Schmuck has ? for pro's

admin

I have a ? but let me explain my confusion first.I know this is a Pro welder website but it does have a Harbor Freight tools section with post's from those who use some of the cheeper tools, like the grinder, in their profession and even praise them. Now I stayed away from buying the mig welder they have and bought a Lincoln based on info i got from this site. Base on that info I concluded that the Lincoln, Miller and Hobart were all quality machines.Now I see a post on here where alot of you are knocking the HF tools and cheeper welders and tools in general and this is where it gets a bit confusing.My friend who welds for a profession sent me to the local Pro welding store to buy a Lincoln which was $889 but after looking around I found it at Lowes for $659 and then on the internet for a total cost delivered for $475So now I'm wondering, Did I do good? or is there some reason I shoud have paid the $889 for the welder at the pro store?PS.  my HF grinder works great after 8yrs of abuse so i know that was money well spent. but I'm serious about the welder, should I be concerned?
Reply:Your only concern I see is what to do with the savings.Grinders-chop saws magnets -clamps choices choices.You shopped around no crime in that.pro-level dumpster diver                                     Hobart 125EZ
Reply:No.  Everybody shops for a good deal. Luck matey!City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Sounds to me like you did your home work and came out on top. Now get busy and make some sparks and show us the pics lol.G3miller... 225g, s32p, 250x, 304, 12vs, MSW41     victor o/a thermal dynamics cutmaster 50 lenco panel spotter        hobart hf-boxG3 Farms.....raising cattle, hay, kids and hell, ...oh yeah I'm a fire sprinkler contractor by trade.
Reply:Ya, congratulations on finding it for so much less than the welding shop, while supporting your local shop is a good thing to do (at the rate brick and mortar stores are declining everywhere) but for that kind of money I would say that you picked the obvious choice, buy yourself a nice helmet and leather welding wears.Can't wait to see what you do with this machine.What are you getting Stick/Tig Mig Tig all of the above?
Reply:I do this professionally and use a Lincoln 175HD, bought at Home Depot for $599, welding shop price was $779.I was disappointed when HD clearanced the same machine for $449 but this little thing paid for itself the first few days that I used it!Lincoln has discontinued it for a lighter design, better case and variable current control instead of tapped transformer design.I've run fab shops in the past and it's hard to get out and see what retail prices are, the welding salespeople would visit our shop and gave us awesome prices, Much lower than those "walk-in" sticker prices you see at their store. I bought several traded in units and if there were "sales" they would knock another 10 to 20% off because we spent so much $$$$ with them. even in a small production facility we bought filler metals by the 1000# prices and gases the same way. Now that I weld as a little side business, I shop price like the weekend warriors. The home centers get much of my business just for the convenience.I actually like the name brand abrasives much better from HD, I've done three large projects with just one Hilti cutoff blade, yes on a Harbor freight saw!!SOooo, You just keep shopping price and saving those Penny's like everybody here, Just keep in mind that the big ticket items, ie welders, torches, plasmas should be name brands simply for the availability of parts and consumables.Enjoy the new toy!!
Reply:Originally Posted by packeteerI do this professionally and use a Lincoln 175HD, bought at Home Depot for $599, welding shop price was $779.I was disappointed when HD clearanced the same machine for $449 but this little thing paid for itself the first few days that I used it!Lincoln has discontinued it for a lighter design, better case and variable current control instead of tapped transformer design.!!
Reply:Originally Posted by RockoI have a ? but let me explain my confusion first.I know this is a Pro welder website but it does have a Harbor Freight tools section with post's from those who use some of the cheeper tools, like the grinder, in their profession and even praise them. Now I stayed away from buying the mig welder they have and bought a Lincoln based on info i got from this site. Base on that info I concluded that the Lincoln, Miller and Hobart were all quality machines.Now I see a post on here where alot of you are knocking the HF tools and cheeper welders and tools in general and this is where it gets a bit confusing.My friend who welds for a profession sent me to the local Pro welding store to buy a Lincoln which was $889 but after looking around I found it at Lowes for $659 and then on the internet for a total cost delivered for $475So now I'm wondering, Did I do good? or is there some reason I shoud have paid the $889 for the welder at the pro store?PS.  my HF grinder works great after 8yrs of abuse so i know that was money well spent. but I'm serious about the welder, should I be concerned?
