Tig?

[Russell]

I'm going to treat myself to a Tig welder. I've never had one before, only mig, arc and gas. Can anyone recommend a good one for less than£5-600? It's only for hobby stuff/occasional use. Am I right in thinking I could use it like a arc welder for heavy stuff? I don't mind putting in a specific supply for it. I would like to be able to weld 1mm to 10mm if possible.

 

[doobin]

No, tig is for specialist welding primarily of non ferrous metals. Mig will piss over it for speed on steel.

 

[Bri963]

Almost all modern TIG welders can be used for stick. However if you go for a low powered set you'll be limited by how big an electrode you can run, and by the duty cycle. For example if you're running big electrodes near the upper current output, it'll need to take a breather to cool down. TIG is suitable for ferrous as well as non-ferrous, and you can easily weld 1mm (after practise) material. MIG is faster, but it has its limitations. Precise work or decorative work, TIG has a good appearance and is easier than MIG.


As for recommendations, for your budget, you're going to be looking at the smaller Parweld and ThermalArc units, or off-brand sets (not recommended) and you'll only get DC output, which will limit you to welding ferrous material.

 

[Quattromike]

Tig is good for thin stainless steel, but for a novice I would recommend getting high frequency start to save you having to re-sharpen the tungsten every 2mins. If you want to do aluminium you need an AC set, kemppi mastertig is a decent set for this but not cheep.

 

[Russell]

Ok thanks. I would like to weld aluminium if possible. I did try with the gas but didn't have any success so would like to try again.

 

[V8Druid]

Ok thanks. I would like to weld aluminium if possible. I did try with the gas but didn't have any success so would like to try again.

depending on what you're trying to weld, it is do-able, but need a LOT of heat and is exceptionally tricky to get (a) enough heat into the job and (b) not destroy it ... fine line between getting it right and having the whole thing disintegrate, especially as there is little 'visual aid' when doing it ..... have done it with gas but tig is so much easier