Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
Would it make sense to rent a welder?
Forum Index -> Body/Paint Share: Facebook Twitter
Reply to topic
Print View
Quick sort: Show newest posts on top | Show oldest posts on top View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Westy Steve
Samba Member


Joined: February 25, 2006
Posts: 1095

Westy Steve is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2022 5:34 am    Post subject: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

So if I had a project like welding some patch panels in, or maybe putting pans in, and I cut all of the metal to size and got it prepared to weld, would it make sense to just rent a welder from Home Depot at $52 per day for my project? It seems like if you had the metal patch panels cut to six and otherwise prepared, you could do a lot of welding on a Saturday.

Has anybody done this? Do they provide the gas and the wire or how does that work?

What do you think?
_________________
Have nice 914, want nice Bug
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
VW_Jimbo Premium Member
Samba Member


Joined: May 22, 2016
Posts: 9880
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
VW_Jimbo is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2022 8:03 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

1st. No matter how much you plan, shit can go sideways.

2nd. If you are using a welder on this. You are going to find other things and times when a welder would be perfect to use.

3rd. You want a gas shielding welder. So, I would doubt HD will hand over a pressurized bottle for you to use. I am betting the liabilities are through the roof! So, you would be renting a Flux Core unit.

4th. This goes with 3, Flux core welding has lots of splatter, so that means LOTS of grinding. Grinding sucks, because it is a grind!

My 2 cents. Having a welder in my garage, ready and waiting to weld, has been a great resource to have. From helping neighbors repair fences, building gates, to planter shelves, garage shelving and on and on! It really is a great tool to have if you have the skills!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

TDCTDI wrote:
Basically, a whole bunch of fuckery to achieve a look.


67rustavenger wrote:
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo! Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
bomberbob
Samba Member


Joined: May 17, 2015
Posts: 688
Location: Iowa
bomberbob is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2022 10:37 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Steve Very Happyo they provide the gas and the wire or how does that work?

Call them and ask. Post what you find out.
Do you know how to weld? If you do rent this thing are you able to plug it in and start making sparks immediately?

I bought a flux core welder from Home Depot. Used it to weld a bunch of repair panels on my bug. Now I am using it to weld repairs in my 1990 Jetta. Jimbo is correct, once you have the equipment in your garage, its nice to pull the cart over to your work and weld whenever you need it.
_________________
1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
modok
Samba Member


Joined: October 30, 2009
Posts: 26743
Location: Colorado Springs
modok is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2022 10:42 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

That's a good idea, some people have a knack for it and some don't.
The guys who hand around home depot do work for low prices but, I assume that's per hour?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
74 Thing
Samba Member


Joined: September 02, 2004
Posts: 7375

74 Thing is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

I find it hard to believe they would rent you a welder, safety equipment, shielding gas, and wire for 52 per day.

Most likely it is flux core.

You can buy an inverted mig flux core welder off amazon for 150 ish, but you still need safety equipment, brush, welder, good wire etc...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
modok
Samba Member


Joined: October 30, 2009
Posts: 26743
Location: Colorado Springs
modok is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2022 5:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Joke not funny? ok sorry. Some old guys would get pissed off if you called the machine a welder, the human is the welder and the machine is a machine.

I'd rent it to do a job, or find out if you have a knack for it, but maybe not both at the same time.


I've got one at work, one at home, and the guy next door has one too.
Buy a name brand, lincoln say, and you can sell it for at least half what you paid even if it's half worn out.

Maybe you can rent it out and make money Laughing

So, actually I'd say no.
But if if they hadn't come so far down in price then maybe.
i paid a thousand dollars for my first miller setup, 20 years ago, that was a lot of money
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Q-Dog
Samba Member


Joined: April 05, 2010
Posts: 8689
Location: Sunset, Louisiana
Q-Dog is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:38 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Check craigslist and the classifieds. Stop at a welding supply and see if they have a bulletin board.

