TIG welders, this any good ?

[spitfire4v8]

http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/welding_equipment/T...

My Mig is about on its last legs and I've been looking around at Tig as a replacement. I don't know enough about them to go trawling through ebay looking for a secondhand bargain so started looking at new tigs ..
Are the cheaper end of the market any good or are they really pretty rubbish? It's not particularly that I need to weld exotic materials (I do get aluminium parts welded locally but not very often) but I would like my welds to look more professional when they are on show - making exhausts for instance, or a nice bracket in an engine bay. MIG just looks a bit amateur even when done well by a professional. I'm thinking that maybe putting a bit of time and effort into getting to grips with Tig would be of benefit seeing as it looks like I will be buying a new welder of some description anyway shortly ..

Any help appreciated. thanks.

[GAjon]

Looks OK, but you won't be able to weld Aluminium with it.
TIGs easy and very versatile once you get to grips with it.

[spitfire4v8]

Is that because it's DC only? I need an AC for doing ally yes?

[McWigglebum4th]

TIG puts more heat into your welds so not the best for body work

But perversely it is better for thin stuff as you have more control


However for that price range you are getting into the realms of a high quality MIG which are lovely things to use


Edit to add i bought myself a Parweld XTI 202 which is an AC/DC machine to go with my Lincoln MIG welder and i find myself using the TIG alot more then i thought i would. The TIG has a beautiful precision and to be honest at this moment if i was to spend the money again i'd go for a good quality DC machine instead of a mid range AC/DC. But that said i haven't done much aluminium work yet.


I started off with a Clarke MIG which was utter cack I got the Lincoln free with a house and it made a HUGE difference to my weld quality and on 2mm plus steel I can pretty much perfect welds.

If i had the choice between only a TIG machine or a MIG machine I'd go MIG but i would greatly miss the TIG.

I don't know what you are doing but if I had £500 to spend on a welder i'd get the best MIG i could but that is because i am doing heavier stuff then car body work and lots of it as i have a sideline making gates for friends and family.


If budget is tight then also think about gas as a TIG needs pure argon and you use far more then you would with a MIG machine. I can go through a Y size bottle in a month easily with the TIG where as it lasts a year with the MIG

Edited by McWigglebum4th on Friday 18th October 19:05

[base]

I have a R-tech TIG Welder 240V AC/DC 160Amp, R tech as a company are highly rated, they are local to me and a friend that is in the welding industry recommended that I buy one of their machines, I have to say on every occasion I have dealt with them they have been good.

The machine has been faultless I only use it occasionally but it does everything I need.

They sell "shop soiled" tigs on ebay basically they are just running offers and they are unused machines usually come with a foot pedal which is handy.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHOP-SOILED-TIG-Welder-R...

I would recommend

[spitfire4v8]

thanks for the replies I think i will investigate them further, especially the deals, thanks for that pointer

[GAjon]

spitfire4v8 said:

Is that because it's DC only? I need an AC for doing ally yes?

Yes, you need AC for Alu.
Tig doesn’t necessarily put more heat in, it depends on the penetration of the weld you are trying to achieve, the metal can only melt at one temperature so it’s the heat soak that is the problem, you have a lot of variables to control this, its just practice.
A lot of MIG welds are just cold lapped onto the parent metal, look OK but are not good welds.

[McWigglebum4th]

GAjon said:

Yes, you need AC for Alu.
Tig doesn’t necessarily put more heat in, it depends on the penetration of the weld you are trying to achieve, the metal can only melt at one temperature so it’s the heat soak that is the problem, you have a lot of variables to control this, its just practice.

Also the speed of the weld moves at effects the heat input and TIG is a slower moving process then MIG

Don't forget heat does not equal temperature


Think of it this way

I can chuck a burning match at you (temp 1000C plus) or a bucket of boiling water (temp 100C) which is going to hurt more?

[GAjon]

McWigglebum4th said:

Also the speed of the weld moves at effects the heat input and TIG is a slower moving process then MIG

Don't forget heat does not equal temperature


Think of it this way

I can chuck a burning match at you (temp 1000C plus) or a bucket of boiling water (temp 100C) which is going to hurt more?

Yes, as I wrote lots of variables available, just requires practice.