Never learned to TIG. Had a Lincoln 230 amp MIG that would destroy 3/8" (0.375") plate. Make certain that you will not need to weld anything thicker than 0.187" or you will be looking for more welder down the road.
I have a 165 Esab TIG. Handles all alum I need up to .25'' (you cant do .25'' in a single pass). Will do any Moly tubing easily as it's usually .120 wall or less. The down side is the air cooled torch. It will get quite hot when used at max amps, but I don't do production work so I can take the time to let it cool. If you want to get proficient at TIG welding, you have to use it often. When I bought mine, I loaned my MIG to my neighbor so I would HAVE to use it for everything. Sure was nice when the MIG came home though.
TIG is a great process but I can tell you from experience that it takes practice, practice, practice. I've got a Miller Syncrowave 200 TIG Runner. Great machine for just about anything you want to do. You might want to head over to WeldingWeb.com. You can get all the info you need from some very knowledgeable, friendly folks.
another good site for welding info is Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info
I took a tig class at the college a few years ago and they started us doing oxy-acety torch welding first to learn technique of rod and flame controll. it's more forgiving then getting a tungsten contaminated. Bill Hinds still uses oxy acety welding for his chops. a lot of pipe welding is done with multiple passes and sometimes with different filler rods as you work around again. Fat finger typing. The old delta drill press uses a tube for the main frame and when I started to loosen the chuck to change bits the whole top end- motor and drill chuck-shaft dropped down the tube and smashed my left index finger.
You ain't gonna weld .25 with that machine, esp. aluminum. Well you are but it will have little or no penetration. I have a Miller Dynasty 300DX. To the OP, that is a starter machine. In a year you will want more power and more advanced settings. Save money and get a bigger machine. I did the same thing you did. Got a Miller sync. 180, then a Miller Dynasty 200DX then a Dynasty 300DX. Now I want a new Miller Dyn. 350DX but that will have to wait $$. Practice, practice, practice it the key. I have been tigging for over 10 years and still everytime I flip the helmet down I am learning.
I bought my Plasma at a good discount, it was a display at my welding supplier, all my other machines were bought used at a very reasonable prices. The old Airco ac dc with high freq was used at the college several years until the instructor retired and they closed down the program. I got the Mig lincoln sp 200 from a welder that retired, about 25 % of new price, The lincoln square wave tig 255 will do ac-dc and stick and has 100 % duty cycle at amps where I usually weld, It came with a thumb control water cooled torch, again 25 % of new cost. I got the Lincoln ac tombstone for $ 75, looks almost new and is portable enough to take out on the farm to where we have a power pole to run a pump. I got an old lincoln gasoline ac dc trailer mounted for doing some work for a friend. I like the old made in the USA heavy duty machinery. My son bought a cheap small 110 V flux core wire feed and it only lasted 2 years.
I have a smaller lincoln TIG that will not do aluminum and I have a big Hobart Mig welder. that sounds like a nice machine. I do use my MIG way more then the TIG and I really like my Hobart
thanks for the input, the local tech school offers welding classes. i took mig last year and plan on taking tig after we get the welder. best way to learn as far as i'm concerned. then practice.
Yo, I've got that same TIG. I opted for it because it has pedal control (instead of fingertip). I like it. downside is you don't get the control of the square wave like the more high dollar machines (helps with arc starting and general use), but it works well. The torch is nice, different cups and a gas diffuser would help with nonferrous stuff. I use 2% thoriated for most everything with great results. You can get pure tungsten or even 1.5% lanthenated if you'd like, but it's not super necessary. I'm using pure argon (cheap) for most things an it's pretty good. Had the welder for about 2 years now, no problems.
If your going to weld aluminum, its more difficult then you think, I bought a miller diversion 165 tig, Nice and slow welding but quality welds. i sold it and got a Miller mig 175. Said the hell with aluminum. Good luck
At the risk of getting tied up and dragged off by a team of horses........why not get a spool gun and an extra tank for the MIG welder you already have?
that was a choice and i have been looking for a used gun and i can buy a different gas tank. phil
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