I'm thinking of buying a tig welder...

I'm thinking of buying a tig welder, for mainly light gauge car stuff, and some farm projects.

so what machines are you guys running?

what about the mig/tig/stick combo units?

 

I have a Miller 250 synchrowave that I bought off the 'bay last year. Never tig'ed before getting it and still learning. I love it. I think guys will recommend to you that you check your local listings to see what is around. I use my tig on everything if I can. However, my little 110volt Century mig still comes in handy for occasional jobs out in the yard and I think I will use it to do the initial sticking together of a lake header project planned.

 

I agree. I still use my Lincoln wire feed alot. Its a Home Depot Special, flux core. Dirty but its got a decent range.

I want to step into Tig. Mainly for the small stuff, sheet metal, building headers etc. I havent really found the right one yet, due to price and power considerations.

I like both Miller and Lincoln products. My Plasma Cutter is a Miller.

I look at what is on special right now.

I see in ebay there is a 110 Tig/stick unit. Not sure how good it will be. But then again my first mig was a pocket mig, and it got me enough practice to use a real one down the road.

Price wise your at least $1300 for a fair one.

 

My Lincoln 250/250 has been a great machine. I rarely use my Mig anymore.

 

Do it! I have an ancient Miller Dialarc HF and I just bought a used Econotig off of the Craigslist. Get an AC/DC machine in case you ever want to do Aluminum.

 

I just bought a lincoln 225 tig, i am just learning but i really like it.

mike

 

Transformer machines are less expensive and more durable than inverter types. You don't get as many wiz-bang controls for wave shape, etc., but that's not necessary unless you're doing a lot of aluminum or exotic material. And even then, most people don't understand what those controls do anyway. One nice thing about inverters is most can run on 110 power.

 

miller syncrowave 180. just big enough to do aluminum good, and didn't break the bank.

 

I just bought a Miller syncrowave 200. $1900 to my door. Can't beat a Miller !

 

These guys have some real decent prices on welders with free shipping. I buy from them and the shipping is fast. www.cyberweld.com

 

Miller Synchrowave 250DX for TIG -it has been the best welder I ever bought.
I also use a Millermatic 250 for MIG

 

Indiana Oxygen Company (IOC) also has excellent prices. They sell on ebay.

 

I want one too...they're just so darn expensive.

 

My set up also! Not cheap, but worth it!

 

I bought a Lincoln Square Wave 175 Tig Welder off craigslist for a very reasonable price. It's probably not as good as a miller, but for the coin I can't complain. You may want to keep on eye on craigslist.

 

We have a small Lincoln TIG at work, I can't recall what model it is, but I hate the damned thing...it's brand new and for some reason I can't weld worth a shit with it...yet I can pick up the torch of my buddy's Miller Synchrowave and lay down coins...I haven't the slightest clue why...

 

Dialarc HF. Bought it off Ebay for like $400. Got a used good working foot pedal at the welders supply and a Weldcraft 25ft torch. Painted the the tins at work, and I'm still only into it for under $600. The only problem with the old transformer machines, like the dialarc, is that they suck some juice. At full tilt, my machine draws 90 amps. The inverter style machines are nice and small, and draw less amps.

 

I got a precision tig 275 off craigslist for a hell of a deal, with some other equipment, you really have to watch every single day cause the good deals go fast

 

My MIG is Miller the TIG is Lincoln...both work better than I can weld.

 

TIG is great, so much more control.

 

I got an old-ass Miller 330 A/BP that I found on Craigslist last year. Paid $500 and the High Frequency Capacitors were bad on it. That cost like $150 for the pair, but after replacing those and cleaning the thing up inside, it has been an awesome machine!

Definitely get a AC & DC for the Aluminum capability! Go bigger than you think because if you are going to weld a lot, then the Duty Cycle will bite you in the arse on smaller machines. It also takes more amps then you think to do aluminum and Copper takes a lot of amps!

Mine weighs in at 820 pounds, so if you are looking for a smaller machine, you might want to look for something newer and those inverters are cool and light and little and still pack a punch.

TIG is cool though! have fun!

 

I just got a Miller Diversion 165 with a foot pedal. An awesome little Tig machine with high frequency start and aluminum capability as well.

Very good choice in a small Tig, 10-165 amps.

 

I, too, have had a Diversion 165 for several months. I'm no pro and still learning but seems like a great machine for smaller stuff.

 

i just recently picked up a miller dynasty 200, with argon, filler rod, tungsten, gas lenses, collets, cups, etc i'm in it for maybe $5 g but it makes real pretty welds:

 

Don't shock yourself!!!!!

 

I don't think the welder made those welds, you did.


I have a Lincoln 300/300. It actually welded up part of the Space Shuttle ( bought it from an aerospace company that makes parts for the Space Shuttles and used that welder ).

wil
www.sakowskimotors.com
www.ridefree.com

 

i need one really bad just the prices

 

I've got a Dynasty 200dx too, it's a bad ass machine. I don't mess with a lot of the features, but it's really nice being able to crank the pulse up over 100pps for sheet and ss to cut down on warping, and the hertz adjustments for aluminum are pretty slick too. The ability to run it on 110 and 220 (or 3 phase if you want to) is great, considering it only weighs 45 lbs and you can take it anywhere. It works great as a stick machine as well.

Miller is working on a Diversion 185, I'm not sure if it's out yet? That will run on 110 and 220.

I used to work with a Synchrowave 350, and that was a beast. If you're gonna buy used, I'd get a transformer. More durable,cheaper to buy, and cheaper to fix.

Before buying from a IOC or cyberweld or ebay, go to your local place and see how close they can get to the web price. They pry can't match it, but if they come close it could be worth going through them. They may be willing to cut you better deals on gas and service and such in the future, where they have more of a margin. And it's always nice to help your local economy.

-Josh

 

I printed the web page of the unit I wanted from cyberweld and my LWS matched it plus tax. This was all a cash transaction and I left 3k there in about 20 minutes.

 

I've been doing alot of research lately on current tig set-ups and the best one I've found for our needs seems to be the hobart ez-tig 165. It's around $1300.00, and comes with everything to get started other than an argon tank and consumables. Good luck