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I planned to pick up a Hobart Handler 140 tomorrow, as Northern Tool has it listed for $499.99 with free shipping. Then I saw the Northern Industrial Mig 135 for $359.99, $394.50 with shipping. The warranty is not as quite as high as the Hobart, but still three years. The most I plan to weld is 1/8", or maybe 3/16".


Does anyone here have experience with the Northern Tool Mig 135? Opinions? For a $105 difference, it's appealing.

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I have one. I've owned it a bit over a year now and it's been solid for me. While I have yet to delve into welding my frame, I've used it for a fair number of projects with steel up to about 1/4" and it's always managed to get acceptable penetration. With the 1/4" it did take some finessing to get proper penetration. (off-color jokes in 3 .. 2 .. 1 ..)

Unfortunately I can't compare the unit to anything else; it's the only machine I've used. Also my welding experience is pretty limited, it mostly consists of several sculpture projects for school (to turn the welder and related items into legitimate school supplies - my school doesn't have one for student use) and a number of smaller car projects. Things like repairing torn out sway bar mounts (from the chassis) or adding reinforcement plates & supports to prevent these kinds of problems on other cars. I've also built a few simple things like a small work table & welding stand. I have made a point of trying to use the same types of materials I expect to use when building my chassis.

For me the choice was pretty easy; the Northern Tool unit offered great value with the included gas regulator and hose. Also NT have a number of stores within our metro so running out to grab new tips or other consumables is no problem if I need them "right now".

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.. in the world

Keep parts availability in mind. That's what I've found with the cheaper welders, is that a few years down the road you can't always find the parts you might need. It's not a rule, sometimes they're just fine. Personally, I'd get the Hobart, for piece of mind.

I'm not sure how good of a brand Northern Tool is, it may be just fine, I just haven't heard of it myself.

I believe that the NT units share tips and other consumables with Hobart. If it's not Hobart then it's one of the the other very common name brands. That was one of the things I researched before buying. I also wanted to add that all I needed to buy (in addition top the welder) to be fully set up for gas was a full bottle (with deposit), some solid core wire and my protective gear. It made getting up and running very easy.

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I have a Hobart Handler 140 and am very pleased with it. When I bought it I was considering the Northern Tool as well as the ones sold by Harbor Freight. I found the Hobart on Craigs List, brand new, so I bought that. I'm glad I did. Here's why. I live in a small town and the closest Northern Tool store is almost an hour away and the closest Harbor Freight is about an hour and a half. We have a local welding supply which is only about ten minutes away. The Hobart uses the same tips etc as Miller. They are both owned by the same parent. Even some of the other parts are the same. Almost every town in the country has a welding supply store, but only the larger ones have a Northern or Harbor store. If you live in a small town you would be better off with Lincoln, Miller or Hobart, in my opinion. Large towns or cities, it doesn't matter.

I'm sure either would be just fine. I'll add in my experience with my Hobart Handler 135. I bought it used off ebay for $300 or something.

It stopped welding one day. (I think it would arc, but not feed. Or maybe the other way around...) I think it was Christmas Eve or Black Friday or something. I called Hobart's 800 number for advice, thinking I was making some dumb rookie mistake.

Was surprised to actually get a tech on this neo-holiday. Even more surprised to get an honest American welder tech, not a foreign call center. (I'm not implying anything about non-Americans...just commenting on his English communication skills!) He said my welder was several years out of warranty, but sent me a replacement controller board free. Didn't even charge me shipping. I was welding the next day the mail was running.

I was super impressed! I have plenty of other old (and not-so-old!) tools that I would never even hope to reach the manufacturer for support, much less have them cover a repair. And this is coming from a guy who walks into Harbor Freight and all the cashiers yell, "Hi, Dave!"

-dave "FWIW" hempy

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...nowadays people are so intellectually lazy and lethargic that they can't build ANYTHING with their hands. They'll spend hours watching whiny people marooned on an island, but won't spend a second adding anything to the world. -weconway
Visit my [Locost 7 build log]

I've talked to some welders where it would be easier to understand them if they were from Bombay.

As far as the welder, support may be a big issue especially if you are not yet familiar with welding or the nuances of the machines. Calling a support number as Dave said and getting someone familiar with your product is worth $100 in my book, especially 3, 4, 5 years down the road.

