they sell DeWalt, Makita and Husqvarna at Home Depot and I've heard no complaints about those...I had no idea EVERYTHING from H.D. was no good.

 

I dunno about it ALL being no good, but every single Dewalt tool I've bought from Lowes has met a premature death in my opinion. Maybe I just expect too much from my tools or the Dewalt line isn't all that good to begin with. I thought it was tho. That's why I 'standardized' and switched everything over to them in the first place.

My chopsaw only lasted 2 weeks before the motor died. The replacement lasted a month and now it's sitting in the back of my shop, unuseable. The 18 volt cordless drill is on it's 2nd transmission and it's less than a year old. The only thing I haven't had a problem with is the 4 1/2" grinder, but that gets so hot, even running with no load, that you can't hold onto the metal part of the gear case without gloves. It still works good tho, so I'm hoping it's 'normal'.

I've been told that some of this stuff is made specifically for the chain stores and isn't the same line as stuff that's available elsewhere. Dunno if I believe that or not, but buying new tools every year gets old fast!

chaikwa.

 

dough! that sucks to be replacing stuff every year! we've been really happy with our makita bat drills and a few corded saws/sawzalls. i'd say we have about 10 9.6V makita's, the small handle/motor is good size for getting in tight spots in aircraft. they mostly die due to over-exposure to laquer thinner or being dropped from 15 feet to concrete. the faithful chop saw is a black&decker that's been around for years and has been more than abused. just said dewalt cause a lot of guys i know in construction swear by 'em...maybe it's like ferd drivers swear by their trucks

 

Yeah, that's why I bought them too. Some of my friends in the construction trades swore by them. That's why I wonder if there IS a difference between what you get a H.D. or Lowes, and what you get a other places.

chaikwa.

 

I have a lincoln MIG 220 volt electric only ( no gas ). That thing works awesome for just about anything. I have welded pretty much everything under the sun with it..........well except aluminum and stainless. But I would highly recommend something like that. It is small and doesn't take much room, and is extremely easy to take places if need be.

Miller makes great machines too, just depends all on preference and who has a better price

The only thing that I don't really like about the one that I have, is the fact that it doesn't have the gas. The gas cleans your weld so much better where the electric only will leave some slag on there that you will have to clean off. Also it has a little bit of splatter too which I can deal with. If you are going for a smooth clean apperance on your welds, I would highly suggest getting one with the gas ( expensive yes but WELL worth it ). But you can make your welds look great with the electric too, it just takes a bit of cleaning.

A stick welder will give you the most penetration, but in my opinion are a real pain in the butt and really only need to be used for welding some heavy iron. With a mig you can get the same penetration, but you might have to weld a couple beads on there to get it.

Migs are awesome, definately worth the money and speed up the process of welding a TON!!

Good luck with your decision!!!


~Nick

 

I wanted to see if you ended up buying a welder and if so, which one?

I too am looking for a 110v welder.

I am looking at these:
Miller 135 - $600 ?
Hobart Handler 140 MIG Welder - $500 from Northern tool
Lincoln SP-135 Plus - $600 ?

So in terms of price they are all about the same...any thoughts?

Websites:
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/..._135/index.php
http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...eet.asp?p=7082
http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/handler140.html

 

Bueller? Bueller?

 

what voltage do u have?

 

My dad is a welder for a living

and the best most versatile and user friendly welder we have is a Miller DialArc 250, super easy to adjust, has for alternating and direct current welding, and isnt that expensive. For those of you on an even tighter budget, you cannot go wrong with a lincoln dialarc.

Rick

 

I am thinking about sticking to 110v for now See above post...