Reply:What I have experienced is that if you buy a product from Home Depot that has been branded/packaged specifically for them, even though it's made by a major manufacturer and may still have that manufacture's name on the package, you're usually getting a cheaped-out version of the real thing.   Home Depot is so rediculus and ruthless on wholesale pricing/service from their suppliers (HD sets the price and service policies, not the supplier) that, over time, the suppliers find ways to cheap out the stuff they sell to Home Depot in order to make a profit.  Otherwise, they end up selling at a loss, or barely breaking even.  The good stuff goes to the other retail shops (like your local welding shop) who pay a much higher price for 'the same thing', but really what they're getting is better made.   How do I know this?  I work for a Home Depot supplier who also services other customers.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by Rocko.So now I'm wondering, Did I do good? or is there some reason I shoud have paid the $889 for the welder at the pro store? but I'm serious about the welder, should I be concerned?
Reply:Wow William actually made a pretty honest post, congrats.
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33What I have experienced is that if you buy a product from Home Depot that has been branded/packaged specifically for them, even though it's made by a major manufacturer and may still have that manufacture's name on the package, you're usually getting a cheaped-out version of the real thing.   Home Depot is so rediculus and ruthless on wholesale pricing/service from their suppliers (HD sets the price and service policies, not the supplier) that, over time, the suppliers find ways to cheap out the stuff they sell to Home Depot in order to make a profit.  Otherwise, they end up selling at a loss, or barely breaking even.  The good stuff goes to the other retail shops (like your local welding shop) who pay a much higher price for 'the same thing', but really what they're getting is better made.   How do I know this?  I work for a Home Depot supplier who also services other customers.
Reply:Originally Posted by olddadI thought this was common knowledge by now..."The Walmart Effect". This has been going on for several years, my bad for assuming everyone knew this. The OP got what what he paid for...a "box store" machine. For a lot of folks this would be alright, plastic instead of metal, lighter wiring, etc. For my dime, my LWS will match + tax the best internet price I can get. That's close enough for me to have that store available in this age of downsizing and cost cutting. Give your LWS a chance to work with you...unless box store stuff is alright for your needs.
Reply:Originally Posted by gnm109I was with you right up to where you said that the LWS WILL MATCH THE BEST INTERNET PRICE (YOU) CAN GET.......That's funny. My local LWS's all charge full list price plus tax and, I suspect, shipping is in there somewhere. They are gougers and I stay away from them as much as I can. They never, ever give me a break. Even when they have a sale, I can still beat their prices on the internet. The typical new welder on the internet will be discountecd up to 20% off list,  no sales tax, free shipping and no gouging. I saved $300 on my SP175 Plus buying it on the internet..
Reply:UpdateI had to call Lincoln to see if a spool gun will work on my welder and they said it would. Turns out that my welder is a 180T with a composite assembly for the rollers and the 180T at the pro store has a metal assembly. I figure if my assembly would somehow break I will just replace it with the metal one and have the $900 machine for a few hundred $ less. The spool gun is about $20 cheaper on the internet but I will get that from the local pro store as they will help me hook it up and show me tips on how to use it. Now, I can justify paying the extra dollars on the spool gun but no way on the welder. Oh, and the welder came with a full manufacturer warranty so I'm good there.Anyway I thank all of you for your input and as soon as it warms up here I will entertain you with some pic's of my first project (see if you can guess what the project will be )
Reply:[QUOTE=Rocko;160901Anyway I thank all of you for your input and as soon as it warms up here I will entertain you with some pic's of my first project (see if you can guess what the project will be ) [/QUOTE]Welder Cart.What do I win??...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:On the Lincoln ProMigs this is the way it works (I got this directly from them). The T models are retail items designed for the home/hobby crowd and sold through retail chains. The C models are professional models designed for the pro crowd who are generally willing to pay a little more for their machines to get what they want. The same with Miller. Miller means pro, Hobart is Millers retail line. The almost local authorized repair center for practically all name brands I use has beat every price I have been able to find on welding machines and accessories even on the WWW. The Magnum 100 spoolgun fits all machines that take a Magnum 100 Mig gun.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33What I have experienced is that if you buy a product from Home Depot that has been branded/packaged specifically for them, even though it's made by a major manufacturer and may still have that manufacture's name on the package, you're usually getting a cheaped-out version of the real thing.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterWelder Cart.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterWelder Cart.
