Dropped $600 on a used spot welder and it paid off in one job

I picked up a used spot welder from a shop closing down near me for $600. Used it on a Honda Civic quarter panel last week and it saved me hours of drilling and plug welding. The welds came out cleaner than any I've done with a MIG gun. That one job alone would have cost me $400 in labor if I did it the old way. Has anyone else tried switching to a dedicated spot welder for light panel work?

2 comments

2 Comments

umathompson29d ago

A spot welder for just panel work seems like overkill when a decent MIG setup plus a plug weld bit can do the same thing for way less money. Really think the $600 is better spent on other tools that get more use.

sage_ramirez4229d ago

Have you actually tried doing a full quarter panel with plug welds though? That's like 80+ holes to drill, deburr, and fill. I did it once and wanted to throw my MIG gun into a river by the end. The spot welder pays for itself in time saved on one panel replacement alone. Not to mention you skip all the cleanup and grinding afterwards. It's one of those tools that looks like overkill until you actually use it for the right job.