Re: spot welder

Posted by BH On 2014/3/13 9:22:28

Back in the 70s, we had a couple of portable spot welders of this style in the HS metal shop, but each was mounted on its own pedestal stand. Though I can't recall the brand, they were of a professional grade, 220V, and likely made in USA, but not immune to failure. After one of my classmates removed the part that he had just welded, the tongs closed, and sparks flew from the welding tips as they proceeded to fuse together. May have only been a something simple that failed, but must have been plenty of collateral damage inside, as that unit sat there, unplugged, for the rest of the semester.

When it comes to products like this, ease of customer service in the event of failure is very important to me. In that regard, I'd rather buy from a brick-n-mortar store than online or mail-order - even if I have to pay a little more. Also, a good, but honest, salesman will help steer you away from bad product.

I shop (carefully) at a HF store that's only about an hour drive. The few times that I have had problems with something, they've been pretty good about it. I got several years out of a cheap reciprocating saw that I used not only to strip branches from many trees that I felled, but cutting through roots that were still in the ground to bring those same trees down. When I finally stripped the gears, I just went back and bought another saw. However, I do buy the extended warranty for more sophisticated electrical products.

On the other hand, if you're only gonna use the welder for this one project, you can always re-sell it to recoup some of the original outlay.

Compared to a Miller unit that costs hundreds more, what have you really got to lose?