So, I was just involuntarily watching ads on Youtube every 3 minutes and went across an ad for a handheld welder. After a bit of googling, turns out they are not exactly a new thing, with a few youtube reviews (with even more ads) portraying them as relatively decent for the cost ( <$100). Also amazon reviews on them seemed better than I expected.
In no way I am thinking these would replace a proper welding machine, and they do use sticks, but I have to admit I found them intriguing. I've never welded, don't have a project that requires welding, and realistically I have absolutely no use for one right now. But there is something about them being portable and handheld that means I could probably find a couple of projects if I had one.
+1 for ease of use and not taking up a ton of space for something that would probably be used sparingly.
But, since I put a LOT more faith in this forum than basically any other place on the internet, I kindly request guidance from the hive. Ever used one of them? Know anyone that has?
Next topic will be laser welding :D
I had to look those up. They look. . . like not something I would use, to be honest. There are several stick welders in the $100 range that do very well, but those handheld deals look chintzy at best. Amazon reviews are not trustworthy; at least filter through fakespot to get a better idea of validity.
If you had $100 and wanted a portable stick welder I'd suggest a Deko; I own a couple and they're surprisingly good.
I have no advice but will be following this thread. I have zero experience in welding but really want to teach myself. This sounds like a good way to get my foot in the door
In reply to Mattk :
That was the thing that intrigued me too - they seemed like an easier entry point to welding for someone with zero experience, mostly due to size.
In reply to brandonsmash :
Yeah, I had no idea these existed either, and they do look chintzy as hell. According to youtube videos they started at $69 before the tariffs, which would make them better value for money even if only used once I guess.
Thanks for the tip on the Deko's, had never heard of them - which shouldn't be surprising since as I said I have no idea about welding :)
To be honest even if the welding part of it was flawless, the form factor looks terrible. You need a lot of accuracy when welding and have to do fine motor movements to keep the weld pool in the right place and get a good weld. I'm not a great welder but I can stick metal together. I can't picture welding with one of these. It would be so awkward, like trying to draw a picture using a pencil mounted in a cordless drill. Just too bulky and the offset between your hand and the weld rod is wrong.
In a package that small, what's the duty cycle like?
I had a short pop on instagram and then his video showed up on youtube (funny how that works) so I watched it, for what he paid it looks pretty decent. As a primary welder, no way, but as something that is very portable it could come in handy and not a lot worse than using a spool gun.
That looks... even more chintzy. And apparently it also works and it is worth its (initial) price.
Color me surprised, that would actually work well for my intended use, approaching welding from a noob's perspective to just do small things first and maybe graduate to a proper welding machine later.
But prices on them are already 2x at best from what I can see, and I guess they'll soon go up after the extra tariffs. It is interesting to see that there are companies on Amazon that sell both these and 'normal' welders, with this thing commanding double the price. Ease of use costs I guess.
I have a hole in the passenger floor, one frame rail partial (right?) repair and two of these corners. It intrigues me but in my mind I'm going to hate it?
In reply to Piguin :
There's a school of thought that you should learn to weld with a stick welder. It's a trickier process and will have a lot of carryover, and is practical for a variety of applications.
However, I'd propose that learning to weld on a wire-fed machine is likely better. Because the learning curve isn't as steep you're more likely to make passable welds quicker; you'll also learn what to look for when you learn more difficult techniques. Wire-fed welding has its limitations -- every process does -- but it's the one you're most likely to reach for in a fab or repair scenario unless you have a specific use case.
Datsun240ZGuy said:I have a hole in the passenger floor, one frame rail partial (right?) repair and two of these corners. It intrigues me but in my mind I'm going to hate it?
Oh, you will hate that. Welding body sheetmetal is difficult with a nice high end welder. It's thin. Gotta use the tack tack tack method.
These things will absolutely suck out loud at that
adam525i said:I had a short pop on instagram and then his video showed up on youtube (funny how that works) so I watched it, for what he paid it looks pretty decent. As a primary welder, no way, but as something that is very portable it could come in handy and not a lot worse than using a spool gun.
And I just noticed that Walmart also sells these, delivery only at $150. Steep.
dculberson said:To be honest even if the welding part of it was flawless, the form factor looks terrible. You need a lot of accuracy when welding and have to do fine motor movements to keep the weld pool in the right place and get a good weld. I'm not a great welder but I can stick metal together. I can't picture welding with one of these. It would be so awkward, like trying to draw a picture using a pencil mounted in a cordless drill. Just too bulky and the offset between your hand and the weld rod is wrong.
This.
I'm not sure what those things weigh, but I can't imagine being precise with one. And precise hand movement/speeds are a big part of making good welds.
IMHO a basic wire feed machine is probably a much better place to start, especially for the auto hobby welder.
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