Cheap welding positioners? Any good?

[SmoothOperator]

Going to be in the market for a small one (100 lb. max. @ horizontal ) in a few months...... What's the used or rental market like ....Anybody know ???????

[LtBadd]

Going to be in the market for a small one (100 lb. max. @ horizontal ) in a few months...... What's the used or rental market like ....Anybody know ???????

You just have to call the manufacturers and ask if they have any refurbished or demo models, it's kind of a shot in the dark based on when I tried, but you never know

[Cert-Welder]

I've used one of those too. Like the positioner, hated the foot pedal. Just an example of how a poorly engineered accessory can ruin an otherwise solid product. Incidentally, I suspect that particular unit might be manufacturered by someone other than the name on the label.

I am pretty sure this is a Profax positioner that Team buys and private labels. It looks a lot like the WP-250 Profax sells. The chuck sure is a Profax. The positioners are good, the chucks are cheaply built and the handles break often. For a 250 lb positioners rated at four inches center of gravity it is a good buy. It is made in China but Profax backs them well with parts and service.

[Cert-Welder]

Going to be in the market for a small one (100 lb. max. @ horizontal ) in a few months...... What's the used or rental market like ....Anybody know ???????

I strongly suggest the MBC positioners and chucks. The quality is far better than the Atlas design. Atlas are fine for light hobby stuff, but some of the internal parts of their positioners are plastic. Atlas makes some great equipment, positioners are not near the quality of MBC. MBC positioners are extremely durable and the electric parts can be purchased at Grainger if they go bad and you need them. The control can be upgraded if you want to interface something with the positioner. You can rent them from http://weldplus.com to test one out, they do not always have them available. They do allow you to apply positioner rental toward purchase of the positioner.

Unlike the Profax spin lock chuck, the one MBC builds is high quality but costs more. If you try them side by side you will clearly see the precision and quality of the MBC chuck. The BP series positioner is the most cost effective design, but if you need a through hole the R2 version has a two inch hole. You can look at them here http://benchweldingpositioners.com/, then rent one from weldplus.com to ensure you are getting what you expect.

[Cert-Welder]

You just have to call the manufacturers and ask if they have any refurbished or demo models, it's kind of a shot in the dark based on when I tried, but you never know

The manufacturers liquidate the very few they get back through select distributors. It is pretty rare to fine refurbished small bench top positioners from manufacturers or distributors. Most of the time they are sold from person to person. The ones off EBay have very high rotation speeds and not easy to tune in at lower speeds.