hobart welder

[freekforge]

anybody on here have any experience with the hobart handler 140? I work in the weld shop at work and they are gonna start teaching me how to mig weld and id like to have something at home to practice with. i asked around but the welders at work are all lincoln guys. It will be used to learn how to do oscillations and wire feed speed and all that stuff and then just light welding here and there for repairs.

 

[Mounty09]

I bought and taught myself to weld with a Hobart 125ez. Pretty good little machine that I have had zero problems with.

 

[Deprime]

I have one that I use for just hobby work and repairs. It fits my need and I haven't had any problems with mine. I usually run it with 80/20 or 70/30 argon/co2 (can't remember which mixture it is). I have used the flux core wire as well for outdoor repairs and it works well too. The only feature I wish it had was an infinitely variable wire speed control.

 

[fordfarmboy]

I have had a 180 for years to use on the farm . Have ran gas and just flux good for about 3/8 or smaller .

 

[ghitch75]

i have a 187 handler and it has been a great machine........i would buy another one in a heart beat.....

 

[jontheturboguy]

Hobarts are re-covered Millers.
Get some 030 wire and a bottle of c75/25 and go wild.
Google / Youtube welding tips and tricks. A good guy by the name of Jody runs the site. Watch his mig videos and you'll learn a lot.

 

[freekforge]

Thanks for the info guys its really helping alot. Ive been watching the jody guys videos and chucke2009s videos on the boss' compuer during our lunch breaks. Also brought in my helmet so i can watch the welders do what they do which also helps a lot

 

[Brian Ski]

I have been doing garage welding for years. Personally I would stay away from flux core. Go with a gas setup and you will be happy. Most of what I do is inside the garage or on a calm day. Hobart is good. Most of what I find used is either beat to death or priced as high as new. Rural King seems to have the best prices on Hobarts. Was going to pick on up when my MIG died. Decided to fix it. So I passed on a new one.

 

[freekforge]

Well i was going to hold off and wait until we run 220 out to the garage and buy a bigger welder but dad talked me into a 110 so it can be portable. Went out to big r and picked up the hobart handler 140 and haven't stopped smiling since. Im running flux core until my next check when i can afford a cylinder of c25. Even with tne flux core im getting some decent looking welds on 1/4" mild better looking than some of the welds i see at work. Called the neighbor over to check my welds out (we work in the same building and hes friends with the supervisor) and he thinks i'll be in a weld booth by the end of the week.

 

[Brian Ski]

Well i was going to hold off and wait until we run 220 out to the garage and buy a bigger welder but dad talked me into a 110 so it can be portable. Went out to big r and picked up the hobart handler 140 and haven't stopped smiling since. Im running flux core until my next check when i can afford a cylinder of c25. Even with tne flux core im getting some decent looking welds on 1/4" mild better looking than some of the welds i see at work. Called the neighbor over to check my welds out (we work in the same building and hes friends with the supervisor) and he thinks i'll be in a weld booth by the end of the week.

Some of the new welders are multi voltage. Where you just change the plug and use the machine on 110 or 220. (quick disconnects) You just have less current available when operating on a lower input voltage.

 

[longbow]

I have a 140 and it is great for small projects. I use Flux and gas.

 

[freekforge]

well i cut out a couple of my welds to bring into work for the "pros" to look at and critique and the supervisor walks up and says


him "you did this?"
me "yea whatcha think?"
him "i need to get you in a weld booth"

so hopefully i can change jobs and get that raise

 

[Brian Ski]

2 things you need to have a good weld. Practice and be able to be good with the art. Some people all the practice in the world won't make them a good welder.

 

[freekforge]

well today i was told i was not going to get trained and wasn't moving to a weld booth

not really sure whats going on there but at least i have a welder at home to play with

 

[Brian Ski]

well today i was told i was not going to get trained and wasn't moving to a weld booth

not really sure whats going on there but at least i have a welder at home to play with

Well that is a bummer... I guess you are still stuck on the cleaning end for now. Seems you must be doing good at it. (or nobody else wants to do it!!!! )

 

[freekforge]

I've been there 2 months now and we've had about a dozen other new guys in the grind booth and they all quit in the first 3 days

the suck is temporary but quitting is forever.

 

[golfinfool]

I have the older model Hobart 135 and its a great welder, Ive never used it for anything real thick but its been great in the garage for small projects. I have welded a roll cage in a car with it and done a great job. You will be happy with it....

 

[eldirector]

Another Hobart owner here. A 180. Got it used and in need of repair for a good deal. Fixed it for $20 and it works really well. Run it on .030 solid wire and C25 mix. I've actuially been using a bunch lately.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I just picked up spools of a couple of aluminum alloys, looking forward to playing around with those.

 

[Brian Ski]

I've been there 2 months now and we've had about a dozen other new guys in the grind booth and they all quit in the first 3 days

the suck is temporary but quitting is forever.

We had a guy that worked for us. Before our place he was doing over head grinding and it came back and got him. We nick named him scar face. Good guy. Just got to be careful. Well I can tell you got the stubborn in you to last that long. Everyone has to start somewhere. Good luck!!!