Tig welder for home
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paranoid56
Well-known member
i have both miller and a everlast and both have been great. whats your budget.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'm a Miller fan myself and have a Dynasty TIG Runner at my home shop, but I am a bit more than a hobbyist. If you are just supporting a hobby and looking for a good reliable TIG with both AC and DC capabilities, there a few that would fit the bill.
I have used the Lincoln Squarewave 175 and have been very impressed with it. The Miller Diversion 180 is supposed to be a nice AC/DC machine but I have no first hand experience with that one. A friend of mine recently purchased the Everlast and at first I was thinking he made a bad choice, however, after using it a small amount to help get him started I have come to the conclusion that it is not a bad little machine.
Mike.
I have used the Lincoln Squarewave 175 and have been very impressed with it. The Miller Diversion 180 is supposed to be a nice AC/DC machine but I have no first hand experience with that one. A friend of mine recently purchased the Everlast and at first I was thinking he made a bad choice, however, after using it a small amount to help get him started I have come to the conclusion that it is not a bad little machine.
Mike.
I'm not sure, It would not be used very much so as little as possible without getting mad at it.
GTA Matt
Well-known member
Gas, good helmet and consumables will put you at or over 500. Then you still need the machine.
Possible, sure, probable no. You will be limited to a old powerhouse, nothing wrong with that, but it will be space consuming, and power hungry.
WILD-BILL
Well-known member
I have an Everlast 225LX and it's a lot better machine then I am a welder.
I'm learning though.
I'm learning though.
ovrrdrive
Well-known member
This is the closest you'll get to that and you still need accessories... These have all of the features you'll want and are reasonably priced. I'll have one in a few months.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00REX6USW/?tag=atomicindus08-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00REX6USW/?tag=atomicindus08-20
jar944
Well-known member
1300-1800 minimum for a new tig from a brand name us based company, assuming you want the ability to weld aluminum.
Your boy is wrong. Go take a class and if you fall in lust with the method then consider it and go from there. If you have a DC welder get a scratch kit and play with it on thin stuff but don't go flopping money at something you'll never get good at("use once in a while").
Tig takes practice and regularity.
Buy a good spool gun for the Mig and get used to it. They come in handy semi-often for light aluminum .
astroracer
Well-known member
^^^This^^^
If you have never used one you will not be "good" at it and your money will be wasted. Like was said, take classes BUT... BOTH of you take classes and see if this process is something you can develope skills at.
Mark
If you don't mind big, heavy, and power hungry, the transformer welders are very reliable. Mine is probably 20 years old and should last another 30+ years. It's mostly wire coils and metal. I doubt the new inverter welders will last 20 years with all of their electronics.
I have Miller Diversion 165. I found it on Craigslist for $800 and talked the guy down to $600. So far its been a decent machine; I've added a foot control. I don't TIG all that much (nor am I all that good at it), so for my needs it does fine. My go-to weld machines are a pair of smaller Lincoln MIGs. One set up for steel and the other rigged for aluminum with a spool gun.
Thanks for all the info, I think I'll just bump the TIG to the wish list someday. I do have a Miller 212 at home so it's not like I am hurting for a welder and I don't want to buy something that I will throw in the iron pile in 5 yrs. He just got really excited again because they are TIG welding in shop class in high school right now and he loves it and is actually pretty good at it. Thanks again
JoeFin
Well-known member
MIG is no substitute for a TIG and never will be.
Albeit both have their advantages an AC/DC/TIG machine will get you through much more materials of greater thickness then a Mig Welder
I have a Miller 330B with 40gal water-cooled 350amp Tig torch, a Lincoln Squarewave 175, and a Miller 304 with the MX Push-Pull Mig gun for working Aluminum - So I'm not pulling this out of my **** looking to stroke my own ego or fuel my Eboner sales (of which I have NONE)
You want to learn TIG - no problem. Start with doing some stich welding on mild steel and you'll be surprised how far you can go from there.
You want to weld some thick aluminum >.250 - your going to want a machine like my Miller 330B with a water cooled torch - and again you'll be TIG welding NOT Mig
For the home shop guys I always say the same thing - Shop Capabilities - the machine that provides you the MOST capabilities. You don't know what tomorrow brings and what new projects you going to take on and the last thing you want to do is go out and buy a new welder every time some thing new comes your way
Albeit both have their advantages an AC/DC/TIG machine will get you through much more materials of greater thickness then a Mig Welder
I have a Miller 330B with 40gal water-cooled 350amp Tig torch, a Lincoln Squarewave 175, and a Miller 304 with the MX Push-Pull Mig gun for working Aluminum - So I'm not pulling this out of my **** looking to stroke my own ego or fuel my Eboner sales (of which I have NONE)
You want to learn TIG - no problem. Start with doing some stich welding on mild steel and you'll be surprised how far you can go from there.
You want to weld some thick aluminum >.250 - your going to want a machine like my Miller 330B with a water cooled torch - and again you'll be TIG welding NOT Mig
For the home shop guys I always say the same thing - Shop Capabilities - the machine that provides you the MOST capabilities. You don't know what tomorrow brings and what new projects you going to take on and the last thing you want to do is go out and buy a new welder every time some thing new comes your way
JoeFin
Well-known member
I was GIVEN for FREE a Miller 330B - rebranded as an AIRCO Heliarc on a trailer with a 40 gal water cooler tank and a CK water cooled torch.
And the thing had a property tag from NASA
Still works perfect with High-Freq start and many other features including Single-Phase power input. To tell you the truth I will hold up that machine against new all the bells and whistles machines on welding .035 mild steel tube any day
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theoldwizard1
Well-known member
The Alpha TIG 200 has been reviewed on YouTube by several well known welding experts. All have said, it is a good machine, even great, for the price.
justanengineer
Well-known member
Sell the MIG and buy a used TIG. If you can get into a Syncrowave or even a Precision Tig it'll be a serious trade-up in capability and ease of learning for the kid. MIG is generally the last of the four common processes taught for good reason - easy to spray blue glue, difficult to get a high quality weld.