The "really off" off brands do often have their own proprietary parts made of unobtanium in East Overshoe, Neverheardofit. But the Eastwood along with Lincoln, Miller, etc all use the same exterior parts, on their smaller lower volume machines, it's cheaper for them to buy them from a mass producer than manufacture their own with all the stocking of parts hassles that comes with it.
I can tell you how most of the clone machines come about, cleaver Chinese business methods with their government backing. Company A (doesn't matter if it's a welder or a computer or whatever) wants to make a new machine, but US manufacturing and labor costs would price it off the market. They then go to a large Chinese government subsidized manufacturer with the specifications for their machine to have it built. The CSM (Chinese Subsidized Manufacturer) says sure we'll build it to your specs for 1/2 what it would cost you to manufacturer it yourself if you pay for the tooling. But the Chinese business laws says that when the CSM finishes the contracted run, the CSM OWNS the tooling and manufacturing rights to that product for ever after. The CSM orders plenty of extra materials beyond what is needed for company A's contract since the price gets even cheaper the more they buy. As the build A's product while the machines are set up and running, they just keep on making parts and building more machines. They then offer the extra same quality machines to company B and C for even a lower price than it cost A, since A paid for the tooling and the higher materials cost based on the quantities needed for just their contract, with a different color outside and/or brand on it. That's the price of dealing with the Chinese.

Unlike the critics of the Eastwood units that are under the (mistaken) no experience based biased opinion that if they've never heard of a brand, or their favorite welding emporium doesn't sell it, it can't be any good, I have actual hands on experience with their MIG and TIG welders as well as Lincoln, Miller and Hobart machines and can say with conviction the Eastwood units are every bit as good and likely came off the same assembly line as the smaller Lincoln units, just like Hobart comes off the same line as Miller.
I even saw on one forum where the critic said the unit can't be any good because the case isn't red, how's that for being biased!

 

If you're only going to use it occaisionaly, consider a small oxy torch setup. Aluminum would be tough, but you can torch weld sheet metal as easy as a tig, and still cut and bend. For small work, jewlers torches, or a henrob torch can be used. Just a thought.

 

I torch weld aluminum quite successfully, much easier than using mig without a spool gun, nearly as easy as using tig, and no shielding gas needed.

 

AX I love your vocabulary , darned if I can find unobtainium in the dictionary .
But your advise is sound .

 

I'll agree on the Syncrowave 180. I LOVE mine! I bought it new and I just LOVE the way I can weld nearly anything with it easily and quickly.

I was down at the Miller dealer (Praxair) yesterday and looked at the Diversion 180. Nice unit.

But the guy at Praxair had a point. You can do SMAW (regular 'stick' welding) with the Synchrowave 180 but you cannot with the Diversion models.

If I was looking for a "TIG", I would get a used Synchrowave, either a 180 or a 200 (preferably a 200)

My next welder is going to be a GMAW (AKA MIG) ....... Miller Autoset 211.

Cheers,


Rick

 

Don't forget the Henrob...using this torch with O/A gas you can weld or cut any metal. Lots of videos on the web, do a search and take a look at how versatile this setup is.

 

Whichever direction you go, you need to circle back to this thread in 3-6 months and share your experiences. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

 

I will for sure, Im just waiting on some money to make a purchase. Its a 2 way tie for the eastwood tig 200 and Miller Diversion 180

 

Charlie, I mentioned the henrob although I'v never used one. I've seen demo's at nsra shows and it looks like a pretty good solution.

Oldmerc, in the same dictionary as unabtainium is a material that cheap chinese goods are made from. It's called bambuium.

 

unobtanium is the material required to produce the parts that are on perpetual back order from the manufacturer. As in "My Harbor Fright machine is waiting on an unobtainium part that has been back ordered from the manufacturer in East Overshoe, Neverheardofit for the last 8 months."

 

The henrob is really an excellent torch that does everything it claims to. They really should consider a name change tho. (Ever see a henrob?... No!, how'd it hold a gun with all those feathers?)

 

Rick, spend it any way you'd like it's your money, but you'd be wasting several hundred dollars buying the Miller Autoset rather than the Eastwood 175, it even comes with a free spoolgun Check how much extra they want for a spoolgun for the Miller. The autoset feature is just a marketing gimmick, getting the settings from a menu instead of a chart, BFD. I hate to sound like a broken record pushing the Eastwood machines, but they are just that good at a really low price.

 

Once you go TIG youll never go back. LOL
seriously, you will wonder why you didnt buy one years before once you get the hang of it.
I sold my MIG years ago, after i bought my first TIG, which was just a basic scratch start DC only machine.
I now have a AC/DC machine with all the bells and whistles, and i use it for everything.
John

 

John,

What TIG machine do you use?

 

The Henrob is also marketed as the Cobra 2000. No shielding gas needed because the low pressure of the O/A gas does not disturb the cloud of oxygen depleted area around the molten weld metal. When I bought my Henrob I sold my big tanks and now only need a portable setup with small tanks.