who uses a tig? why?

[jim]

How many people use a tig? why do you like the tig? I'm thinking of buying the lincoln 185 tig...it just seems that this would be ideal for stainless and aluminum and cut down on grinding.....ya i know i will have a learning curve with this machine.

please give some advise..

Thanks jim

[arcdawg]

I use it cause I am a kick ass tig weldor ;) .

it will take a while to pick it up unless you have gas welded/brazed in the past then it should be pretty easy. I would tell you to get something bigger then the 185 cause you can always use MO POWER :D :D :D

Imho its the ONLY way to weld :cool:

[arcdawg]

here are a few pics

[arcdawg]

some aluminum

[bobcoon]

Nearly all of my sculptures are fabricated from aluminum. I also use stainless and silicon bronze. I have a mig that I use for longer seams, but when I need more control (and less spatter) the tig is the best machine.

[fused]

The kind of work you make should directly effect the machine you require. If you can gas weld (oxy-acetylene) than TIG is a snap. Aluminum has a few odd characteristics but can be mastered with a little practice and experience.

As arcdawg recommended buy the BIGGEST machine you can comfortably afford.

I work primarily in mild steel because it gives me more bang for the buck. My local welding supply is very generous and has loaned me a TIG machine on several occassions when I've needed one. You might check and see if your supplier has any demo machines you can try out before you make that final decision on what you want to buy.

My personal fav in the studio is water cooled with a foot pedal to regulate amps.

[jim]

Thanks for all the advise...I will be getting a tig, I did mess around with one the other day, I was very impressed with the results of how smooooooth the welds looked it is slow but well worth it..Are the bigger machine just as easy to use on 22 gauge? If so what would be my best bet? Money is always a concern but i can spend a little more than what the lincoln 185 cost..

Thanks Jim.

[Jay Long]

Hey Jim, If you have never used a tig welder before, then I would suggest you get that lincoln 185, It will come with a foot pedal and it will have a built in high frequency, you can flip over and weld stick, a very good machine, I owned the previous model the square wave 175. If you get into really thick aluminum you can always preheat your metal with a torch. but this machine will give you fine performance. and as you said, the cost is a factor, also I don't know where you are getting your machine, but I find your local welding shop a rip off compared to shopping on the internet, check out e-bay and look for a company called Indiana Oxygen Supply, for something like that, you would get free shipping and the same warrenty.....Jay

[arcdawg]

find yourself a used miller syncrowave 250 (complete) they are great machines and are more or less bulletproof.....

you can find them around 2000.00 and up

[jim]

Jay long! how thick of aluminum will the 185 do?....without heating the aluminum....

yo dawg! I looked at the new miller syncrowave 200 and the guys at the store said they have some panel issues with a few they sold...they said the lincoln 185 outsales the miller 5 to 1...(tig only ) or are the sales people making more cash for themselves if they push lincoln...still confused!!!
I have about two weeks before i will purchase..

I just bought the miller 210 mig...and it does have a spool gun..
so I think the 185 will be a good match. just not sure...my shop is only 14x22
10 ft walls..space is a concern.....

[arcdawg]

a late 1990s syncro 250 is going to be more or less the same size as the pt185 and yet you will get much much more use out of it. ive used the pt185 and its nice but it cant hold a candle to a syncro 250....

pt 185 -honda civic

syncro 250 - dodge viper :D

[Jay Long]

Hey Jim, Let me explain myself a little better, I am only thinkin practical here, There is no doubt that a syncrowave 250 is more powerful, But a Tig welder with that much power would require a water cooled system, and that would include a radiator, and a water cooled torch. plus as arcdawg mentioned you could get one used for about the same price(I am only quoting).but I doubt you would get a warranty, and would buy it as is. As far as how thick of a piece of aluminum you could weld, I think it could handle 1/4 inch thick plate pretty easy, however that would also depend on how long and how wide of a piece you wanted to weld, because you own a spool gun, I would use that for welding really long or wide pieces. as for welding in a industrial production type enviorment, ya, get a syncrowave 250. If you are going to build really large sculpture then use your spool gun, I used to weld 1\2 inch plate with my lincoln 175, I had to preheat the metal with a torch, to save my torch a lot of unnessary heat. but most of the time it was great for what I used it for. because you would be new at owning a welder, If anything went wrong you would have a warranty to cover youself. Ask the dealer about the thickness of aluminum, I do believe it will perform just great on 1/4 inch aluminum.

[jim]

Hey Dawg!! If the 185 is a civic well i guess thats what i will get..
Why you may ask.. well Hondas never break down and great gas mileage..
I dont have time to what for my Viper to get out of the shop because of BREAKDOWNS...........I think for the size of my work the 185 is ideal.
........you guys are great, thanks again.

Jay long the 185 is rated for 1/4 aluminum..I think with the spool gun and getting the lincoln 185 i should be fine...

Jim..

[arcdawg]

Jim my comparo had nothing to do with reliablity just the power between the two machines. most 250s will come with a water cooled set up. and the fact is that once you get the hang of tig welding thats all you want to use and you shouldnt LIMIT yourself with a small machine. copper brass aluminum will all eat up a lot of heat and the pt185 will end up tired after a year where as the syncro will keep hummin along.

and if you end up selling it the syncro will hold it value while you will end up eating a lot of cash with the 185 -

just my .02

[ahirschman]

Almost irrelevant comment...

A friend of mine used to say:

"I am poor, so I can only afford the best tools"

Ari.

[jim]

dawg, have you herd anything good about the syncro 200?

[arcdawg]

its new to the market and I personally havent used it. but from what I hear it has some nice little goodies that the bigger units have. (ie pulse) I actually called a guy last night about a syncro 300 for $1600.00 (those old machines are tanks)

I would suggest that you go to your local welding supply store and have the do a demo for you. run the lincoln, miller and the t/a 185 If the lws wont set up a demo for you find a new lws -

keep us posted -