steel but I don't have a spot welder. Here's what I do. Take one of the pieces and punch or drill a hole in it 3/16" in diameter, clamp the 2 pieces together. Set mig at 21 to 24 volts, pull trigger for an instant. The weld will be perfectly round and perfectly flat. If you try this you must start out with scrap material that is sanded clean. If you are concerned with blowing a hole through the metal, you can use a piece of 1/8" aluminum as a backup to prevent blow through. When you think you think you have got it, take a chisel and try to split the 2 pieces of metal.
carry on nick c

[wrndln]

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I think what Nick c is describing is called rosette welding. Dudley Moordigian told me how to do it a year or two ago. It works well.
Rusty Nelson

[abachman3]

It is also called plug welding.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I also have an older American made 110 volt hand held spot welder. It works fine for thin metal, but I doubt it would be good for the firewall.

I used the high school floor mounted spot welder to restore battery holders, and it was the best welder I've ever used. It was 220 volt with water cooled tips.

[mshmodela]

I guess when i welded years ago Lincoln was it... then again they our a home team here

[JOES31]

Get a Miller, Lincoln, Forney, Esab, Tweco but stay away from Century and anything Harbor sells unless you want to be frustrated. While you are at it don't try and get away with a cheap helmet. You can't replace your eyes.

[d.j. moordigian]

Originally Posted by mrraford

I see that our friends at Harbor Freight have a sale on spot welders this month (surprise!).
Since I am not fully wired for 220 in my garage, the question comes to mind whether the 110 version will provide adequate welding capability to install my fire wall. Given the thickness of the metal pieces, does anybody here want to weigh in on whether those units will actually apply an adequate spot weld? Inquiring minds want to know.

We have a Miller 220 model which would work well on the Model A,
we also purchased a HF 110 for the light aircraft material that we
do. I ran a test on scrap material with the 110 model, thinking that I
could take it home for the Model A. It's just not powerful enough to do
2 or 3 thickness of sheet on an "A". Buy the 220 model...

Dudley

[john in illinois]

I use a miller mig to plug spot weld as described. I set it for the thickness of the panel.

John

[machine girl]

No need for a 220 volt mig welder, the 110 will weld everything you need to weld, but remember the $350.00 welder at home depot is not the same as the $550.00 welder at a welding supply.

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by machine girl

No need for a 220 volt mig welder, the 110 will weld everything you need to weld, but remember the $350.00 welder at home depot is not the same as the $550.00 welder at a welding supply.

Plus one on above. I bought a Lincoln SP135 after having looked at the lesser models that even Lincoln sells under the big-box roof. Yunno - the ones you can buy the argon kit for - but are primarily designed for welding core wire?

I'm glad I put out the extra two bills for the SP135. It's a 120v machine with a limited 20 percent duty cycle at full blast - but it's CONSISTENT. What I welded yesterday I can weld again tomorrow. And changing the heat, or the speed are intuitive. But did I say it's CONSISTENT?

And high quality. And parts like electrode guides and gas cups are available on Amazon.

I think in welding you can afford the best. You SHOULD afford the best.

"The best tools are none too good" is the way I heard it.

Anyone - do yourself a favor and get a name brand MIG. And if anyone can find me at the shop - I'll give you that 10 lb spool of core wire - I'll NEVER use it.

Joe K

[d.j. moordigian]

I thought mrraford was looking for spot welders, the thread title is Spot welding.
So, what is the Gent interested in, spot welders or wire welders? A "rosette"
looks way different than a "spot weld" if he is doing a Fine Point car....

[johnsor]

In spot welding, it is the amp setting/capacity of the machine that will determine what gauge material can be spot welded. In buying any machine, get one with at least a 20% duty cycle.