Welders - I want to weld.

[Nasty Wendy]

EastWoods Mig 135---compared to Lincoln Mig Pak

for $299 thats a steal....

Product Reviews - MIG Welder 110VAC/ 135A Output

hmm in 2 hrs its my B day.....

Its listed for $339.99 on the link you provided. You have a different link to a sale price?

 

[charlief1]

And like all the good things in life, proper penetration is the key.

Proper penetration makes a good puddle right?

this is sooo loaded I'm just gonna be nice.:biggrin:

 

[BandAid]

Its listed for $339.99 on the link you provided. You have a different link to a sale price?

Thats weird,I know for 100% i seen it for $299,and the $339 unit yesterday came with the grinder and some discs....


the $299 one was welder without the grinder...bummer sale must be over....


AS LUCK would have it,i had it minimized on my cpu,and took a pic of the screen with the price of $299..but when i clicked to buy now,it went to the other price (

 

[BandAid]

gonna keep an eye out for that price again...

 

[BandAid]

EastWoods Mig 135---compared to Lincoln Mig Pak

for $299 thats a steal....

Product Reviews - MIG Welder 110VAC/ 135A Output

hmm in 2 hrs its my B day.....

showing $299 again on my cpu...

 

[TRYMYSIX]

I've been welding on a professional level for 18yrs now. Start by taking a class at your local community college. Believe me when I say " Not all people can weld" If you weld something you have to ensure it is going to hold and you are doing it correctly. If not, something could let go and injure or kill someone. Welding is not to be taken lightly, if you want a buzz box to MIG weld some broken bar stools or something around the house that's one thing, but to weld in a cage or a chassis, then that will take at least 5-10 years of welding.....everyday. Then try to certify with the AWS (American Welding Society)..that's when you get paid big dollas!!!!!! A great TIG welder can get upwards of $50-$75 per INCH of weld! Trust me, take a class and see if you even like it......

 

[Rivical]

Man, I saved for a year and a half to buy my MIG. I think it's a Lincoln 875T. Not sure, it's loaned to my dad right now. It was pricey, but not one single thing aside from tips have failed on it in over 15yrs of owning it. I'd welded on other peoples stuff plenty before that, but when it comes to my own equipment, I'd rather have something that just might outlive my own usefulness, than need to replace it in the middle of something that's important and on a deadline.

Now that I've been suffering with only having the MIG for so long, I'm really wanting to get that TIG unit! I did take the course on that ages ago, and loved it! I just haven't been happy with the MIG's results and the requisite work on sheetmetal afterwards with those hard welds ever since. Lincoln wants like $1,700ish and Miller is in the same range. I'm half tempted to look into just how cheap as crap that Eastwood made in China unit must be at this point in the economy. I hate cheap garbage with poor controls and limited features tho.

 

[The Radius Kid]

I'll tell you my professional opinion "Wendy" as a machinist/fitter with 30 years experience.
You've gotten some darned good advice from a lot of the guys.
The best is take lessons before you buy.
Trust me,I've worked around and with all kinds of welders [men] from stick right up to TIG and from what I've seen from their work,it's part feel and part technique.
In other words it's science and art at the same time.
If I was you,I would find a shop that stays open "unofficially" on Saturdays [probably a smaller shop].
Go talk to them on a weekend and tell them what you want to do.
Maybe they'll help.
They other option is to go to a night class and learn there.....but learn before you buy anything.:smile:

 

[Pablo]

I got into welding maybe 2 years ago. Best tool I ever added HANDS DOWN. Once you can weld there is pretty much nothing stopping you.

Here's what I did:
A friend of mine bought a cheapo 80 dollar C.H. 75 amp (?) stick welder from wal mart. I wanted to learn and he was done with it so I bought it for 50. The first thing I concluded after trying to weld with this thing is that welding is IMPOSSIBLE. I got a welding DVD and watched videos on you tube and after some practice I could lay a "bead" with this crappy stick welder if you could call it that. It was still the most difficult thing I had ever done with my hands. Its like trying to perform brain surgery using a foot long scalpel that you can only hold at the very end.
After a little while of this (way longer than I should have messed with it) I had enough and bought a lincoln 140 hd. I didn't even have argon/c02 yet so I played with flux core at first. From the very first second I used this thing it was like a heavenly light shone upon my garage, white doves appeared, and I heard angels sing. It felt like cheating!
In fact, now after about a year and a half of steady use I have gotten super lazy and probably couldn't weld anything with that stick to save my life.

Moral (for me) if you can learn on a stick, a mig will seem unbelievably easy. And the internet is your friend, there is so much info on there you can learn a decent amount about welding. That said, I still suck but then again I think some of these welding people get super elitist about their welds. The way I look at it is if it does the job then its good. I'm sure some of the elitists would cringe at some of the welds on my time attack camaro. But then again "haters gonna hate"... and lose too

 

[TexasT]

Incredible welds - THE H.A.M.B.

Some pretty good info over there. Though they get kinda $@jtty acting if you post about stuff newer than 65 or so. Cool pix anyway. Like this one.

 

[BandAid]

Incredible welds - THE H.A.M.B.

Some pretty good info over there. Though they get kinda $@jtty acting if you post about stuff newer than 65 or so. Cool pix anyway. Like this one.

the only thing wrong is they forgot to paint that blob and it rusted...looks good tho ))