Mike ,
I have a Thermal Dynamics pak master 25 I bought several years ago
on sale from MSC. wonderful tool... It runs off 110, doesn't
seem to need much air (just remember to get the filter recommended
by the mfg....), and makes short work of everything up to 1/4" (or more
when the consumables are reasonably new...).
At the time I looked at a number of different tools (lincoln, miller, esab,
century,
Chinese, etc.,) - I didn't like the chinese stuff because I'm never sure just
how long you'll be able to get consumables for them (as opposed to the
'murican stuff where you can go to any welding shop and get what you need...) -
plus they seemed to not have a lot of capability for a given form factor/air
requirement/power requirement, etc.,. the Centurys seemed to suffer from this
too, but maybe you can get parts for them more easily... And, of course, the
rest of them just cost a bunch of money unless you get them on sale/closeout...
You might try Watt Welding - they usually seem to have a pretty good selection,
and they will deal on price (I bought my tig welder from them...), though there
is this place near SE 7th and stark that I've had good luck with too...
As far as the spot weld cutter goes I once got a set of these from General
tool (they're on Grand near the Morrison Bridge) - I haven't a clue if they
carry them anymore, but at least they don't give you a blank stare when
you ask for esoteric stuff like this... I also think there are some in the
Eastwood catalog, but I haven't bought anything from them for a while so they
quit sending me catalogs...
rkg
(Richard George)
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