[smithmalibu]

does anyone have good words for the eastwood 110v welder.
can it be used for body panel repair?
it is offered in kit form, gloves , shield, welder,etc. Is this a good way to go ?

[Irelands child]

Why not go to your local welding supply? They have small, 120V units, can supply you with the C25 gas conversion, repair parts and helpful advice. Eastwood will sell you a decent product though not domestically made, but they are mail order, several days away for any possible parts, cannot refill your gas bottle and the person that answers the phone might not have a clue about welding or the product. Lowe's will sell you a Lincoln reasonably with the parts available there or your local welding supply. There are several threads here of the merits of the usual locally supplied and serviced mig units

I wont go into my usual rant about Eastwood, but much of what they sell is available at significantly less at Harbor Freight though it might have a different name or color.

Dave W

[matt167]

The Eastwood welders can't be had from HF, but there also found from other suppliers, and I have the Neiko tools version. Welds good and has a consistant feed/ worth what I paid, which was $330.. If I had to do it over again, I would buy the Century 140, which is the same thing, but branded by Lincolns value line Century. Century 140 should be available at a welding store, or at least somthing they could get. Price is comparable

[327NUT]

This is probably more welder than you need...if there is such a thing. These are on sale for a short time but I just bought a Hobart Handler 187 from Tractor Supply for $549. These list for $899 and if you do some shopping you can find them for $675.......but the sale price was just too good to pass up.

[70stangvert]

Those Eastwoods if I remember correctly are made by Lincoln. The Lincoln's are readily available at Home Depot and are probably cheaper and you won't have to wait for delivery. Make sure you get the one that comes with the gas kit though. I got the one that you had to pick up the conversion kit for. It will work on body panels,floor replacements among other things.

[mafiacustomz]

i know alot of people say harbor freight is junk but i have one of their 120 Amp MIG/Flux Wire Welder and it works great i welded 1/4 steel with no problem and it says it goes to 3/8 steel and i bet it could do it easy its a great welder for the price and should cost more only found 1 down side you have to put a plug end on it to dont come with one

[jonahb]

Originally Posted by mafiacustomz

i know alot of people say harbor freight is junk but i have one of their 120 Amp MIG/Flux Wire Welder and it works great i welded 1/4 steel with no problem and it says it goes to 3/8 steel and i bet it could do it easy

I wouldn't trust and 120v mig to do anything over 6mm (1/4) even if you prep

the joint perfectly. 120 amp isn't enough power in my opinion. I have a 240v

mig pak 15 which is 175 amp and it is only rated for 8mm (5/16) with hard wire

and 12mm (1/2) with flux core 212 lincoln or 71m lincoln.

[slw210]

Originally Posted by jonahb

I wouldn't trust and 120v mig to do anything over 6mm (1/4) even if you prep

the joint perfectly. 120 amp isn't enough power in my opinion. I have a 240v

mig pak 15 which is 175 amp and it is only rated for 8mm (5/16) with hard wire

and 12mm (1/2) with flux core 212 lincoln or 71m lincoln.

If you don't mind me asking, what did that cost?

IMHO what jonahb has should be the minimum for a welder.

IF all you do is sheetmetal, the 110 is ok, but nothing more. I wouldn't trust it for more than 1/8" (3mm).

You got all that money dropped on a hotrod and you are going cheap on your tools.

Course I might be overboard, but before my current job (Design Draftsman), I was a quality/weld inspector, prior to that a design engineer, prior to that a fabricator/machinist.

With all that said, there is something to be said for welding ability and I know nothing of yours. So take what I said and apply as you see fit, but I have 30+ years of welding experience.

P.S. AT A MINIMUM at least get a top of the line if you insist on a 110.

