cheap welder, worth it?

Ah you prefer to TIG; of course you'd hate flux hell you wipe everything up clean with acetone before you even get your rod out

 

I bought this same welder to weld together my coastal bumper and it worked pretty good. I could only weld a few inches at a time before it would trip the breaker so it was kind of a slow process. Also I’ve had a hard time getting good welds on thinner metals without burning through. I think it’s a great little welder but it might not be the best for your application

 

It's not even the settings it's the TikTok welding technique that's the issue. Regardless of the the process this is not even close to a "structural" weld.

 

Right, they're using fluxcore with no gas. I know.

I only added that it's even better (further adding value in shielded wire, but that it's even better when it's dual shielded).

I also mentioned spray arc

 

I've been happy with my Hobart 140. Nice entry level welder in my opinion. Can do mig or flux core if you don't wanna run gas. Prices have definitely gone up though. Purchased mine for $480 back in 2020 It's now listed at $700+. Illinois tool works is the parent company of both Hobart and Miller and some of the internals on my Hobart is stamped Miller.

My first time using the 140 and first time welding in general. 3/16" material

 

Everyone starts somewhere but you do you. I’m guess you learned structural welding from a school / mentor which is good. We all don’t start from the same place, where we end up is what counts. If mig like tig which he is trying to emulate is reprehensible to you you’re not going to like anything in the desert racing field. Burning it in hotter yields better results. Here’s the results of his progress - he’ll obviously learn and continue to improve as he goes.