I agree good welders are a fine tools..i have miller & lincon mig welders....very good equipment..but I ran across a esab small tig/stick...only 90 amps..but dose good on sheetmetal & small stuff.... maybe 1 day I can get a bigger amp tig set up with the foot control & water cooler....
Like I said in the last post. Most everything is now partially made in China but it gets built here and then says Made in USA, but are they? Maybe they need to say that they are assembled here. Everyone made the move and yet their costs didn't drop. Do you get what you paid for? Most likely not anymore.
I have made several hundred thousand dollars using welders that were blue on the outside. Outside of occasional adjustment, and consumables, there has, to this day, not been one single major issue, EVER! Find a good used Miller.
Follow your experienced fellow Hamber's advice and live by this old racer's adage; "Buy the best and you only cry once."
I bought a miller dialarc on eBay for $580 came with foot control, reg, water cooled torch.. Once I fixed the problem with the torch line.. It welds like a champ..I don't think I would sell it for 2k right now if someone handed me cash... "The less you know, the more you think you know... The more you know, the less you think you know"
Hey guys! Don't forget about the old Lincoln DC "Buzzboxes" out there that about every farmer in the south owns. Sometimes they or even the Miller thuderbolt can be picked up for less than $400. They will make a great power source for someone looking to to Tig weld carbon and stainless steel.
The Jalopy Journal