I picked up a used name brand welding machine, with a gas bottle, hood, leather jacket and apron, a simple table and some leftover metal the guy had ... and all for less than the cost of a new machine. He was moving and hadn't used the stuff in a year. The machine looked and worked like new. The money I spent would have got me 8 - 10 days of rental.
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
bomberbob
Samba Member


Joined: May 17, 2015
Posts: 688
Location: Iowa
bomberbob is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:22 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Can I add what not to buy, under any circumstances? Do not buy a cheap Harbor Freight flux core welder that just has a switch for low and high power. To successfully weld smaller gauge auto steel you will need variable wire speed, and variable power.
_________________
1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
frenchroast
Samba Member


Joined: October 13, 2019
Posts: 678

frenchroast is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:36 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Here's an option. With a little practice, you can gas weld (oxy/acetylene) and get results as good as shielded mig or tig. It's versatile. No spatter, no grinding, no 220 power source required. Mig is a little faster to setup and weld than gas though.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
VW_Jimbo Premium Member
Samba Member


Joined: May 22, 2016
Posts: 9880
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
VW_Jimbo is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 8:10 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

frenchroast wrote:
Here's an option. With a little practice, you can gas weld (oxy/acetylene) and get results as good as shielded mig or tig. It's versatile. No spatter, no grinding, no 220 power source required. Mig is a little faster to setup and weld than gas though.


The downside to this (I did a pros and cons list when I purchased a welder) is the liability for the bottle of gas. In my garage is a water heater. If that gas leaked and found the pilot light, the block of homes would no longer be around. Probably end up killing someone! My opinion is to find a MIG with a shielding gas setup. Shielding gas is inert gas like Argon or a mix. If the bottle leaks there is no threat of an explosion! I weigh that heavier than a flatter weld or a little easier welding any day of the week.

The upside is with some practice any one of these welding setups will become easy to use with great results. I still surprise myself with, “my best looking weld” every other few months. The biggest variable is understanding the variables at play and mitigating them to produce good welds. Good welds = penetration, filled, clean.

Hope it works out whatever path you choose to go down!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

TDCTDI wrote:
Basically, a whole bunch of fuckery to achieve a look.


67rustavenger wrote:
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo! Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
VW_Jimbo Premium Member
Samba Member


Joined: May 22, 2016
Posts: 9880
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
VW_Jimbo is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 8:15 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

bomberbob wrote:
Can I add what not to buy, under any circumstances? Do not buy a cheap Harbor Freight flux core welder that just has a switch for low and high power. To successfully weld smaller gauge auto steel you will need variable wire speed, and variable power.


I totally disagree. I weld sheet metal every week with that exact welder! That is what I have. It works awesome. I know that there are better machines, but I picked this one for a steal AND the machine could accept gas for shielding! Now, do I wish I could vary the heat, YES. But for the price point that I got this one for….let’s try it! It works great!!! I started with the Flux Core stuff and was gravely disappointed. Especially after grinding. FIL came by and helped get me a gas bottle. The rest is history!!!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

TDCTDI wrote:
Basically, a whole bunch of fuckery to achieve a look.


67rustavenger wrote:
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo! Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Dusty1
Samba Member


Joined: April 16, 2004
Posts: 1366

Dusty1 is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 12:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

frenchroast wrote:
Here's an option. With a little practice, you can gas weld (oxy/acetylene) and get results as good as shielded mig or tig. It's versatile. No spatter, no grinding, no 220 power source required. Mig is a little faster to setup and weld than gas though.


With a lot of practice you can hammer weld as well as the old timers without turning your fenders inside- out. Rolling Eyes


Near as I can tell Airgas will lease you a welder. They're leasing you the C25 tank, right?


I (messed) up the gun assembly on my first generation Lincoln SP100 a few weeks ago. The machine kicked my ass. It's always been reliable until now. It would happily flow gas and feed as much wire as I wanted as long as I didn't mind feeding the wire all over the inside of the machine.

