I'm a hobbyist, although I think I marked myself as a 'beginner'. Probably more accurate. lol
I do projects around the shop, but my primary interest is in building offset smokers for BBQ. I've been using a Yeswelder MIG 250 Pro, which has been a great machine for me to learn on.
I think I'm ready to start stepping up to a nicer unit with... well, I dunno, better consistency, more features, etc.? It's hard to know what you don't know, right?
I will say my welds in general over the last year of getting used to this machine have improved significantly, but I'm not consistent. I do all MIG welding (duh) - GMAW, specifically. I can lay down a good bead on good material in good position with plenty of time and great positioning, etc. However, I struggle with anything that's not perfect in that regard. I can stick things together, sure. But I'm at the point where I'd like to possibly start selling some smokers on the side and would like to be able to get more consistent and 'presentable' welds.
I have lots of pictures, if it comes to showing examples. Either to brag or to hang my head, lol. I have lots of examples of both. Well, ok, lots more hangdog pics, and a few, "Hey, that looks pretty decent!" pics.
Anyways...
I've begun to talk to people about my welds/welding and it has been suggested that maybe a better machine might help me move into the next level of having 'presentable' welds. I'm not necessarily looking for show quality stuff - I'm building backyard smokers, after all. But I know when trying to sell products, appearance makes a difference, so I'd like to start being able to be more 'consistent' and clean up my welds.
So I'm here to learn!
I will be welding 3/8" at most, nothing smaller than 14g probably, although I haven't done anything that thin yet, only 11g. Looking at things like the Lincoln 211i or 215, Miller 215, thinking maybe a pulse welder would be nice, something like the Everlast 251si or something from ESAB (I have to research this some more). So, in that range, maybe $1k-1.5k? Of course, this kind of depends on offloading my first smoker that I just put up for sale. Not the first I've built, the first I've built for SALE.
Anyways, I'll be around, doing a lot of reading. Thanks, if you made it this far, for reading my blurb.
