I've been welding for 15 years, and most of that time has been spent in my workshop in South Houston, Texas. MIG and stick are my bread and butter -- they're what I use day in, day out on everything from farm repairs to fabrication work. I picked up TIG along the way, which comes in handy when I need clean, precise work on thinner material or tighter joints.
On this site, I only write about machines I've actually run welds on. When a welder lands in my shop, I put it through its paces on the materials I work with most: mild steel, stainless, and aluminium. I'm not interested in spec sheets -- I want to know how a machine actually performs under real conditions.
What I focus on comes down to three things. First, duty cycle under real load -- not the number on the box, but how the machine holds up when you're pushing it for an extended run. Second, wire feed consistency -- whether the feed motor delivers smooth, even wire or gives you the kind of stuttering that wrecks a bead. Third, arc stability -- does the arc stay clean and controlled across the full amperage range, or does it pop and wander when you need it to hold?
I'm particularly hard on budget machines because that's where the gap between the spec sheet and real-world performance tends to be widest. A machine that claims 30% duty cycle at 90A needs to prove it to me before I'll recommend it. I also pay close attention to how machines handle the switch between materials -- mild steel forgives a lot, but stainless and aluminium will expose every flaw in arc stability and wire feed.
You can read exactly how I test every machine on our testing methodology page.
