View Full Version : TIG welders? (for motorcycle stuff)
Voltaire
27th November 2013, 09:28
I'm looking at TIG welders but like so much these days there are so many to choose from.
I mainly do light stuff, car/bike panel work maybe the odd bit of 1/4" plate.
Currenty have a MIG welder and an Oxy set.
Bottle hire is a pita so thinking of just having one welder and looking at TIG.
Might be interested in expanding my skills to aluminium too so that means ac/dc...?
Educate me on welders, cheers.
jasonu
27th November 2013, 15:09
I'm looking at TIG welders but like so much these days there are so many to choose from.
I mainly do light stuff, car/bike panel work maybe the odd bit of 1/4" plate.
Currenty have a MIG welder and an Oxy set.
Bottle hire is a pita so thinking of just having one welder and looking at TIG.
Might be interested in expanding my skills to aluminium too so that means ac/dc...?
Educate me on welders, cheers.
Spend as much as you can afford and buy a good brand like Miller, Lincoln or Hobart.
bogan
27th November 2013, 15:16
http://www.tradezone.co.nz/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=12087
I'm probably going to pick one of those up next week, around 3k (currently on a bit of a special at techweld) including foot pedal (imo a must for thin aluminium work).
mr bucketracer
27th November 2013, 16:18
i bought a esseti tig for over 7 k ...7-8 bottles later it shit it self )-: so i think why spend a shit load on money on something that dont last long.. got one of these now..http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/industrial/manufacturing-metalwork/welders/auction-667502329.htm ..... go's just as well for bugger all the price
Batcerb
27th November 2013, 18:33
BOC were running some very nice specials earlier in the year.
Ac/dc tig and stick setup for around $1200? HF and all the other goodies, With 2 year warranty
Do love Millers tho...
bogan
27th November 2013, 18:39
BOC were running some very nice specials earlier in the year.
Ac/dc tig and stick setup for around $1200? HF and all the other goodies, With 2 year warranty
Do love Millers tho...
Not all the other goodies, no option for a foot control. Their next one up (that does), while I'm sure it would be fookin mint, is about 5k iirc, so bit of a gap there...
Madness
27th November 2013, 18:50
Inverter technology is now on it's second or third generation - IGBT. The previous technology used MOSFET & these were prone to going bang. You can buy a good quality DC inverter for as little as $400 - $500 and most of these have Lift Arc Start on the TIG side, much better than Scratch Start and cheaper than High Frequency. Pick up a TIG Torch kit to add to your DC Inverter for around $300, add Argon and you've got a very capable DC TIG/MMA welder for under a grand.
http://mytools.co.nz/collections/welding-machines/products/jasic-arc160-dc-inverter-welder-mma
http://mytools.co.nz/collections/welding-machines/products/jasic-180p-pulse-tig-mma-dc-inverter-welder
Look at Ezi-Tools for an own-your-own bottle that you can exchange just like an LPG cylinder at the servo - no periodic testing & no monthly fees or delays in refilling. Ezi-Tools gas exchange program is available from Tool & Engineering Warehouse in Takanini, amongst others.
AC/DC TIG welders jump up in price considerably & the one I think Bogan is talking about is a solid piece of kit. It'll be on special early in the new year for around $2,200 incl GST.
http://www.esseti.co.nz/uploads/products/104/files/XA%20TIG200PXP.pdf
I'd avoid Miller, Lincoln & Hobart as the Chinese have caught up to & in some cases left these guys behind in terms of what you get for your money. Miller is supported by Weldwell locally & this company is in the process of imploding under the new U.S ownership.
Batcerb
27th November 2013, 18:52
You can still set up your slope in and out, and just pulse it if you need to using the trigger.
But as you say, some prefer a pedal
Voltaire
27th November 2013, 19:04
Thanks for the replies, quite a bit to think about.
ICE180
27th November 2013, 20:11
have a contact at BOC if you want to know anything
BIG DOUG
28th November 2013, 06:20
yea I brought a blueweld ac/dc 200amp tig of tm for $700 it was near new and has done everthing I have wanted it to do,I had to buy a torch and pedal setup which added another $300 and I too am looking at the ezitool own your own bottles as b.o.c {bunch of c..ts} have been raping people in this country for years me included.
The Reibz
28th November 2013, 20:44
Just sold mine bro. Sucks to be you, came with a plasma cutter too. 350.
www.ezitools.co.nz - TIG200, all you will ever need. Ran mine for 9 hours straight one day, never struggled.
Go cheap for your first welder 300 - 400. Decide weather or not its really something you need to do all the time before you go waste 2 - 3k on a AC/DC setup. Don't get put off chinese inverters either, they go pretty good for garage jobs.
Lots of people out there that know how to tig but few that can do it properly. Spend hours working on your skills before applying it to your bike
The Reibz
28th November 2013, 21:13
http://www.ezitools.co.nz/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=397
Get that, should meet your needs for the time being.
HF Start, 200AMP DC.
Put a foot pedal on it, give yourself a year and you will be doing stainless better than most people with 3k welders.
I gotta admit though, when I see a expensive tool, I usually buy it
Brian d marge
29th November 2013, 01:22
Im very good at regrinding the tips , if you need help :lol:
Stephen
Motu
29th November 2013, 17:00
You can convert an arc welder to TIG, but not as good as the real thing....I might look at that cheap route. We have a TIG at work, it never gets used apart from stainless - the MIG is just so much quicker and versatile. There's the bottle thing again too - I use CO2 at home, bottles and gas are cheap, I'd be real pushed to get just an argon bottle.
The Reibz
29th November 2013, 18:46
You can convert an arc welder to TIG
Indeed you can, any arc welder can be used as a lift arc tig with very little modification. How ever they are extremely basic and will produce crater cracks as you do not have the ability to taper off.
I started on a lift arc, they are fucken awesome to learn on. But foot pedal with HF start is def the way to go
bogan
12th December 2013, 17:26
Fwiw, I picked up the aformentioned Xcel-Arc, seems pretty mint; and Techweld (tradezone) are good to deal with and have plenty of expertise on hand. Got plenty of tuneable knobs and switches and a good instruction manual, so might have to spend the weekend welding things to other things, tis a tough life sometimes ;)
jasonu
16th February 2014, 12:01
Not a TIG welder but here it is anyway. Brandy new Hobart 140 amp 110volt mig welder.
I have about $600 into it including buying the gas bottle, cart and cheapy helmet..
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