I'd never suggest a TIG welder for a hobbyist stating out. Granted, you
can do very nice aluminum, but for everyday projects like bumpers and
trailer hitches, TIG is way too slow, way too much skill involved, and
way too much money.



Jon Elson wrote:
mongke wrote:

Hi all

I've been looking around for an used welder. A certain guy advised me
against tombstone welders, stating that due to usage the amps selector is
often worn and unreliable. Since this guy works for a Miller
distributor his
opinion has to be biased but in fairness I have seen dozens of
Lincolns at
second hand joints yet very rarely a Miller.

Save your nickels up, watch eBay and local sources, and wait for a good
deal on a TIG welder. If at all possible, I will NEVER again do stick
welding. I'm sorry I didn't make the change earlier, my lungs and
sinuses would be in better shape. And, I didn't do a lot of stick
welding, far from it. Maybe one project every six months. I did it
outdoors near the garage, but the smoke would still mess me up.

I finally got a good eBay deal on a great Lincoln square wave TIG 300,
a totally fantastic machine. I'm still learning the tricks with
aluminum, mostly that you can't use color as any hint of metal
temperature. But, the ability to see what you are doing with steel
and stainless, and the fact you can turn the arc down to a tiny spot
of light and slow everything down to a crawl when you need to is so
great, i can't believe it. It makes stick welding seem like trying
to rivet sheet metal with a 50-cal machine gun! I need to wait for
a good aluminum project to come up, so I can really get some practice
in on the aluminum parts, and I'll really feel good about it.

Yes, I know, TIG is WAY more expensive than stick, but you only get
one set of lungs per life.

Jon