On 11 Feb 2006 18:12:06 -0800, "Ben" wrote:

Hi Metal workers

I have enjoyed reading your past postings about the best small tig
machine and have a couple of questions.

How do the chinese machines rate they seem to do everything plasma
cutter, tig.stick. and how do you like your machine.

My son and I are building a 23 t-bucket and are looking for a tig
machine to add to our shop Is there a good old tig machine that you
could recommend to keep on the lookout for.

Thanks Ben and Nicky

Your project presumably involves a fair amount of work with steel
sheetmetal. I think you'd want a TIG with footpedal control and HF
start. Scratch start is possible on steel, but HF is a lot easier to
manage.

Why TIG vs MIG? Most autobody guys use MIG. It's a lot faster, a
lot easier, lower first cost and it is capable of beautiful work on
sheetmetal. Speed is an advantage because it minimizes distortion.