Starting in on the 1965 F100 project I knew it was time to add a mig welder to my tool collection. Thankfully Eastwood has come out with the new Mig180 welder. A welder that has everything I was looking for. And honestly it’s a mig welder for everyone! No matter if you are a complete beginner or a seasoned professional, the Mig180 is ready to go to work for you.
Must Have Tool For Rust Repair
My 1966 Ford F100 short bed project truck is less then perfect. Rust has ripped holes in the roof line of the cab. It will need to be addressed sooner rather then later. Cutting out and replacing the cancer is a long job but one that is made much easier with a mig welder. Although it can be done with my AHP AlphaTig Tig welder, it would be a huge pain. On top of taking three times as long. So it was time to do some shopping.
I wont lie I am biased towards Eastwoods welders. I’ve had the opportunity to burn a few spools through my dads Eastood Mig175. Its the previous model that the Mig180 replaced. After five years of ownership with no issue I was sold. Thankfully the new Mig180 was upgraded with everything I was looking for in a mig welder. My garage is wired for 220V power to run my compressor as well as welders. So I had to get a welder that could take full advantage of all the power available. But still have the versatility of running on 110V power. I want to have the option to run the welder outside of my garage if a project comes up. The one downside for me is the may power output. 180A will be enough power to do 99.9% of my projects but I always like to know I have extra power. Just in case I would ever need to stick some 1/2″ plate together.
Eastwood not only gave dual voltage but they added a tack welding feature. This in something I am really looking forward to. Im no expert with sheet metal and bodywork so having something to help me along is always welcome. With the tack welding setting you only need to pull the tiger to have the welder turn on for a set amount of time to make the tack. This will give me smooth consistent tack welds and hopefully keep me from burning through the thin metal.
The last big advantage of the new Mig180 over the old Mig175 is its size. Eastwood was able to shave 50lbs off the welder! That’s huge! At only 26lbs the Mig180 can be used as a portable welder to use almost anywhere you have power. I’m not planning on pulling my welder off the cart very often but 50lbs less to roll around the shop is a welcome relief. Eastwood also saved me $100 in my case. My dad has the optional aluminum spool gun that he has never used. I gave Eastwood a call to see if his spool gun would in fact work on the new welder. And yes they kept the connection the same so parts would be interchangeable. So there was really no reason to buy the bundle with the spool gun. Although at only $100 extra its definitely a great buy!
I’m excited to pull the F100 into the garage and put the new welder to work. Knowing how well our other Eastwood welders have done I have complete faith in this new one. If you are in the market for a new welder I highly recommend looking at what Eastwood has to offer. They offer a wide range of options to cover lots of welding needs. But the Mig180 has to be the best all around option and bang for the buck.
