"What welder should I buy?"

"Josh Welton" (watchtheprettylight)
10/30/2013 at 15:40 • Filed to: welding, brown dog welding, weldopnik, aluminum, tig, tips and tricks, miller welders, josh welton, weldporn

I want to get a hobby/garage welder. I have a (220 or 110) plug at my disposal and the most I'll ever weld is (1/4 or 3/8). Mostly (steel or aluminum). Price is/isn't an issue too... what would you recommend? I have only ever done (a little mig, a little tig, none of the above). I'm looking at in terms of (dependable/flexible) equipment?

I often get a question like sent my way.

Are you looking for a TIG or MIG machine?

If you’re looking at a MIG welder, I’d check out something like !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It’s rated to weld 3/8” steel in a single pass, but it’s a smaller machine that can be plugged into 230 or 110, and you can pry find one new for around 1k. Guys will tell you they’ve welded thick steel with smaller machines, but it’s not good practice. Even with pre-heat you just don’t get the same penetration power. There's just not enough cajones, the "hammer isn't big enough to drive the nail." If you do want to push a wire machine’s thickness capabilities, switch to flux core…it burns hotter and gets in deeper.

Lincoln and Miller both make nice 180 amp machines too, if you can get away with a maximum thickness of 5/16” or less. You can hook up aluminum spool guns to any of these guys.

If you are wanting to dive in to TIG welding, Miller came out with an “intro” line of inverter machines recently. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! were pretty much made with the hobbyist in mind. They are AC/DC welders, so you can do aluminum with ease. Another nice thing for folks just getting into the tig world, they pretty much come ready to go. Just get a bottle and you’re good to go. Ordinarily you’d need to get the torch, hoses, pedals, ect. separately, and the costs add up. The downside is that you’re limited to what they give you (personally, I’d rather piece my package together). Another drawback is adjustability. It’s nice for a beginner to be able to just choose a setting and go, but once you get a little more experience you’ll want to be able to change certain things. One big problem is gas pre and post flow. From what I’ve seen, they adjust automatically according to your amps. In a lot of cases, the time amount they use are overkill and will waste gas.

A step up in TIG machine would be the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and while you’d have no problem with the 3/8” steel and get more than enough adjustment, you’d be looking at more than double the cost of the Diversion 180. This Dynasty is what I have, and I love it. 99.9% of my sculptures have been done with my 200 DX.

A new option that can kind of kill a couple of birds with one stone is the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I recently acquired one of these...and it's super slick. It is a mig AND tig machine. Tig is DC only, so if you're going to do much aluminum tig work it isn't the answer. It doesn't have a High Frequency start either, but once you get use to the Lift Arc(touch the tungsten to the work piece, hit pedal, lift tungsten and you've got an arc) it's not hard to get a clean start. And the arc on steel is really smooth. It also mig welds as well as any machine I've used; I actually sold my bigger DVI2 because the Multimatic handles any short arc I come across in my shop. The arc quality in all 3 processes(it also stick welds) is astounding from such a small package. It's also 110 and 220 capable.

For "brand questions" in general: I also get asked a lot about the knock off brands...Longevity, Everlast, etc. I'm not gonna waste my time on those. If you go that route it's on you. Sometimes they work out, often they don't. I'll tell you this: most "real weldors" that say nice things about them do so because they were given machines. I refuse to work with them. Thermal Arc is a brand I've had quite a bit of hands on experience with, and I'd never recommend their machines either. Lincoln and HTP make good machines, as does ESAB. I am sponsored by Miller now, but EVERY machine I've spent MY money on has been Blue. Typically you get what you pay for. And at my time with Chrysler and General Dynamics, all the machines they bought were Miller as well.

One last thing: I don't like to recommend buying inverter based machines(like the Dynasty or Multimatic) used. On the off chance that a board goes bad, the internals on those things are SUPER expensive, and the machines themselves retain their value so to the extent that it's worth buying new, with warranty. If you want to save money and go used for a tig machine, get a transformer based piece like an older Miller Syncrowave or Lincoln Precision Tig.

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DISCUSSION (19)

ddavidn > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 15:48

I have no interest in welding, but your writeup was very informative and your welds sure are purty.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 15:59

If only I had the money for that Multimatic 200. I wouldn't mind trying out TIG, but I don't want to buy a separate machine. Seems like a great option for most automotive welding, and for those that have limited storage.

mattoverdrive > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 16:04

I've been thinking off and on about getting back into welding. I really appreciate the write up, especially since I was looking at the harbor freight and northern tool options.

I'm nervous about getting into MIG/TIG since every thing I've done in the past was Oxy-Acetaline.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 16:08

My dad's machine is an older small form factor Millermatic MIG in the 200 range somewhere. It's a pretty good machine, but as it's only 4 set voltages, it can be fiddly to Goldilocks for a given piece of metal. The wire drive sometimes doesn't operate as well as it might, but I think we're prone to using poor wire, so...

