New Firepower TIG/Stick welder

[BMW Rider]

KMS tools had this little unit on sale this month with an additional reduction for the three day sale. It's a Firepower 140 TIG/ Stick welder and came with the optional foot pedal as well. Seems like a perfect little unit to supplement my Miller 211 MIG. I won't need it to weld much over 1/8 inch materials ever, mostly I want better control on very thin steel and the ability to weld aluminum and stainless (once I learn how to use it better).

Of course I had to do some work on my ugly old welding cart to fit it in. The cart was given to me a long time ago and went through a couple of revisions to fit my original MIG, then the Miller. This time I cut the top deck in half and made a two tier rack for the two welders and opened up the spot for the Argon tank for the TIG (KMS was out of the size I wanted, so I'm waiting for that to come in next week). I even decided to give it a coat of paint rather than leavi it in the bare rusty steel.

 

[Bofobo]

After I wiped the drool from my phone screen I was able to better examine your beautiful welding cart. The color of paint makes me think I can order one straight from miller, with a place for everything and everything in it's place, Indeed, it is art.

 

[JohnW]

That is nicely organized. I will think of it every time I'm stepping over the octopus of welding stuff in the corner of my shop.

 

[BMW Rider]

The paint was a lucky match for colour; it was just Krylon rust paint from Canadian tire.

 

[Janger]

Nice ! Drooling over the shop, nice anvil hiding out in the back....

 

[Dabbler]

Very nice cart! (oh, and the welder looks good, too!)
I like the organization and thought you put in to it....

 

[BMW Rider]

To be honest, there wasn't so much design put into it as evolution. I just kept rearranging things as I needed. But it is pretty functional now.

I have had a bit of time to play around with the welder. For never having used TIG before, I'm finding it relatively straight forward with mild steel. In some ways it's easier than gas welding as you can control the heat with the foot pedal. Mostly I just need to redevelop my skills at feeding the rod and such.

The anvil was an inheritance. It was originally my grandfathers on my moms side, I got it from my Dad who got it from my Uncle.

 

[Jwest7788]

KMS tools had this little unit on sale this month with an additional reduction for the three day sale. It's a Firepower 140 TIG/ Stick welder and came with the optional foot pedal as well. Seems like a perfect little unit to supplement my Miller 211 MIG. I won't need it to weld much over 1/8 inch materials ever, mostly I want better control on very thin steel and the ability to weld aluminum and stainless (once I learn how to use it better).

Of course I had to do some work on my ugly old welding cart to fit it in. The cart was given to me a long time ago and went through a couple of revisions to fit my original MIG, then the Miller. This time I cut the top deck in half and made a two tier rack for the two welders and opened up the spot for the Argon tank for the TIG (KMS was out of the size I wanted, so I'm waiting for that to come in next week). I even decided to give it a coat of paint rather than leavi it in the bare rusty steel.

Now that some time has passed, how are you liking that welder?
I've been looking at it at KMS for a bit now, just haven't taken the dive. Been having a hard time finding reviews on it too!

It's 120V only, right?

 

[BMW Rider]

It's working quite well for my needs. It is a 110v only welder, that means it has less output amperage and limits the thickness of material that it can weld. That is fine for me, I can weld heaver steel with my MIG and doubt I'll ever need to weld aluminum over 1/8". If they still have the deal on with the foot pedal and the helmet, it is a pretty good incentive. They didn't have the helmet in store when I got the welder, so I just got it a couple weeks ago. It is a really nice helmet, much better than the basic Lincoln auto helmet I was using.