Harbor Freight Shear/Brake combination--Spot welde

They will also be having their 220 volt spot welder going on sale at the local outlet at an attractive price. It appears to be identical (except for the decals) to the Hobart and Miller 220 volt spot welder which sells for just over $430.00. I ran off the Harbor Freight parts breakdown and compared it to the Hobart, and they are identical right down to the part numbers. The parts drawings are the same. This kind of makes me think you may be paying for the name when you buy a Hobart or a Miller. This would also make a nice addition for my workshop. I have worked with sheet metal fabrication for the past 40 years and would like to make things in my workshop now that I am retired and have the time.

Any input would be appreciated. I have purchased quite a few tools from Harbor Freight over the years. Some are great, and some I should have left at Harbor Freight. Generally speaking, most of the more expensive purchases I have made with them have been good value wise. I was a supervisor for many years in fabrication shops and found that when I replaced small hand tools with Harbor Freight hand tools, our "tool shrinkage" went way down.