TIG welder

[janjon]

I have a little experience with stick and wire-feed welding. I have not and do not weld often enough to call myself proficient. Lately, in the course of some modifications and upgrades to my FED, I have need to get tabs and such welded on, and have had to  load the chassis onto the trailer and take it to someone to have those things done for me. I'm also considering building a new chassis. Looking at welding machines, and learning to TIG weld. Any suggestion as to the right machine to get? $500 Harbor Freight or $1800 Lincoln? I would rather any limitations be on the part of the weldor rather than the welder. Any equipment advice or recommendations are welcomed and appreciated.

[GlennLever]

I took a course in TIG and then started looking for a welder to purchase. I had a search running for over a year on Fee-Bay. I finially scored a Miller Dynasty 200DX (paid $1,800 complete with stand, no cooler, I have not needed a cooler yet) which I am very pleased with.

My other source was the place I took the course was a welding supply company here locally, they turn over the equipment in their classroom (at a used price) once a year, sell it as new with full warranty. You might see if there is something like that in your area.

Do not go the Harbor Freight route! Their tools are one use only disposable and only sort of work.

I think that with either Miller or Lincoln you will never look back.

[225digger]

dont use harbor frieght  ,   i preffer miller stuff , i have a syncro  200 and a dx250 both newer machines . they will do pretty much anything chassis related  ...... when i 1st started tig welding i never even considered chinese stuff . my 1st tig setup was real ghetto so to speak .  it was a tig torch attached to a lincoln buzz box , had to scratch start it and no vary voltage , i learned how to tig with it . and it worked well actually on steel ..........fast forward i bought an old airco heliarc 300amp . it was old , big , but had high frequency and worked awsome !  i paid like 300 bucks for it on ebay .  used it for a few yrs then got the syncro 200 . and then the dx250 ......   id maybe try to pick up something older or vintage on ebay , just make sure it workds before buying .  one of the big things is buying name brand , you can get torches and other parts easier ..................good luck !  tig welding isnt hard , just need a steady hand and alittle pateints and it will come quick and easy

[LZ]

JanJon:
A few cents from the peanut gallery.
I have been wanting to get a tig for home for some time now but as yet the funds need to go to more important things.
Always liked Miller equipment and have used a few others from a work and friends experience. 
Personally I want an Inverter machine (small size) with High Frq, with AC, at least 200 plus amp, and cooling ability (must for the Aluminum and high currant jobs).
In what I have seen, or a personal postulate I am having , the mighty blue is not without having there own issues in the times now..
Giving that and its hard to say this as I am a die hard support North America person. I have at this time settled on Everlast unless a deal on a Miller comes along.
The people that I have talked to the last year ish have had good to excellent feedback.
There's nothing like a Dynasty but at this moment to support the home shop its not feasible. The 250EX will take care of most of what I will throw at it. And my thinking is that when things pick up I then will be able to justify the Dynasty.
Thats what I am thinking of late, but please speak up anyone. If you are going to shoot for a used Miller you have to have cash ready and be right on it. I am not giving up yet.
I guess the best thing I could add is to think about what your needs are and make sure the machine is capable,.
Stray away from Horrible freight. Terrible stuff .
Good luck bud
Luke
OH PS... FWIW, If you do get a Domestic machine, who will be your local supplier is a BIG influence on the make. You might have one local who is great, helpful and good with supplies, and another , er...not so much. Think about that when you getting Gas and Sundries.

[masracingtd1167]

Try weldingtipsandtrick's.com Alot of good information on that site

[225digger]

Giving that and its hard to say this as I am a die hard support North America person. I have at this time settled on Everlast unless a deal on a Miller comes along.
The people that I have talked to the last year ish have had good to excellent feedback.

i have heard good feedback on the everlast units also  there is also another longevity  i spend some time over on the pirate off road forum and a good bit of guys have them and from what i understand they stand behind there products .

the comment about miller having there issues ... i went through that a few months ago my dx250 spent a few months in repair becuase it was a not so normal issue and they had miller engineers involved with it .  it still cost me since it wasnt under warranty but i like the machine and it does well for me .

[LZ]

Hi there 225:
Say thanks for the post with your build, very nice.
I talked to a guy (Mark??)at Everlast last year for a moment. It eased my fears of getting one.
Very different world were in nowadays even compared to several years ago.
But that wont let it stop our sickness, will it. LOL
take care
Luke

[janjon]

Thanks, guys, for the advice and encouragement. You all didn't tell me what I wanted to hear, about the Chin..., I mean the "cheap" shi... I mean "stuff", but that's kinda what I thought anyway. Thanks for telling me what I NEEDED to hear.

[wideopen231]

Been using same Miller tig since 1986. Since everything I cared to work on was race car I started with a tig and went to mig,I hears theres one that uses stick ,but I don;t work on a farm so never needed one.


  Its pretty simple to pickup.Just get someone who has used one wo walk you thru it and you should be good.Once you think your good on steel give aluminum a try. Once your good on aluminum you can weld about anything. IMO aluminum welding is art. I can weld it decent and at times I screwup and get those perfect rows of dimes laying perfect,but it is more of screwup when I do it because I can't do it everytime.

  Time and money are all you need to be good. My last bottle of argon was 81 bucks. 2 months ago 64 bucks,

[GlennLever]

Been using same Miller tig since 1986. Since everything I cared to work on was race car I started with a tig and went to mig,I hears theres one that uses stick ,but I don;t work on a farm so never needed one.


  Its pretty simple to pickup.Just get someone who has used one wo walk you thru it and you should be good.Once you think your good on steel give aluminum a try. Once your good on aluminum you can weld about anything. IMO aluminum welding is art. I can weld it decent and at times I screwup and get those perfect rows of dimes laying perfect,but it is more of screwup when I do it because I can't do it everytime.

  Time and money are all you need to be good. My last bottle of argon was 81 bucks. 2 months ago 64 bucks,

I can run a bead of "dimes" across a piece of Aluminum, but when I try to weld two piece together I just cannot get it right.

[225digger]

pulse feature is awsome for aluminum welding . just put the pedal to the floor and run a bead ............ like to figure out this final slope stuff on my 250 but no time to figure it out .

[wideopen231]

heck a pedal woulb be nice. Ihave smaller tig that has one ,but its had problem for while.I think it is the pedal thats the problem. Far as that goes new virgin aluminum would be nice to work with also.The cleaning of old stuff,sanding then acetone is getting old.

[Cajuninjector]

Miller Diversion 165. Best bang for your buck and friendly to beginners. I wish it came with a pedal instead of torch controls. Just make sure your ready to get socks knocked off. Don't pull off of your work too quickly.

[ricci32]

I just picked up a lincoln 175 square wave every chassis builder i talked to said they loved the machine power needs are a little more its a tranformer based machine so 50amp breaker very smooth foot pedal picked up a complete unit cart, tank and supplies very little use $850

[slingshot383]

For tack welding and for stitch welding body panels and steel interior panels on door cars, a line-loc button on the torch works great.  Use the pedal for finish welding of the tack welded assembly.