Reviews are spotty. Anyone own one?

yes

oh crap
no
TIG welder, works great. Does everything I need for gunmaking. Takes MUCH less room than my 500 pound Miller DialarcHF.

MIG is not for gunsmithing. Although you can make one work, and I have one, TIG is best, which is what I use.
MIG I use for sheet metal work, etc. Jeep Restorations.

Tom:

What brand?

I'm about healthy enough again to get back
to doing things. Am about to jump off the
deep end and buy a new Miller. Wanted to get
a 210, but, they have been dropped since I looked last.

Thinking very hard about a Mig, Tig, stick AC/DC.
Am not very enthused about $3000 or more
though.
Possibly a: 211, or 250. I do have both 60 and 100amp 240v
circuits for it installed and 200amp main.
My system can handle more that what I can afford, or need.

George

A dedicated machine usually runs much smoother than a combination mig/tig/stick machine in my experience. MIG is a heck of a shop fabrication machine. It is fast, too fast for most gunsmithing jobs in my opinion. But, if you're an expert welder with a MIG you can make it work. For gunsmithing, it's hard to beat a good TIG machine. I'd not want a 'buzz box', but you don't need a huge Miller or Lincoln, either. I lean toward a name brand machine in case I ever need parts or service.

my 2 cents
take a HARD look at your intended duty cycle - it's really unlikely that, in a gun smithing arena, you'll even need anything more then 20% - that is, 12 minutes out of an hour of FULL OUTPUT and in use - .. I tend to actually burn 1-2 minutes at a time, if that, due to heat control.

i STRONGLY recommend a pedal

are you EVER going to be welding aluminum? the 'spool gun" solution does work, btw, but that's now a MIG solution

are you going to doing 3/8 or thicker fabrication?

do you want to have 220vac input available? frankly, there's nothing a 'smith will do that needs anything but 110

For gunsmithing work, i usually recommend a SMALL decent brand tig welder - frankly, the HF vulcan tig welders are a great fit for gunsmiths.

this one is very nice
and the review video, from a REALLY good frabricator/youtuber (i have watched all of Mike's videos)
https://www.harborfreight.com/...olt-input-56254.html

Do what Jeff said; spot on every point. I'll say it too; for gun work you don't need a big machine; you aren't welding battleship plate.

The Lincoln 135 I've used for years has seemed finicky & underpowered and the simplistic dials never did impress. I rarely use it, usually on lighter material of 1/8" steel max. But, I do miss using my Dad's stick welder for heavier stuff. A mig/stick combo with a precise digital readout would fit the bill for my household projects and repairs and might encourage me to make up some "stick" welder projects. A man has to have a project.

LIKE THIS

look at the HF vulcan reviews -- there's likely a store near you -- and not an unknown "ebay special"

For my welders I've stuck to Miller.

Dave

Realize that modern welders are actually little computers, digital readouts, pulse functions, etc, and nothing like the old ones we had just a few years ago. Yes, stick welders are powerful but crude.
Another tip; Never buy a MIG welder that doesn't use gas shielding; flux core wire is pure crap. That is what is inside it; crap; you will regret it.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Another tip; Never buy a MIG welder that doesn't use gas shielding; flux core wire is pure crap. That is what is inside it; crap; you will regret it.

Here's some GREAT fluxcore welds

i can't tell if that's an upper A-arm or a shock tower ...

I've got a Lincoln Square Wave TIG 200. AC/DC. It replaced a 110V "buzz box" tig, and it's light years smoother to run. 40% duty cycle. Digital readouts and infinitely variable amp control. I bought it new 3yrs ago and glad I did! It has been money well spent! I still have my old Hobart 250 MIG in case I need to fab something bigger than I would want to TIG.

Cool "fabricator" pic! Be passing that one along.

Thanks to all for chiming in and all the scoops & recommendations. Much appreciated.

I rolled the dice on an Everlast Power Equipment
MIG200i. Hope I don't get snake eyes. Amazon has free shipping that will pay most of the PA sales tax. Time to clean up the old Lincoln 135 & get it ready to sell.

quote:

Here's some GREAT fluxcore welds

There is more than one way to kill yourself, and others.

Dave