doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sorta OT but gunsmithing: New TIG setup

I'm tempted by some of these cheap import multi process welders. They get good reviews on YouTube and Amazon. Products like YesWelder, Everlast, etc. However, my welding mentor said don't ever buy anything unless Miller or Lincoln are painted on it. Anyone have any experience with these imports? I hated my Harbor Freight welder...I threw it in the recycling. It would not have been kind to give that piece of crap away. I'm very skeptical. But I've heard they have gotten better in recent years. Thanks.

A couple friends really like their Hobart Handlers. I don’t know where they are made, and both of these are a least a decade old. I think they were made here, at the time.

I was fortunate, I have always had good welders in my group of friends, and never had to learn myself, although I’ve run a few good beads on other people’s equipment over the years.

The last tool I bought at China Freight was purchased in desperation on a Sunday afternoon to get me through a car repair I really wanted done before Monday, an air chisel with a few bits to do either some exhaust work or get a couple control arm bushings out-I forget which. I used it to do the job, and then threw it in the trash. It was junk, but, just good enough to complete that job on that day.

Haven’t been back since.

Best,
Ted

Hobart stuff is nice. But those are rebranded Millers (and not much cheaper). For whatever reason, the Hobart multi process machine does not plasma cut. Similarly, Lincoln has the equal of Hobart. They brand it as Champion. I bought a little Champion 120 V flux core for portability, and it is nice, for what it is. Hobart and Champs are not China Freight junk. Would recommend both but, they are not cheap.

A good friend and his Dad were both certified welders at nuclear power plants, for construction and outages, and have recently built a local metal fabrication and welding business. They're about as good as it gets when it comes to welding. They bought a little welder a couple years ago, before they opened their new shop, and are still using it there. Though they have big AC/DC welders, TIG and MIG, computer controlled plasma arc cutters, lathes and milling machines, and just about every imaginable type of welder, they still love this little unit. I cannot remember the name of it but will text him tomorrow, find out the brand and model, and will report it back here.

They needed a good gasoline powered portable welder so I loaned them my Miller Bobcat. They do all the welding for my farm, now, that I can't do myself in return. Good arrangement for both of us.

As promised .......... the ESAB Rebel 205ic. It has sMIG technology (it learns and adapts to the welder's technique). One hundred percent five star reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-205ic-...;hvtargid=pla-4584207590083371&psc=1

One of the first machines I bought was a good TIG welder. I went with Thermadyne and have been very happy with it. Priced right and very capable. I would think that they have likely improved since I bought mine nearly 20 years ago, You are more than welcome to come by and try out my welder.
Steve

A friend has an Eastwood 200A tig I have used which is very nice. Also, a well known machine gun gunsmith, who is a friend as well, had his Miller go out and bought a weldpro until the Miller was repaired. He likes the Weldpro so much he continues to use it.

Mild steel tig?

Scratch arc, just get a rummage sale Lincoln ac/dc and ask a pipefitter to get you a torch setup.

Pedal driven? You get what you pay for because of the duty cycle.
How much welding are you planning to do?

One problem with the “all in one” set ups, is that if you get a voltage surge because of poor line voltage, and you burn the board, the whole unit is junk. And that doesn’t really matter what brand it is. My Miller board was $700.00 on a $150.00 used welder.
I still do light fabricating on an AC Lincoln tombstone my Dad bought in 1965. It works fine.
Pre digital welders are available cheap at rummage sales all over the place. People don’t know how to use them.

One tip I would suggest is get a machine with variable amperage selection vs notches. Especially for a mig welder. Easier to dial in your heat.

Lots of people buy Harbor Freight units for one project with the extended drop off warranty. Ie. modding a steel trailer. If it quits, return it.

There are plenty of welding pros on YouTube putting every conceivable brand through their paces.

There is no substitute for decades under the hood.

My AWS# is xxxxxx

Left blank for the doxy twins.

It's a side hustle. I do some fabrication for contractor friends. Timber framing brackets, stair railings, beams, columns, and stuff like that. It started with me doing the structural engineering for the parts and evolved into me fabing some of the smaller stuff. I had a big old Miller AC/DC unit that could lift tig, but I traded it for a horizontal bandsaw. I mostly use a Millermatic mig but I want another tig and I want it portable. I have never used a pedal but I guess I want to learn how.

Have you looked at lease returns?
If you are doing structural pieces, you’ll want a heavy duty machine.
If you are thinking about bench work for old gun parts, the quality of the foot pedal matters. Most good machines have tri-range, so you can dial in your heat, dig, and arc force very precisely.
Red D Arc provides us with full featured rental machines. I don’t recall a machine failing. But electricity quality does impact wave form, and performance. So your shop needs a good service connection.
I think you might get a more durable machine with better peripherals following that route.

It doesn’t take many truss plates to pay for a serviceable, much better quality welder.
When you are done with it they are easier to sell.
I like going to the weld shop for stuff. They are usually quite helpful.