TIG welders? (for motorcycle stuff)

[Voltaire]

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]

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]

http://www.tradezone.co.nz/index.php...oduct_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]

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-fa...-667502329.htm ..... go's just as well for bugger all the price

[Batcerb]

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]

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]

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/wel...ter-welder-mma
http://mytools.co.nz/collections/wel...nverter-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/prod...0TIG200PXP.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]

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]

Thanks for the replies, quite a bit to think about.

[ICE180]

have a contact at BOC if you want to know anything

[BIG DOUG]

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]

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]

http://www.ezitools.co.nz/index.php?...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]

Im very good at regrinding the tips , if you need help

Stephen

[Motu]

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.