YesWelder MIG-205DS 3 in 1 MIG/Stick/TIG Welding Machine Expired

30-205A (MIG), looks like it's versatile

Is this a deal?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086SNKTTK

It's cheap, that's for sure.

I am looking for recommendations from the experienced welders

I am a novice, never welded. I want to be able to make my own tractor implements, metal, steel, aluminum welds. I am an engineer and good with fixing mechanical, electrical, and fabricating wood.

From what I have read I think MIG is the best welder for me. Can someone recommend a welder for me, cost is not a concern, quality, durability is. This welder or something else? Thanks!!!

Engineer here. Put down your buying wallet and pick up your training wallet. I took 5 days off of work* and took Lincoln Electric's intro class a couple of years ago. https://www.lincolnelectric.com/e...ourse.aspx It's only $600 for the class (I stayed in an airbnb for $25/night a few miles away) and will introduce you to all of the major welding processes as well as get you a good 16-20 hours of hands-on time with professional, well set up machines and stations. You'll get to work with mild/structural steel, stainless, and aluminum, and have someone demonstrating each process as well as looking over your shoulder and adjusting your technique to get the best results. When I was there they let students buy all the safety gear (gloves, pliers, shield, jacket, hat) on day 1, though they tell you to buy them in advance. That's prob another $150, but you'll need that gear to weld anyway.

You won't be proficient in a week, but you'll have a much better idea of what you want and need, and it's faster paced than a CC course.

*I'm a PE, so I need 16 hours of continuing ed every year; I used this to count for all of my practical training for the biennium, as it really is adjacent to my private practice work.

you will have to spend quite a bit more that $350 to even begin to do it poorly not to mention well.

Read a comment on Amazon suggesting they will not honor warranty claims if purchased from Amazon. Might want to look into that

You absolutely must have a mask and gloves for any type of welding whether it's this machine or another. You'll also need a tank of shielding gas and a regulator to use this as a mig welder properly, and if you don't plan on doing that you should just get a cheap harbor freight welder or whatever you can find. If you want to do tig welding, you should get a dedicated tig machine that has a high frequency start and not bother getting the tig gun for this. Welding throws out incredible amounts of UV light especially at the lower wavelengths that the ozone layer normally blocks so you can develop a pretty severe sunburn in 2-5 minutes so you'll need to make sure you've got every inch of skin covered, and if you're doing this regularly you'll want an apron or other protective gear that won't burn as there will be what look like sparks but are tiny balls of molten metal shooting out whenever you hit any kind of contamination like rust or oil on the metal. I have caught my shirt on fire welding exhaust hangers onto a car while it was on jack stands and my first notice it was happening was I smelled my chest hair burning.

You also pretty much can't weld without having a good cleaner like acetone and an angle grinder to both clean and prep the metal before welding it, and to grind away any high spots after welding. I have 4 that permanently hang off the edge of my welding table with a grinding disk, a flap disk, a cutting disk, and a wire wheel on each one.

This is not a beginner level welder, for example it has induction control which is rare to find for under 2K, and the included instructions are next to useless, but I also prefer this over any Millers or Lincolns under $1500. This is also not a pro level welder, if I was counting on welding as one of my sources of income, I'd definitely spend the extra 2K and get whatever your local welding shop stocks and has parts for. What it is is perfect for a hobbyist like me that may need to do a roll cage for a race car every few years or make new engine or transmission or seat mounts, but already has experience and doesn't want to spend a couple grand to have something they consider useful at home.

You absolutely must have a mask and gloves for any type of welding whether it's this machine or another. You'll also need a tank of shielding gas and a regulator to use this as a mig welder properly, and if you don't plan on doing that you should just get a cheap harbor freight welder or whatever you can find. If you want to do tig welding, you should get a dedicated tig machine that has a high frequency start and not bother getting the tig gun for this. Welding throws out incredible amounts of UV light especially at the lower wavelengths that the ozone layer normally blocks so you can develop a pretty severe sunburn in 2-5 minutes so you'll need to make sure you've got every inch of skin covered, and if you're doing this regularly you'll want an apron or other protective gear that won't burn as there will be what look like sparks but are tiny balls of molten metal shooting out whenever you hit any kind of contamination like rust or oil on the metal. I have caught my shirt on fire welding exhaust hangers onto a car while it was on jack stands and my first notice it was happening was I smelled my chest hair burning.

You also pretty much can't weld without having a good cleaner like acetone and an angle grinder to both clean and prep the metal before welding it, and to grind away any high spots after welding. I have 4 that permanently hang off the edge of my welding table with a grinding disk, a flap disk, a cutting disk, and a wire wheel on each one.

This is not a beginner level welder, for example it has induction control which is rare to find for under 2K, and the included instructions are next to useless, but I also prefer this over any Millers or Lincolns under $1500. This is also not a pro level welder, if I was counting on welding as one of my sources of income, I'd definitely spend the extra 2K and get whatever your local welding shop stocks and has parts for. What it is is perfect for a hobbyist like me that may need to do a roll cage for a race car every few years or make new engine or transmission or seat mounts, but already has experience and doesn't want to spend a couple grand to have something they consider useful at home.

If only this came with a course on how to weld... I'd totally jump on it.

(well, I'd jump on it now, if I didn't expect to kill/maim myself w/ this)

If you're serious, check your local university. They often have continuing ed courses on welding.

Also, all kidding aside, while videos are not the best way to learn a manual skill, getting a little practical experience at a class, then using videos and practice to improve is a very viable path, even more so if you just want to be able to build and repair things (As opposed to pursuing welding certifications).

Lastly, its electricity, DC in this case. That doesn't mean you should underestimate it, but as long as you understand how current moves through materials, and the basic concepts of polarity, you'll be fine with due caution.