i want to start to experimenting around with a welder and plan on making some parts for my car (exhaust, dump tube, down pipe) hopefully i will get good enough to do catch cans bungs on valve covers etc.

question at hand is what is a good beginner welder for less than a 1000 that is going to give me good results and has ac/dc output

thanks

 

No such thing exists unless you get lucky and find something good used. I just went through this myself. Ended up dropping $1600 for the machine and another $600ish for everything to go with it:gas bottle, stuff to wire it in, consumables, and some other odds and ends, oh and expect to spend more than you think you will on a welding table, figure at least $300-$400 if you want any kind of decent size table like 3' x 4' and your buying new metal.

Unless you get your budget for a machine up over $2000 you're pretty limited, ie, hobart ez tig, miller diversion, neverlast crap, longevity crap, ebay crap, thermal arc and thats about it unless you come across a good used machine. Really you should only be looking at the hobart ez tig if your budget is only $1000. IIRC they go for about $1200-$1300 new, but you still should figure $500 minumum above the purchase price of the machine for other odds and ends to go with it. As far as new tig machines for under $2000 go I determined the thermal arc 186 to be the best. Way more features than a hobart ez tig or a miller diversion, better duty cycle, and it comes from a company with a good reputation. Granted, it is unfortunately not made by sanrex in japan like the older thermal arc machines, but rather made in china. However it is made to thermal arcs standards which are fairly high from what I've read. Some good products are made in china, however, most companies want stuff made as cheaply as possible so china gets a bad reputation; it isn't the chinese's fault companies outsourcing want stuff made so cheaply. Most people seem to really like thermal arc machines so I took the plunge on one and I couldn't be happier. Just do a ton of research on your own before you buy anything then you won't run into any big problems like some people that just impulsively buy a machine and don't really know what they are doing.

Also, don't get sucked in by everlasts marketing, they are terrible machines and made to a low standard in china, one of my buddies bought their cheapest tig machine which was I think their micro tig 185 or something like that. He plugged it in, turned it on, and it caught on fire, and yes he had everything wired properly, and no, I'm not making that up. They have posts on forums from angry customers deleted so no one thinks they are crappy machines. He went through hell trying to get his money back for it. Everlast even has a few people like jody from weldingtipsandtricks.com and mr.tig from weld.com on payroll to talk up and use their machines in videos, because both people are extremely good welders and pretty popular on youtube. Hell, I even read about one fellow that had a big problem with one of their machines, so he made a thread on some forum, lets just say **** got real on the forum between him and everlast, ultimately they took care of the problem, but they made him sign a non-disclosure agreement so he legally could not say anything bad about them, and that was the condition they were going to warranty the machine under. Crazy **** to put it mildly.

I talked to a lot of career welders before I bought a machine and most owned a multitude of machines. Very few stuck to one brand. Most had a miller this, a lincoln that, a hobart that, a thermal arc that, the odd esab that, and a random brand of plasma cutter.

 

what are your thoughts on the eastwood tig 200 ac/dc......

 

i have heard some excellent welders say that miller is overrated and that such and such brand is just as good as the high end brands.

 

Look at the Hobart EZ Tig or the Everlast PowerTig185

 

has anyone heard anything good about the eastwood line of tig welders. and schister the man above said the eastwood is junk. and my gf's sister who works at farm n fleet said hobart is junk. but lmk. if it comes down to it ill end up getting a miller, but if theres something that is just as good for cheaper then ill do that

 

ive been welding for quite some time ive tried miller,lincoln,hobart,and snap on tig welders to me their almost identical. you just have to get used to the machine and get the setting right ,to me! if your a good welder im sure you can make it work with any tig welder might not look *** pretty with a cheap welder but if you want to start welding buy a used one.im actually thinking of buying a cheap little eastwood one for my garage just for small jobs so i dont have to drive all the way to the shop to weld a bracket hopefully its not a POS lol.

 

Ive heard decent reviews on the Eastwood and Everlast TIGs. Thats something you can Google and come up with a million threads for.

I think for a beginner hobbyist (myself), thats the route I want to go. If I decide I really wanna do this more and more, and can acquire the skill to do so, I will pick up this Syncrowave my dad has. But for now, Im looking into the Eastwood. A coworker of mine has one and likes it a lot.

 

alright well im going to wait a little more. if anyone else has some real experience with the everlast or eastwood please put your input.

 

i just sold my miller cst 280, on ebay(1300) to purchase a everlast PP256 (1600)
the everlast is a little bigger and heavier, but for the extra 300 that i spent. I manage to get a plasma cutter with it, and its able to do AC/DC which my miller was lacking.
Dont get me wrong, I would have bought the miller dynasty. But i could not justify spending 3-3500 on a machine. when one can do it for half the price. added bonus is the plasma cutter its a 3-1 machine, thats able to do stick, tig, plasma.

Everlast did have some problems in the past, but since they went to the IGBT technology. those problems have been reduced to nothing. also it comes with a 5 year warranty. no questions ask.

Now if you want to buy american, lol.... not much of any machine is actually made in america. now a days... lol you can ask your miller, licoln, hobar....etc... etc. if its made in in america.
assembled maybe..

 

Millers suck! We have a dx syncrowave 250 at work and I hate it (except for aluminum it kicks *** at that). The pedal has a long delay between the amperage your trying to throw and what its really putting out. (ie) floor the pedal and wait a second before it hits that amperage and same when you let off. its super annoying. We also have a LINCOLN PRECISION TIG 275 and she is my baby. Best welder i have ever used. instant full pedal on and off. Now both of these cost over $4000 so obviously they are way out of your price range. So the cheap one i used that out performed the miller was a eastwood tig with ac and dc outputs air cooled torch (sucks) but it made amazing color welding stainless with pure argon and has a very stable arc and the low amperage starts are great (not as good as the lincoln but better than the miller) My friend paid about 1000 for it and its the best cheap tig welder i have ever seen. look into them you might be surprised!

 

I have a everlast 125 it is a decent machine ac dc. The aluminum kinda sucks you cant go too thick due to the lack of power. It puts down decent welds nothing amazing but will get by. Ive used the eastwood and it was alright my buddy has one and hasnt had one issue. My biggest issue is the cheap feeling shitty foot pedal. I did go to move the machine across the shop and it started shooting flames and sparking. Took 8 weeks to get it back from everlast after harassing them and filing a complaint to consumer service. Decent machine but pray it doesnt break. If i could have done it differently i would have saved and bought a square wave.

 

started with my miller sync200, only thing I have changed is using hybrid tungsten and putting a gas lense on it. Never had a problem with it for 5 years now. No pedal lag like someone was having on their sync250. Been great, Would've liked a larger machine for some aluminum, but I've make it work fine.

 

Alright anyone have any more insight. Leaning towards the eastwood.

 

Sweet now that I know that miller sucks i'll have to sell my Dynasty and look for something else

 

ive found all tig welders when they work they work similar
id get a cheap Chinese one honestly if you just want to do random **** at ur house.
they have more features and cost next to nothing

 

Well I need one that's going to work and work well. I've heard many have problems just looking for the best bang for the buck

 

i've had the Eastwood Tig200 for a little under a year and i love it. great customer service from the guys at Eastwood too

 

lol. right. looks like your better look into a eastwood or everlast.