Forney 95 Gasless Mig Welder --Good Deal?

Fergienewbee

Well-known Member
A local hardware store has a Forney 95 FI Gasless, 120 volt, welder on clearance for $90.00, originally $300.00. Is this unit any good? I would like to learn to weld and would probably just do smaller projects and nothing too heavy. I have a BIL for that work. Is a MIG easier to learn on than a stick type?

Larry
 
Mig welding is so easy to do a well trained monkey could do it. But a gas-less type is not a good way to learn and the sparks from them can be a real pain. When I say real pain that is just what I mean too since those sparks burn big time.
For the price probably not a bad price but me I'd get a stick welder and learn with it.
By the way yes I have welded for a living. Done many many hours of Mig and Tig and stick. My self only mig I like is the gas type but I do own a flux core mig machine but got it for around $20 at an auction
 
I have not bought something as expensive as a welder from Forney, but the products I have bought have not impressed me with their quality,
 
Those little 110 Volt wire welders are HARD to run!!! I have a Century one and I can weld with just bout any other welder easier than that one. when using them you need a good 30 AMP 110 power supply. You need to be right where it is at too. Any cord and your low voltage again.

Maybe the ones I have used where junk brands but they sure where hard to use.
 
I would be leary of any 120v welder. Sounds convenient, can plug it in anywhere and start welding...

Doesn't quite work that way. They require a 30 amp breaker, which you would have to add, nothing is wired for
30a 120v. Any extension cord would need to be 10 gauge. Very heavy and expensive!

Any off brand wire welder is a gamble. There are quality issues, and consumable parts that can be expensive
and difficult to find a few years later. If I were looking for a home shop welder, I would go with a 220v,
gas shield, name brand new entry level machine, or find a gently used one.
 
First off, if it's not set up for gas, by definition it is not a MIG welder (the "G" stands for "gas"). It's a wire-feed welder. There are wire-feed welders that can be converted to MIG, but this is not one of them. And the $300 "original" price seems fairly optimistic, given that Forney lists it on their site for $199.

Back in the seventies, Forney built their own welders, and they were pretty good. They were pushed out of that market by cheaper imports and switched to welding supplies. It looks like they've gone back into the welder business in a small way by selling low-end Forney-branded imports. These units may or may not be any better than similar welders from Harbor Freight. For ninety bucks, it's not like you're taking a huge risk.

There is a place for 120 volt wire feed welders, but you'll probably have to spend a little bit more than $90 for one you would actually want to use. The main problem with cheap wire-feed welders is they have an always-hot electrode; the trigger only controls the wire feed. I know that's the case with HF welders and I suspect the Forney is the same. One of the nice features of any decent wire-feed welder is the ability to stick the electrode right where you want to start with your helmet up.
 
MarkB_MI is exactly right - it is NOT a MIG welder, it is a wire welder. You have overhead with any wire welder, MIG or not, that you don't have with a stick. You have to keep the tip clean, the tension adjusted right, make sure the wire feeds without dragging etc. If you are going to bother with all that you may as well get a real MIG and have the advantages of the gas shielding.
 
I'd buy it in a New York Minuet. I get along just fine with a wire welder without gas with up to 3/16 steel. I have posted a bunch of projects I have done without gas. I never have to worry if I need to run after a tank in the middle of a project.
 
I have a Lincoln flux core 120v welder, and it runs on a 20 amp circuit. It is handy for some small jobs, especially welding up a small shaft which needs to be turned. If you don't know how to weld get a cracker box welder, an autodarkening hood, and practice a lot. An alternative is to learn how to oxy-acetylene weld. Once again, it takes a lot of practice but you can make very nice welds on light material and if you ever get a TIG unit you already know how to weld with it.
 

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