I want to know if any one has ever bought the stud welder from harbor freight tools its about a hundred bucks. i know its probably a cheapy, but its priced about half or so what others cost.
but my real question is do you think i will be able to swap the contact tip? for like welding
in molding clip studs? i noticed that eastwoods sells these tips. for 7.99 I checked out the instruction manual from harbor freights web site and the tips on the welder have the same shape mounting shaft that enters the gun. just like theeastwoods ones. i would appreciate any feedback thanks. Ed

If the unit can weld the studs and the tip will interchange I would think it would work for the trim studs as well. Another option for the trim studs is to use the screw in type, I've used them for years with no problems. Bob

A buddy and me bought one a couple months ago and I have to say, what a piece of ****. It may not be in your budget but it would be worth the couple hundred more to buy the one that cost $300. Another friend of mine bought that one from Eastwood and it works great, if you have a need for one, spend the money. Just my .02...

Look on ebay, there are several units that sell for 150 bucks.
HS 4500 is a nice unit for the cash. Motorgard also makes a good one for around 150 bucks.
Check out www.autobodytoolmart.com (http://www.autobodytoolmart.com)
www.toolsusa.com (http://www.toolsusa.com)
they have some good prices on the 4500 if you dont feel like buying off ebay.

Does the harbor freight wonder come with the stud puller? If not you better add in the price of a puller and I bet it would exceed the HS4500...Eric

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46413&item=4348511803&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34099&item=3865948353&rd=1

The Harbor Freight one that we bought did come with the puller and it was the worse part about the setup, it's a terrible puller. The gear that that is used to bite the rivet stripped out after a dozen pulls. It just wasn't worth the money spent.

thanks for the reply guys i checked e bay looks like ill be going for motor guard one thanks ed

I also have one of the Harbour F models. It seems to weld the studs OK. But like badcbr said, the puller is REALLY cheap...If I plan on using it alot I'd look into buying a better puller...But for the few times I've used it, it hasn't worth it yet.... graemlins/waving.gif

Rick