[mafiacustomz]

i welded 1/2 inch steel with flux in my HF welder for a plow mount on a atv and it hasnt broke yet also welded a 1/4 steel pipe on a 90 degree thin hit it with a 20 lb sledge hammer with full force 5 times didnt break

[jonahb]

That mig pak which is a lincoln welder, cost me $475 Canadian (on sale at

canadian tire). I also have a hobart 235/160 amp SMAW welder. The reason

why I recommended a 240 volt is that chances are the OP will not only weld

sheet metal but more than likely something heavier than 1/8 in which we are in

agreement. I am currently qualified for 6g 3/4 pipe with an f3 root (6011/6010)

and f4 cap (7018) which is the highest smaw ticket availible in my region, I

have been welding for at least 5 years, everything from sheet metal to 20 yard

Caterpillar 980G buckets.

[jonahb]

Originally Posted by mafiacustomz

i welded 1/2 inch steel with flux in my HF welder

What kind of flux core did you use in your mig?

[mmopar0521]

I don't have an Eastwood welder, but do have one of their plasma cutters and for what it's worth, I love the machine - quality is good and it cuts great, even when I run it on 110 (it is a dual source).

As for the welder, I had a HF unit and never seemed to be able to get it to lay down a decent bead on anything but thicker sheet metal and thin (1/8") plate. At the time, I only had 110 in the garage, so I got rid of that one and picked up a Miller 140 Autoset. Going from one to the other was night and day. The control, quality, smoothness of operation and feed of the Miller was much better than the cheaper unit. It also had far more settings to be able to dial in accurately to the particular set up you are welding (it has a potentiometer for both feed and heat). I have had the Miller for over 2 years and with the exception of replacing the tip a few times have had no issues and have went through many spools of wire. I use it on up to 1/4" and down to 20ga steel with excellent results. I keep thinking about getting a bigger unit, but I don't weld anything that thick and I like the size of the unit and the head - it fits into tight places and the unit is fairly small.

I picked mine up from Airgas online as they had free shipping and a free cover when I got it. It was also about 20% off list, and I just checked and there is a $75 rebate going on now. Airgas is also my local supplier and they stock repair parts, spare tips and I get my gas filled there also.

The welder is an important tool in the garage, and in my opinion the extra you spend on a good one will pay off in both flexibility and ease of use as well as longevity.

[mafiacustomz]

i used a .030 HF wire works good not a super lot of spatter but works good if i can i will give a pic tomarrow i dint even do but a 1/16 of a inch grind into the steel and it was a heavy plow

[ogre]

i don't know anything of the eastwood welders, but i have a 110v lincoln fluxcore welder.

ignore all the naysayers and uneducated welders that say: ''IF all you do is sheetmetal, the 110 is ok, but nothing more.'' ''I wouldn't trust and 120v mig to do anything over 6mm (1/4) even if you prep the joint perfectly.''

jonahb, you should know that all welds are a series of welds built up to make a complete weld. it's all about penetration, not trust.

yes, a 400 amp, 100% duty cycle welder is the cats meow. but unless your welding cat buckets all day every day, it is also extreme overkill.

they have their limits, but there is nothing on a car that can't be welded with a 110v welder. i boxed my frame and welded a mustII xmember in it. i welded lots of sheetmetal with it too. not optimal but it works. lots more grinding to get your welds to look good.

a good welder can weld anything with it. a bad welder can't weld anything with a good machine.

plus, i have never run out of shield gas

[jonahb]

I do not appreciate how you labeled me as an "uneducated welder" and the

reason why I disagreed with the 120v mig is that if you do not get proper

fit-up + clean-up + fusion it does not make any sweet difference at all when

you put multiple stringer beads. First of all if you put too much weld on is

just as bad as not enough because you can overheat the Heat affected zone

and make it very brittle. It is always better to have too much power than

not enough. We also do not know what else is the OP going to do with the

mig, the OP may want to box the frame like you said but IF

they have no idea on how to prep and clean the filler metal and the parent

metal than I would rather see the penetration that at larger 240 volt

machine would do. In my case it was just as cheap to look/wait a bit longer

for my Mig pak 15.