Artemia,

Thank you for the response. I appreciate you taking the time to post a
reply to my inquiry. You gave me food for thought.

Thanks again.

Joe...
"Artemia Salina" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 04 Jun 2005 13:52:24 -0400, JB wrote:

i Guys,

I came across an auction for a tig welder. I am requesting opinions to
help
determine whether it's worth the money they are asking.

Hey Joe,

Ernie Leimkuhler is a welding teacher who inhabits this group and
sci.engr.joining.welding. I have never gone wrong following his advice.
He has recommended the Thermal Arc Pro-Wave 185 TSW TIG/Stick welder
many times as being the most feature packed TIG welder in it's class.
You say you want to weld aluminum. I don't know how thick the aluminum
is that you want to weld, but the Thermal Arc should be capable of
handling 1/8th inch thick stuff (1 amp per 1 thousandth thickness
is 125 amps for 1/8th) and will run off of a standard 30 amp clothes
dryer outlet. No special wiring needed. The Thermal Arc is also small
and compact, weighing about 40 pounds, so in a hobby oriented shop
it won't take up as much room as that monster on Ebay.

Ernie also recommends Indiana Oxygen Company (IOC) as an online source for
these welders. So do I, having dealt with them myself.

They sell online through Ebay.
Here's a link to the Thermal Arc Pro-Wave 185 TSW sold by IOC:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=7521224 506

It is more expensive than the one you're looking at, but it is brand new
(with a warranty) and I think it will be more suited to what you want to
do
(assuming you want to weld 1/8th inch thick or less aluminum).