I've never used an Eastwood TIG but the reviews sound mostly favorable. Most of the complaints seem centered around welding thicker aluminum, which takes higher amperages and pure tungstens. You will be amazed what you can do with a TIG welder and very small tungstens and gas nozzles. Having the high frequency start is much nicer than scratch starting, and keeps the tungstens needle sharp for a much longer time, so long as you can keep the tip off the work and out of the puddle. I remember how I stressed about tackling a job on a broken trigger guard on a nicely engraved Hermann Eichhorn German sidelock 16 gauge gun. It was broken right across the screw hole at the back of the tang, and I thought it wouldn't be possible to repair without having the added expense of finding an engraver to repair the engraving that was very near the break on either side. I used a 5/8" thick piece of copper ground to the exact shape to clamp the broken pieces to, and to serve as a heat sink. I welded the front side with the engraving first, and was able to repair the break without touching the engraving at all. I then ground and dressed the repaired break with fine stones and carefully recut the countersink for the screw. Then I did the back side, and was pleasantly surprised when the heat colors on the already finished front side blended very nicely with the existing case colors on the guard.
This job was done with a large industrial three phase Miller TIG, but the fine work was possible by using the smallest collets, tungstens, and gas nozzles we had, and adjusting the current accordingly. There is a learning curve, and it helps to know a good tool and die welder who can show you the ropes for precision welds. I was lucky to have a good instructor, and was paid to learn and practice at work. A dedicated stone just for grinding tungstens is a must to avoid contamination. An auto darkening hood makes life easier too, to be able to see exactly where you are when you start the arc on precision work. If you can do precise welds in sheet metal with an oxy-acetylene gas welding torch and very small tips, the transition to TIG welding will be easy. The process is very similar except that you are using an electric arc instead of a flame, and you have very clean welds with no scale due to the shielding gas.