Reply:Jolly RogerYou can get the Magnum 100sg spoolgun for less than $180 in your local store?   $180 is  the price I found on the Internet.
Reply:All these comments are interesting to an outsider looking in (me) but I wonder if there isn't some moral calamaty here.We all want the best price for the best product even if it abuses local stores, then we complain that the box stores are driving small businesses out- then we even drive the box stores to submission by forcing them to compete with internet prices.I think a fair price (not the lowest discount) paid to a local welding shop perhaps does me more financial good by way of taxes paid, wages paid locally etc.Don't want to throw water on a fire, but just a random thought. ( now if I can just get that Mexican working out of his van to weld up my shop trusses from steel I salvaged from that import store thats expanding)
Reply:Originally Posted by KnotboredWe all want the best price for the best product even if it abuses local stores...
Reply:Like the cheap 4" grinder, for many of us the Chinese welder will probably work just fine. Sure, it only lasts (say) 200 hours of actual welding, but it'll take me a few years to do 200 hours. Some of you would get 200 hours use in a month.As a hobbyist, my policy is to buy the cheapest one that works and buy a better one when that fails. For example, I bought a $50 Dremel-like device probably 5 years ago and it's still working. I bought a real Dremel recently because sharpening tungstens with something that doesn't centre is awful and recently I've been swapping tools through the non-Dremel about 5 times an hour so I'm clearly getting reasonable use out of it. So I bought a proper one that's a bargain at 3x the price.Likewise the welder. If it lasts a year because I end up using it a couple of hours every night and half the weekend, fine. At that level of usage it's worth me saving up and buying a brand-name welder. But my guess is that an hour or two of use most weeks is all it's going to see. Tank rental is probably going to be a big part of the ongoing cost for me.
Reply:They priced the Mag 100 SG at 172.00 That was in December. I just saw another post where they said some internet outfit was selling it for 158, but can't recall who. I did some research on it and decided it wasn't well suited for my needs.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.This company was started with $3000.00. We had a cutting torch and a ProMig 155. We bought a Lincoln Eagle 10,000 at Sams, 4 pipe jacks from the LWS, and a bunch of stuff from HF. That chopsaw only lasted about 3 months, but it paid for the Rigid that replaced it. I don't expect I will ever wear out that 9 inch grinder, but if I do I have 2 Rockwells my dad gave me when he retired (I know I will never wear those out). My Proto's and such stay in my toolbox on my truck, but there are a lot of Pittsburg Forge in the shop. I still have the 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 drive sets I bought from HF when that was all they sold, and advertised in the back of Popular Science. I've broken one socket and one extension. I have seriously checked out their larger welding machines, but they just aren't up to what I need to do. The Gentec cutting torch they sell is a Victor, and is probably as good a buy as you can get. My partner has one he bought several years ago. It cuts just like my Victor, and actually had a tag in the case that said made by Victor. It's a trade off. My dad, now retired from welding, still uses the Power Kraft A/C (now with a rectifier on top of it) cracker box he has had for over 40 years. In fact it is the only shop machine he has ever owned.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I just bought the 100sg spoolgun and it looks like it will last just fine for what I do and cant wait to use it. I understand that its probly made in China but has the Lincoln name and I haven't read anything bad about it, plus it didn't cost me $400 bucks. I also know that most of the stuff we buy anymore is made in China and US companies put their name on it and as long as there is someone willing to pay double and triple for those same products the prices will always be up there. So from what I have read on this topic it can be said there is good Chineese welders, bad Chineese welders, cheep ones and expensive ones. They all road over sea on the same ship Maybe someday I will weld at the pro level and my needs will change but for now,If the big dollar machine is what works for you than buy it and I'll continue to shop around and buy what works for me.  Thank you for your comments...