I have the typical scoop tab that broke and needs to be repaired. I was wondering what kind of welder I would need to do this myself. Will a cheap TIG welder do? It seems Forney makes some pretty inexpensive models. Would I need a torch or just use a rod? No, I don't know a lot about welding, but I figure I can practice a bit, and just fixing a tab shouldn't be too difficult.

These kind of little weld requirements come up enough that I'd rather do it myself than find someone to do them.

I did a search but only found people out-sourcing this, which surprised me since there's so many DIYers here. Maybe it's more difficult than I imagine.

Here is the picture of the broken tab on the scoop. No one has addressed the rod vs torch. I didn't know about requiring inert gas, but that's only if a torch is needed, right?

The other thought I had is, even if you bring it to pros some people have posted some pretty ugly results anyways. I guess the trick is to find a shop experienced with lower-gauge stainless? If I'm going to pay for it, I want it to look good. If I can do it myself, I can live with ugly work.

Also, any opinions on how brazing with torch would handle this?

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Yes, my initial search already showed everyone outsources jobs like this. But I'm still hoping on a recommendation for lower-end equipment that I can use to do this myself. Anyone?

Are people recommending outsourcing because you can't do this with inexpensive equipment?

Tomorrow there'll probably be general discounts on places like EBay, and I can get a cheap TIG set up. Can someone advise if rod is all I need? If torch/inert gas set up is required, I'll give up on the DIY route for now.

Thanks, I think I may have incorrectly called it TIG welding, but I saw a video of it being done with a TIG welder. I guess you can use a TIG welder to also do gasless/torchless welding with a flux-core rod/wire. I need to do some more research, I thought someone on here would be familiar with what I'm talking about. I'll investigate MIG welders too. Now seems the time to buy with all the discounting this weekend, I just got to figure out what'll work for this job. I will definitely practice on some scraps before I attempt the thin metal. I understand it's easier to do more damage than good.

It's the Funhouse scoop. I haven't checked if it's available, I probably should before I attempt self-repair on mine!

Buying new is third in rank though, behind DIY and having a shop fix it.

Are you doing gas-less welding? Not sure if that's actually an option with a MIG welder but seems to be for TIG welders. If you are, what model do you use?

Read the following

So if you’re looking to weld without gas, but could see yourself jumping into TIG welding at a later point, we’d suggest getting a multi-process TIG welder that allows you to ARC or Stick weld also.

If I don't care about going to TIG in the future, what's the right option for inexpensive gas-less welding that could work on this repair?

It seems many TIG welders also let you do stick welding with flux coated rod/electrode instead of gas. Since the broken tab would seem to just require a quick spot-type weld, I'm wondering why it wouldn't work. But I'm aiming to find out.

What kind of pinball work have you done with it? Anything similar to this?

Thanks Rody, on the TIG details. Seems that's the best tool for the job, but that's more involvement and investment than I want to commit to.

It looks like MIG is the way to go for me. So glad someone verified they've done work like this with one, thanks Mike. Just wish I would have known sooner: $88 MIG welder sale at Harbor Freight ended earlier today. Going to try to find a deal tomorrow though.

Yeah, I've already noticed that many reviews on more expensive welders, the reviewer gave up on the cheap HF ones. I'm going to look for a fully variable heat one. Could always get the Lincoln Electric for $300, but was hoping to find something decent for less.

Well, I'm not that reckless to go straight to work on it. I'm going to see if I can find some scrap / old guides to set up the same situation and see how it goes on that first. I wouldn't use the original as a guinea pig. But given the lack of faith from the pros, maybe I should take you up on your generous offer!

Seems you didn't read the full thread. Others already verified they've done similar fixes with MIG. Plenty have learned MIG-welding on their own. MIG set up is couple hundred dollars.

If you want a pinball machine, do you go and buy one or build your own?

If you build your own pinball machine, do you use existing board set or design your own?

You're the last one I'd expect an odd comment like that from!

You're against learning a new skill oneself, are you?

Really? Thick with irony and hypocrisy from here.

Yeah, this is a good idea that hadn't come to mind, and is way more welcome from someone I respect than coming in with smart-ass comments that really weren't fitting anyway. I only started mentioning TIG because I heard it was good for thin stainless and saw someone doing torchless welding with an inexpensive TIG machine. I quickly learned that's actually just stick welding on a TIG and MIG was the way to go after some more research and thanks to people that actually came to contribute something, rather than try to get a laugh, which is easy to do for someone that has a bandwagon of nuthuggers (hi Tac!) to back him up.

Right on! That's the way to go, try to be a DIY'er as much as possible myself too.

Since the local maker space only does a welding orientation once per month, and they skipped December, I had to wait 'til this past week to take that class so I could use the MIG. Thanks to some tips from a friendly pinsider with a git'r-done attitude, I decided to do the fix with MIG and the general mild wire it had loaded.

I'm pleased how it turned out: it feels really strong as I decided to weld a bit beyond the tab. The weld is facing the back of the playfield anyway and doesn't need to look perfect. Already installed it, and it's working well.

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