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Equipping your shop—what to buy first?

It depends

“What’s the first machine I should buy for my garage/shop?” is most definitely in the top percentile of all the frequently asked questions in welding. It’s a loaded question, with many possible answers. Let’s go over a few hypothetical situations in an attempt to answer it:

  1. You’re already a TIG welder at your day job and looking to get a little side hustle on.

    You know how to weld; you might even have a client or two lined up. Chances are you’re using a nice industrial-proven machine at work, and taking too big of a step down will disappoint you. I suggest that you not pinch pennies here. There’s no mystery to the craft. You love what you do, you already make decent money, and you want to use the proper tools.

    This is the route I took in 2008 when I bought a Miller Dynasty® 200DX to start Brown Dog Welding. It didn’t take a backseat to the Syncrowave 350 I learned on and used for seven years at the Chrysler plant.

    And another thing, these types of industrial machines hold their value. If you feel like you need more amps later, you can sell the original machine to help fund a more powerful model without spending much more than you would have had you taken a gamble and gone big with a larger power source right off the bat. Or once you reach that point, you can keep the smaller machine for mobile applications and set up the bigger one permanently in your shop.

  2. You have a job where you occasionally weld, but it’s not the main focus.

    You enjoy melting metal and want to do more of it at home, perhaps branching out into art and crafts. Or you’ve done some TIG welding and are comfortable with MIG, but you aren’t sure what direction your hobby or business will take.

    For whatever reason, be it money or space, you want to have a single welding machine that’s capable in any process. For me, that's the Multimatic™ 215. The Lift-Arc™ start for TIG takes a minute to get used to, but once you’ve got it down, it’s like riding a bike. I find MIG welding with this model easy and fluid from the setup to the final bead.

    I just did a demo for Autoweek and literally pulled a new 215 out of its box, set it up, pulled the trigger, and laid it down short-arc style with no fuss. Now, down the road if you want to expand your capabilities, it’s possible to buy something tailored to a specific application, such as TIG welding aluminum and steel. Then you can keep your multiprocess power unit for MIG welding and mobile TIG duties.

  3. You’re an engineer by day while building a race car, piecing together a hot rod, or restoring a muscle car on the weekend.

    Dad might have taught you to weld, or perhaps you took a few shop classes, but now you want your own machine. Past practice would have been to pick up the one machine on display at Home Depot, but in the Amazon age you can buy any one you’d like with a few clicks while sitting on your front porch. Now, it’s all on your budget.

    What you get with an American-made machine is peace of mind in terms of performance and longevity. It might cost more upfront, but you’ll either have it forever or take advantage of decent residual value.
    Some off-brands or Chinese-built multiprocess machines can work well, but the quality isn’t as consistent. Occasionally people go cheap and luck out, but even then, if you stick with welding, you’ll want to upgrade, and the cheap machine will collect dust.

These are just a few scenarios, obviously, and other important machines to purchase, such as an air compressor, plasma cutter, drill press, and band saw. How big you go and the order in which you equip your shop ultimately depend on what you want to do.

All images courtesy of Josh Welton, Brown Dog Welding.

About the Author
Brown Dog Welding

Josh Welton

Owner, Brown Dog Welding

(586) 258-8255