What's that Lassie? You say that RogerN fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Tue, 27 Jul 2010 05:41:50 -0500:

Are any of the portable lunchbox type TIG welders any good?

Oh yes. Very good. And pricey! I got a Miller Dynasty 200DX and
although it was a lot of money for something I use just for hobby
stuff, I have no regrets. This thing is amazing! I hadn't done TIG
since I took a class right out of high school, but it came back to me
right quick. I played around with most all the settings for a few
days and now use it for metal sculpture when I have the time.

It's great to be able to work with AL and SS now. And I have lots of
it to work with out of the scrap bins at work(machine shop).

I can hook it up to 208v 3ph at work, or 120 1ph at home.
It can handle any voltage between 440 an 80 for input power, not just
120, 208, 240, 440, so if I need to run it from a flaky genset it
won't complain.

It's got a million settings for frequency, waveform, balance,
sequencer, pulser, etc.

I was wanting
something I could carry, maybe have to carry the argon bottle in a 2nd trip,
I don't really have an indoor place suitable for welding except in my shop,
and that's where my 900lb beast of a welder is.

And the whole thing is as big as a bread box. Well, perhaps a little
bigger. But you can just grab the handle, pick it up and carry it
around. I got the kit that holds all the cables and foot pedal and
stuff. I think the 80cf tank of Ar weighs more.

If you don't need AC, you can get one of the Maxstar series.
Similar, but smaller, lighter and cheaper.
--

Dan H.
northshore MA.