Buying a welder...should I go ac/dc tig or multi process 200 amp with d/c only tig

S

Stroked

Forum Member
Hey guys. Time has come to finally buy a welder. The 2 I have in my scopes are the Eastwood tig 200 ac/dc machine or the Eastwood mp200 tig/mig/stick machine.

The biggest project I have planned to tackle is welding in a prebent roll cage from jegs. Due to duty cycle and ease of use I know that mig is often the go to in the auto world for repair but I have a race car and will probably be fabricating as much as I repair

My biggest question is: when encountering the need to weld on your race cars - can you guys suffice off of tig only?
 
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I have a mig and a Tig. I use the mig way more, but it's a convenience thing. If I only had the Tig I'm sure it would see a lot more use. If I could only have one it would be a mig. I'd also stay away from the import brands. My buddy had one of those all in one Eastwood welders and it wasn't that great. Sold it & bought Lincoln & Miller welders. I've got Miller welders & never let me down. Lincoln, Esab & Hobart are good machines too.
 
what would your review be of the small maxstar 150stl. It's a high frequency machine that I can get a pedal for. Found one for $500 which seems like a great deal. Should this be strong enough to do the MS roll cage and tackle some sch40/stainless exhaust manifolds?

I would really like the ability to do some sch40/stainless exhaust manifolds so that is why I'm leaning to a tig


...and I appreciate you sharing your input already!
 
Another one of my friends has the small maxstar. I've used it just messing around with it when he first got it. Works really well, good pedal control, very stable arc. I'm no pro by any means, just a hobbyist I guess. I bought my Tig & plasma cutter used off Craigslist. My mig is the only one I bought new. Nice thing about Miller/lincoln/Hobart is parts & service are easy to get. Maybe Camaromann will chime in, he's really knowledgeable on this stuff.

It should be ok on the roll bar, might have to pre-heat the manifolds.
 
If you plan on welding a large quantity of steel, get a MIG

If you don't weld a lot, but want to weld lots of things get a AC/DC tig

As a hobbyist I wouldn't worry about duty cycle.

If you decide to go with an import welder, just get the cheapest one you can find and upgrade as fast as possible. I had an everlast and it was a nightmare.
 
I have heard mixed reviews about the Everlast stuff. Some people are pretty happy with it.

I picked up a used Lincoln Mig 180C for $500 used with a spool gun. It has served me well for the cost. I was initially looking for a TIG but I couldn't pass this up for the price. Eventually I would like a lower cost TIG and I was looking at the Maxstar but couldn't find many reviews from friends.
 
You can tig weld anything and everything. But you can't mig weld everything or everywhere. Mig may be a lot more practical for some stuff. But if tig welding is specifically what you are looking for, then I recommend clicking the link I posted and reading everything a few times over.
 
camaromann said:
I would personally look at a Lincoln Square wave machine. It will do AC/DC and stick. It is a 200 amp machine and welds great. Can be purchased for under $1,500. This is the perfect machine for the hobby/garage welder. Here is a link to it. http://m.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/Equipment/Pages/product.aspx?product=K5126-1(LincolnElectric)
Click to expand...

This. That's an awesome welder. My buddy that had the Eastwood rig bought that. I've used it a few times, it's way nicer than my Miller Diversion. And for 1500 bucks it's a great bang for your money.
 
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