So I looked around. Seems I can buy a nearly new Lincoln Weld Pak for chump change. That's good. You can't borrow my girl, you can't borrow my dog and you sure can't borrow (or rent) my welder. Not even as- is with its screwed- up gun and liner.

If you don't know what you're doing you can ruin a liner the first time you use a wire feeder.

A cheap flux core welder requires exceptional skill to achieve often mediocre results. I'd rather see big rust holes than amateur work done with flux core.

Better tools make it easier to get better results.

.
.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Classifieds Feedback
c21darrel
Samba Member


Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8206
Location: San Dimas
c21darrel is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jul 25, 2022 2:39 pm    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

You could buy a craigslist welder w/ gas setup and use it at your leisure. Once done it will still be worth what you paid for it, sell it or keep it.
_________________
GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Rixr
Samba Member


Joined: October 28, 2022
Posts: 30
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Rixr is offline 

PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2022 11:20 am    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Id just buy a 2nd hand one off ebay or local trade site like facebook market place , choose a decent brand . id run fluxcore to learn then as you get better can try different gas mixes with solid core , 75/25 or C25 , 95/5 . Also theres lots of different wires too . then there push or pulling the gun . I mainly run fluxcore ( some brands are worse or better than others with spatter ) as weld outside alot where wind will effect the inert gas coming out of the gun .

I just upgraded guns to a 5 metre replacing my 3.5 metre .
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Facebook Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Rickf1985
Samba Member


Joined: November 26, 2022
Posts: 285
Location: NJ
Rickf1985 is offline 

PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 4:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

VW_Jimbo wrote:
frenchroast wrote:
Here's an option. With a little practice, you can gas weld (oxy/acetylene) and get results as good as shielded mig or tig. It's versatile. No spatter, no grinding, no 220 power source required. Mig is a little faster to setup and weld than gas though.


The downside to this (I did a pros and cons list when I purchased a welder) is the liability for the bottle of gas. In my garage is a water heater. If that gas leaked and found the pilot light, the block of homes would no longer be around. Probably end up killing someone! My opinion is to find a MIG with a shielding gas setup. Shielding gas is inert gas like Argon or a mix. If the bottle leaks there is no threat of an explosion! I weigh that heavier than a flatter weld or a little easier welding any day of the week.

The upside is with some practice any one of these welding setups will become easy to use with great results. I still surprise myself with, “my best looking weld” every other few months. The biggest variable is understanding the variables at play and mitigating them to produce good welds. Good welds = penetration, filled, clean.

Hope it works out whatever path you choose to go down!


The Argon/co2 mix is inert gas and is not flammable. No danger there at all. If you have Oxy/Acetylene torches then you have the acetylene which IS a dangerous gas IF it leaks. Thousands upon thousands of garages have these setups with no issues. Common sense rules tell you to turn off the bottles when you are done.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Busstom
Samba Member


Joined: November 23, 2014
Posts: 3790
Location: San Jose, CA
Busstom is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:36 pm    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Rickf1985 wrote:
The Argon/co2 mix is inert gas and is not flammable. No danger there at all.
None...other than the danger of a compressed gas in a torpedo-like cylinder Laughing

Rickf1985 wrote:
If you have Oxy/Acetylene torches then you have the acetylene which IS a dangerous gas IF it leaks.
Let's not leave out the oxygen, which is an EXTREMELY volatile and reactive gas Shocked
_________________
My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Stinky123
Samba Member


Joined: January 31, 2022
Posts: 128
Location: Grand Junction, CO
Stinky123 is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 7:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Would it make sense to rent a welder? Reply with quote

Oxygen is NOT volatile. Look the word up.

What does it smell like?

Oxygen does not burn or explode.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Forum Index -> Body/Paint All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

About | Help! | Advertise | Donate | Premium Membership | Privacy/Terms of Use | Contact Us | Site Map
Copyright © 1996-2023, Everett Barnes. All Rights Reserved.
Not affiliated with or sponsored by Volkswagen of America | Forum powered by phpBB
Links to eBay or other vendor sites may be affiliate links where the site receives compensation.