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"Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead. "
Mac McCleary

Well, I ordered the Northern Tool 135 this morning. I would have ordered something sooner except that a CC company / bank issue.

Friday, I paid off my credit card, thinking that while I was in Cheyenne on Saturday, I would pick up a Hobart 140 from Murdochs. As it turns out, now matter how early in the day, capitalone doesn't post transactions until midnight, even if you go in at 12:05am. With banks closed over the weekend, it wasn't until Monday that the bank processed anything. I talked to them, and the transaction was set to post last night at midnight. I looked at availability this morning and still nothing from capitalone, so I called them and they said it might be Friday before they reflect the changes on the account. It has never taken that log for any transaction before, so I don't know what their deal is. In any case, they released the funds so that I could make the order. Had I not decided to pay off the credit card, I would have plenty of funds available.

If the Northern Tool unit gets me through the next year, I'll be pleased with it. I'll buy a larger 175 or 187 next year. Presently, I will most likely use the difference in cost to buy a 40 cu-ft inert gas cylinder so that I own one instead of renting one. http://store.cyberweld.com/shielgascyl4.html There are two welding supply companies 4 blocks from my house, so I'm going to go check them out today. Welder will be here in 6-8 days, but my steel will be here tomorrow.

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Good thinking on buying the tank. That definitely saves you money in the long run. 40cu ft is pretty damn small though, and in my experience a 330 only costs about 3x as much to fill as a 40, but lasts almost 10x as long. Get the biggest tank you can afford, you'll kick yourself later otherwise. Assuming of course portability isn't a factor. 330 is a PITA to lug around.

When I bought my welder, I bought the second largest tank they sold (was $260, filled - it's about 4' tall). The largest one was twice the size, but more money. In ten fillings of the smaller tank, the larger one would have been paid for. ~However~ for portability, the smaller tank is much easier to move around and load in and out of my truck.

If you don't see the welder going anywhere, buy the biggest tank you can afford.

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The Lethal Locost
The Lethal Locost 2 - Even More Lethalerer

Yeah, I guess the 40 isn't very tall at all. I found an 80 filled with 75% argon for $190. 35 1/2" tall, not a bad size.

Eastwood is taunting me for ordering the Northern Tool 135. I looked at the two and the NT came out about $10 cheaper after shipping was calculated. I got an email today that the Eastwood 135 has free shipping today only, so I could have saved $55. Oh well. I'm sure the Northern Tool welder will be fine.

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One trick on the tank:

I initially bought a 20 cuft tank and went the exchange tank route. This way the tanks always stays current with the hydro tests. For years, that 20 tank did me just fine for hobby welder use. Some years later at a different house, and a different gas co, after doing several exchange/refills, I asked about upgrading to a 40 tank. They did this with no up-charge. Unless you are welding every week, I find the 40 cuft tank plenty big. Consider your welder use after the Locost build and how close you are to your gas retail store. Also consider the space the larger tank takes. Not so much in diameter, but in height. My welder, and cart w/tank fits under my workbench.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

The welder came in today and I've immediately run into a problem. I started going over all of the parts to make sure everything is there, and upon opening the side door, I find a screw, a washer and a nut lying in the bottom of the compartment. Behind the spool location, there is a hole, with something copper or brass on the other side. I lay the welder over on its side and I hear something else drop inside the sealed compartment. Do I take it apart and try to fix it, or do I call Northern Tool and send it back?




I'm tempted to try to fix it, but I don't know.

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Well, I did open it up and take a look. Turns out it was one of two bolts holding a transformer to a middle panel. Easy enough to fix.


My first attempts at welding, do in fact look like lumpy slag. It took some time to get the wire speed dialed in, and my first two passes were done with the hood set to grind instead of weld. Oops. Once I set it to weld, I could actually see what I was trying to do, instead of just seeing a bright spot.


The last pass, the last row of weld shown above was getting reasonable penetration, as seen in the discoloration along the top half of the upper plate of the first image. For my first attempt with a wire-feed welder, and first weld in 10 years, I can live with it.

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TRY holding on with two hands and push rather than pull