Harbor Freight spot welder

frenchy dehoux

frenchy dehoux

Well-known member
Anyone using the Harbor Freight spot welder any luck or is it a waste of money let me know. I know this maybe a bad word to use here. Let me know.

Thanks !

Frenchy
 
I have the 110 model As little as I use it It's does fine. Used it on stainless and galvinized steel. Just make sure all surfaces are clean. Dave
 
I have had four of the Harbor Freight 220 v. spot welders. The first three all failed and after I had returned the 2nd one, they would not warranty them for me again, so I was free to tear one down to see if I could fix it. I believe what I found was what wrong with the other ones. Corrosion had formed where the flat braided cable clamps to the transformer. Apparently, that clamp was not tightened enough at the factory and since there are dissimilar metals clamped together at that point and with the heat generated there, the corrosion rapidly worsened until it would not pass current. That was with very little welding time and the cable was impossible to get clean enough to re-use. But the fix was simple. On my next new one, I cleaned the cable and clamp before using it, then WD40'd it, then clamped it really tight. It has been working fine for the last seven or eight years. (And I still have a spare unit for parts). Here are some other pointers for good use from that machine. Take time to adjust the tong pressure and alignment (critical). The tips need frequent dressing to a rather sharp, but rounded contact area. The tip threads corrode and need frequent cleaning. Your parts need to be perfectly clean on all four sides. And your parts need to be well aligned and touching before welding, clamped with vice grips, etc. if possible. About 1\2 to 3\4 of a second seems to be the right dwell time on 1020cr 20ga. And do not overheat the unit. I used an expensive name-brand unit on another job, but the Harbor Freight one performs about the same if you manage its little problems.
 
Jim Huseby said:
I have had four of the Harbor Freight 220 v. spot welders. The first three all failed and after I had returned the 2nd one, they would not warranty them for me again, so I was free to tear one down to see if I could fix it. I believe what I found was what wrong with the other ones. Corrosion had formed where the flat braided cable clamps to the transformer. Apparently, that clamp was not tightened enough at the factory and since there are dissimilar metals clamped together at that point and with the heat generated there, the corrosion rapidly worsened until it would not pass current. That was with very little welding time and the cable was impossible to get clean enough to re-use. But the fix was simple. On my next new one, I cleaned the cable and clamp before using it, then WD40'd it, then clamped it really tight. It has been working fine for the last seven or eight years. (And I still have a spare unit for parts). Here are some other pointers for good use from that machine. Take time to adjust the tong pressure and alignment (critical). The tips need frequent dressing to a rather sharp, but rounded contact area. The tip threads corrode and need frequent cleaning. Your parts need to be perfectly clean on all four sides. And your parts need to be well aligned and touching before welding, clamped with vice grips, etc. if possible. About 1\2 to 3\4 of a second seems to be the right dwell time on 1020cr 20ga. And do not overheat the unit. I used an expensive name-brand unit on another job, but the Harbor Freight one performs about the same if you manage its little problems.
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Thank You very much for your response on this subject I am sure a few of us here will appreciate on your finding.

Thanks
Frenchy
 
I bought a 110 volt spot welder like the one at ebay 270675536704. Have used it a couple of dozen times with excellent results. Not the most stylist BUT it gets the job done
 
How long do you need to hold it down so that both pieces will fuse together well. I have been counting till 10 seconds and turn the switch off or is this to long to fuse them together. I bought the 220 volts so far so good no problem other than the question I am asking in this post.

Frenchy
 
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Clean the metal on the sides of the metal that come together. The two outsides where the electrodes come in contact with the metal need to be clean also. Spot welding is a funtion of the power or volts and amps of the machine, pressure and time the power is applied. Your only adjustment is time so you need to do some samples and pull them apart to see the results. Clean electrodes are also important. G.M.
 
Since the weld takes about .1 of a second when triggered you should release the jaws about a second later. If you hold them closed of an extended time the tongs may bend causing a reduction of clamping force. You can move pretty quickly with these just don't let the heat build up.
 
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