Welding Tips and Tricks

There is a brand of welders MIG, TIG, and even a plasma cutter called Eastwood that is being sold on EBAY for the home hobbyist and mechanics, they are sold as standalone units or as package deals IE: MIG/Plasma with spool gun or TIG/Plasma and are cheaper and claim to be as good as the big name brands. My question is has any one had any experience with them, and how do they compare to the name brand units like Lincoln, Miller, Hobart and such I am not a professorial welder and have had no training other than watching YouTube and trial and error. I had a harbor freight special stick welder until my neighbor gave me my dad’s old AC-225 back that he had for my uncle to use back in the early to mid eighties (dad wasn’t a welder either so they made a trade), I noticed a world of difference between the two. I also have a harbor freight 90 amp flux core wire feed (not impressed) neither have the ability of doing aluminum which is where my interests lie.

YOUR BEST BET IS TO STAY WITH THE NAME BRAND STUFF IT MAY COST A LITTLE MORE BUT IN THE LONG RUN IT WILL PAY OFF ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU NEED TECH SUPPORT OR REPLACEMENT PARTS LOOK AROUND ON THE WEB YOU CAN FIND GOOD DEALS ON NAME BRANDS NORTHERN TOOL TO NAME ONE HAS PRETTY GOOD DEALS AND FREE SHIPPING ON MOST WELDERS

Hey there,

Have you checked out the Eastwood youtube channel? I think they are not too bad but I dont know for sure as thet are not sold in Australia. And at least the have a very public face if anything should go wrong. Unlike some no name ebay type welders.

http://www.youtube.com/user/EastwoodCo

http://www.facebook.com/eastwoodcompany

Mick

yea it was their web site i got most of my info i just cant see putting out all the big money when ill never step into the professorial realm of welding having worked in AIMD and ships QA when i was in the navy i gained a little knowledge on the ndi/ndt processes and proceedures but that was as far as it went so if i needed any welding done i talked to the welders and they would help me out. now as a truck driver there are lots of things i can do myself that are not safety related yet will save me money and time plus i like to timker in my shop at home no reason to spend several thousands if i can do the same with less money

quietmale,

Your username came to mind yesterday when a friend posted on facebook:

"When a man is quiet, He's probably thinking about a problem.
When a woman is quiet, She's probably angry."



Steve S

mine is my cb handle out on the road i have a high power cb radio and i dont talk on it much so im quiet most of the time until you get me started and then you just wish i was lol

Hey,

Im with you on that mate. No need to spend mega dollars on a machine that will not get used very much. I had a look at The Eastwood site and they dont look to bad. Nice quality, middle of the road brand. A good trick, if you can have a trial go of a machine , is to take a person with you who knows welders, and therefore know what to look for, and hopefully can be impartial.

Good luck
Mick

Nope, it's only Chevy, Ford and Dod....I mean Toyota for me!! Likewise for welders, Miller, Lincoln or Hobart. Everything else can go pound sand.

Like everyting else it depends on how much your going to use it and how deep your pockets are. I was a profeesional contractor and used tools like circular saws, nail guns and such daily for years. In this case buy the best right off or you'll be replacing them every 6 months anyway. For a welder I'm going to try an Eastwood MIG175. $499.00 includes spool gun for aluminum ($199.00 value they say) and free shipping (big cost). I've read a lot of reviews on them and they seem to be a decent buy. I'm a home hoobyist and am building a street rod. I have to do some frame work so I think 175 amps hould be plenty as I'm welding 1/8 rectangular tubing. I'll let you know once I get it, set it up and do some welding. Does anyone have personal experience with this machine? Appreciate feedback. Slapz

Quietmale.

Try to understand the accessibility/cost of the change-out parts.

Alexa

The Eastwood line is decent. I've welded with the 200A Tig unit and it's not bad. I don't know how durable they are or what service is like - but the arc was very usable and the price is affordable. For me, I would consider as a home/garage welder ... Would have to evaluate further for everyday, professional use. My only complaint would be the accessories ... Like torch & remotes - which were very limited & not ideal configurations. But, the price was $600 - that will buy 3 for the price of 1 Miller Diversion.

To my knowledge, they are imported from China ...

You mean, of course, three Eastwoods would buy a Miller diversion....

Eastwood is an established company supplying auto body shops and custom car enthusiasts with tools and finishing supplies.
I don't have any of their welders but have purchased many other tools and supplies from them and never a problem. A friend
of mine does have one of their mig machines in his body shop and seems quite happy with it.

BTW the absolute worst tig machine I've ever ran said ESAB on it. What a POS. It spent more time in weld support than on the floor.
High dollar junk.

The problem with name brands in recent years is that they are supported by salesmen instead of welders. Went thru it with the Miller Dynasty. It had been some years since I had dealt with a new machine, so found myself at odds when the guy who talked us into buying it had no idea of how to give an initial demo, or at least be able to look around our shop to be able to initially tell what kind of tungsten we might need with the "package deal." We had/still have all of the stuff that we didn't need. Had to unravel the mystery in our spare time, which comes at a premium in a real world shop, in which to work it out.

Parts changers, instead of qualified trouble shooters and the list goes on. Welcome to a service economy, with the real talent seemingly having gone out the door with the ever declining manufacturing sector.

The last good welding supplier would have had someone at the front counter named "Earl," who was reported to at one point having been able to weld overhead hanging from his toes, while feeding filler with his teeth, uphill both ways.

rake wrote:Eastwood is an established company supplying auto body shops and custom car enthusiasts with tools and finishing supplies.
I don't have any of their welders but have purchased many other tools and supplies from them and never a problem. A friend
of mine does have one of their mig machines in his body shop and seems quite happy with it.

BTW the absolute worst tig machine I've ever ran said ESAB on it. What a POS. It spent more time in weld support than on the floor.
High dollar junk.

I have had trouble with an ESAB plasma cutter, that spent too may hours in the repair shop. At the other end, though, We have an ESAB MiniArc 90i inverter, that has taken MAJOR abuse (I've run it 90% duty while wide open for 45 minutes at a time, though it's rated for 10%), performing ASME code welds. (The only reason we use this machine at all is, it will fit through the smallest manway for confined-space work.)

My challenge with ESAB is getting fast reliable service in my area, so we switched to Thermal Dynamics plasma cutters, and have had remarkably little trouble considering the abuse we put them through.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:You mean, of course, three Eastwoods would buy a Miller diversion....

Ha! Yes, must've deleted a key piece of that post ... My bad, now edited. Thanks!