Josh Welton > Paul, Man of Mustangs
10/30/2013 at 16:15

Don't let the MSRP scare you. They aren't cheap, but typically you can find them online or at a local welding supply for a lot less than what they list on Miller's site.

It is the best small multipurpose machine I've seen. It sounds hokey, but I really was shocked at how well it welds.

Josh Welton > mattoverdrive
10/30/2013 at 16:16

Gas welding experience translates really well to tig.

Josh Welton > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/30/2013 at 16:17

Wire tends to corrode over time, if a machine sits a lot between uses that could be part of it. Liner in gun could need replaced too.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 16:23

It'll sometimes go months between uses, so that definitely plays a part however small. The gun and cable have some hours on them, but not egregiously.

rabidpenguin > ddavidn
10/30/2013 at 16:42

This is a fantastic write up. Keep them coming

Bandit > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 17:35

I just started practicing MIG, one day I will get better. Your welds are practically works of art.

Frank Grimes > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 17:41

What do you think of the Eastwood AC/DC TIG welder? I believe it's an inverter type and it's only $849. http://www.eastwood.com/tig-welders-ea…

Josh Welton > Frank Grimes
10/30/2013 at 18:00

Cheap Chinese machine. They had issues in early runs, I've read that when they work they are "ok." No recommendations/first hand experience.

SteyrTMP > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 22:25

Owning both Lincoln and Miller, I agree with you 100%. From here on out, Miller is my only option.

I have a Lincoln Pro-Mig 175, which was my first welder. It's the cheap-ass Home Depot version, though for some reason I seem to recall purchasing it elsewhere. Oh well. It's been ok, it's done some decent work, but I've had issues with poor quality several times, most recently replacing the drive motor (about 185 bucks). Their customer service sucks (I kept getting an automated help desk, basically. It may have changed in the last 5 years or so, but it definitely turned me off).

Now, I went to Lincoln's Motorsports Welding course... and the instructor, Karl Hoes, is amazing. You know when big-wigs poke their heads in during class to ask him questions, that he knows his shit.

My other welder, however, is a now-4 or 5-year old Miller Syncrowave 200. I bought it new once I started working on aluminum work for the Seven. I haven't had a single issue with it whatsoever. Before I bought it, I called Miller about a few things, and they put significant effort in finding what I needed to know, and got back to me with the answers. Their customer service is A+, and the quality of the machine is 10/10. I can run moderate amperage for long periods of time without overheating, whereas when I worked with 300-amp Lincoln industrial-grade welders at school, they'd overheat after just a few minutes of aluminum welding, and I'd have to wait 10-15 minutes for them to cool off.

Spend the money, and buy a new Miller. I wish I had the money to replace my Lincoln with a Miller Mig welder. Whenever the opportunity comes by, I'm doing it.

SteyrTMP > Josh Welton
10/30/2013 at 22:28

Have you ever had any issues starting a Dynasty? I used one for a little bit a few years ago at MetalMeet, and I had to use lift arc/strike to ignite. After that, it was ok, but I just liked the function of the Syncrowave a lot better.

Josh Welton > SteyrTMP
10/31/2013 at 12:19

Occasionally on low amps, but nothing too bad. It could have been a dirty tungsten or a shaky ground too.

TStoff1 > Josh Welton
11/07/2013 at 21:05

Excellent article. Could you please tell those of us who have no experience at all what type of welding is best for different situations, what type of welding they use to put our fabulous cars together with, and the best way to learn? Take a class at the Community College, buy welding for dummies and go for it and risk burning down the house or some other way? Which method of welding is best to get started in? My curiosity comes from the hobbyist/like to fix my own stuff and generally know what or how machines are put together. Thanks.

MM54 > Josh Welton
11/09/2013 at 11:27

This coming summer I want to learn to weld, I've never done so before but I understand the general concept. I'm a college student, so while I have some money in the summers, it's still sort of tight.

What machine would you recommend I get to start? (I don't know anyone who can loan me a welder to learn with so I'm just going to buy one and dive in.) I'd like it to be something good for a beginner but still useful once I get 'good' at it.

Also your welds are beautiful.

Josh Welton > TStoff1
11/11/2013 at 17:08

If you've got a community college nearby that will let you enroll on a class by class basis, that's what I would suggest. Best bang for your buck.

As far as high end car builds, I would mostly use tig. But really it's all over the board. Some guys that are fabulous metal workers just get the basics of mig down and use that for everything. Guys that really know their shit will gas weld aluminum body panels because it's less brittle when they go to work it. A lot of shops still hammer weld steel body panels.

TStoff1 > Josh Welton
11/13/2013 at 22:26

That is exactly it. Adult classes for us old people. Probably start with whatever they offer first and go from there. Thank you for the assistance.