Harbour Freight Mig 180

Greg58 · Jan 24, 2015

I've been planning to start body panel repairs on my 50 ford so I bought a harbour freight 180 mig, also picked up the regulator for cover gas. I had planned to buy the argon/co2 tank as well but after calling one of the smaller welding suppliers that will sell to individuals I can get a 20 cf tank for $95 full, its $89 empty from h/f. Does anyone use the small tank? I can get a 60cf tank for $165.

MEASURE TWICE · Jan 25, 2015

That's about right. Airgas I think it was about 3 or more years ago was about $130 for a 40cf tank in San Jose, CA, (you own it, but they swap when you go to fill). It was supposed to come with 1/2 off cost of first fill. Gas for it then was about $70 so I paid $35 then I guess.

Cost goes up and down, it was up to 90 and down to 65 for the 40 cf 75A 25C mix.

Airgas.com you can find where they are closest in your state.

Mt

They always say get the biggest bottle you can safely use as the cost is about the same to fill.

Greg58 · Jan 25, 2015

The welding supplier told me I could buy the small tank and see how long it lasts, then I could move up to the 60cf by paying the difference. Also it cost $20 to refill or exchange the small tank and $26 for the large, I may take them up on that offer. This is the supplier we use at work and do a lot of business with, sometimes you get a few perks from the job.

2door · Jan 25, 2015

Greg,
Check into leasing the tank from your gas supplier. It's usually cheaper and they will upgrade to a bigger tank quite reasonably. The probelm with owning the tank is once it reaches its service life it will need to be re-certified, tested, and that comes out of your pocket.

I'm only assuming your supplier has the lease option. Mine does. I lease my argon and C-25 tanks. Refills are cheap too. Under $100. and I have the big tanks.

Funny story: I was leasing a big argon. I'd had the lease for 20 years, had it refilled quite a few times, then one day I got a check in the mail from my gas supplier. It was a refund for my lease fee. The state of Colorado has a clause that says anything leased for 20 years automatically becomes the property of the leasee and the one leasing must refund the initial amount. Now the tank is mine and my gas supplier refills it, no questions asked. It has a long time before it needs to be tested so I'm good.

Nothing like getting something for free. Too bad I didn't get some interest on my lease fee. 20 years at say, 5%?

Tom

Greg58 · Jan 25, 2015

Tom the supplier will swap out tanks ever time I go in for a refill, my plan is to check the last certification date on the tank and keep a record.

2door · Jan 25, 2015

Greg58 said:
Tom the supplier will swap out tanks ever time I go in for a refill, my plan is to check the last certification date on the tank and keep a record.

That'll work.

Let us know how that little welder does for you. I've done a lot of body sheetmetal stuff and it's not hard but takes practice. You'll love the shielding gas welds over flux core. Especially for body work.

Tom

Greg58 · Jan 25, 2015

Yea I'm spoiled by the big 480v miller mig we have in the shop at work, I don't know if you've ever welded with a three phase powered welder but there is nothing like it. If a person can read they can weld with it. All one has to do is open the cover find the medal thickness on the chart and adjust the welder acordingly. I'm going to miss using that machine when I leave.

2door · Jan 25, 2015

You're right. There's no subsitute for power. Before I retired I had access to a big old monster too. If you need to weld heavy stuff there's nothing like a beast.

Nevertheless, for small shop work and thin material the little wire feed machine can produce some beautiful work. I have a 26 year old Hobart machine that has countless hours on it. I've built three cars with it and done numerous home projects. As long as I don't need deep penetration welds on anything over 1/4" my little guy can do it.

I think you'll grow to like the portability and ease of use of the smaller machine.
Maybe post a few photos of the 50. I'd like to see some progress shots.

Tom

Greg58 · Jan 25, 2015

I plan toTom, I'll start with the small areas that need repair and work on from there. I'll start a thread here so everyone can see. Ive done a lot of the mechanical conversions, I rewired it and changed it over to 12v , also added turn signals and electric wipers. When I got it it had a stuck valve which damaged the lifter, I repaired that so all is good with the engine. Good thing I learned how to work on flat head engines when I worked in the auto machine shop, I did a lot of tractor engines back in that time.

Greg58 · Jan 25, 2015

Tom I got a small spool of 023 wire to do the body panels, my thought is I can turn the machine down and prevent a lot of burn through. Will tack spots all around the repair then slowly fill in the gaps. I've done this on hydraulic tanks before but not on body panels.

2door · Jan 25, 2015

Tack, or stitch welding is the way to go on sheetmetal. Move around from place to place and after everything is secure go back and start filling the gaps. But take your time. Don't get in a hurry. Do small sections and keep moving. Usually an inch or two is enough. The biggest mistake folks do with sheetmetal is to try to do long beads. That usually ends up with burn-through and warping of the metal. Esy does it, does it.

Tom

Greg58 · Jan 25, 2015

I bought 6 large magnets to hold the patch panels in place and flush with the main panel, that way I won't have to hold it in place. I'm going to do as much of the body work as possible and then turn it over to one of the guys I know that are painters.

Greg58 · Jan 28, 2015

I got my cover gas today and after a little tweeking this welder does pretty good, the .23 wire makes a small bead that hopefully will mean less grinding.

2door · Jan 28, 2015

Magnets are essential. I use them for all kinds of things. I have a few super strong ones for heavy work. I also have one that hold parts at 90 and 45 degrees. They will often work on things that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to clamp. Patch panels are an example. How would you clamp two pieces of sheet metal together for a butt weld otherwise?

We're still waiting for pictures of this project

Tom

Greg58 · Jan 28, 2015

Tom I will when I start work on the body, I've been getting everything together to start. Ive been slowed some with the job searching thing right now. Its kinda hard to work one Job and interview for others.

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Harbour Freight Mig 180

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