Cheap Tig Welders?

[Russ Filtz]

Any ideas on cheap TIG welders? (~$500) Seems like there are a few of these around that do 3-in-1 with Tig, arc, and plasma cutting. Are these any good for simple DIY home use? Seen brands like LOTOS, Everlast, Ramsond, etc. I'm sure a lot of these are rebranded junk from China, but any gems to be found?

[Rob Russell]

Why Tig vs. a Mig?

[Russ Filtz]

Everything I read says TIG is preferable for small parts, more controllable, but is harder to do than MIG.

[Al Willits]

How much and what kind of welding do you plan on doing?

Also how good a welder are you to begin with?

Might make it easier to help ya.

Al

[Thomas Bank]

In my shop, woodworking is on the second floor and metalworking and automotive hobbies are on the first floor so I feel some confidence in being able to tackle this question.

To start, the old adage that "you get what you pay for" definitely comes to mind. Many moons ago, I started out with a 110V MIG welder and some instruction on the side from someone that knew a bit more than I did. Although I was able to do a fair job of sticking metal together, there came the point where I yearned for more and decided to take a couple courses through the local community college. Boy were my eyes opened!

First, the instruction on explaining why my bad habits were bad and what good habits would gain me quickly had me welding far beyond where I had been. Then there was the matter of having more tools available than I could dream to just go out and purchase to try out that were suddenly available to me. I got to try oxy-acetylene, stick, MIG, TIG, plasma cutting, and even carbon arc. Finally, I am fairly certain that I burned through more consumables, scrap metal, and electricity than the class cost me.

Using some of the big "Red" and "Blue" machines quickly showed me what my little BORG store MIG setup was lacking - both in power and control. You really don't know what you're missing with the cheap, little machines until you experience the good stuff! :)

So my two answers to your question are as follows. First, to consider checking into what your local community college offers and take a class. The experience you gain will make your selection of personal equipment a much more informed decision. Second, is to consider what it is that you are planning to work on and what process best suits your needs.

My current stable of equipment includes a Millermatic 250X MIG, Syncrowave 250DX TIG, and a Hypertherm Powermax 1100 plasma cutter. The TIG machine also does stick.

I tend to group oxy-acetylene and TIG together on one side and stick and MIG on the other side in respect that the first group you add the "heat" and the filler metal separate to each other while the second group adds them both at once. In other words, with MIG and stick you cannot add heat without continuing to ad filler metal to the puddle. That usually isn't a problem with bigger pieces, but with something smaller you can very quickly end up with a huge blob of filler by the time there is enough heat to fuse things together. OA or TIG and you can apply just the right amount of heat to things and then dab in just enough filler metal to do the trick.

The next question is what materials you plan to weld. You can use a spool gun to do aluminum with MIG, but again you're talking more about welding larger items with long uninterrupted welds. For the most part, you're talking steel with MIG.

Depending on what you are doing, an oxy-acetylene setup could serve you well for less cost than a cheap TIG that isn't going to really do what you want of it. The downside is the flammable gasses, which some people get a bit nervous about. But with OA you and weld, cut, and braze quite a variety of metals. And if you later decide to upgrade to a TIG, the skills you learn in OA with controlling heat and filler rod will serve you well with TIG as well.

[David G Baker]

When I got my MIG rig I practiced welding on coffee cans, it worked great. MIG works fine for small parts if you use the right shield gas. TIG is great if you want to spend the bucks, do it right and weld stainless or other more exotic metals.
If you want to weld heavier metals a stick welder would be my choice but prefer an AC/DC unit over a straight AC welder.

[David Freed]

You really don't know what you're missing with the cheap, little machines until you experience the good stuff! :)

I agree with that completely. I worked as a welder for 1 1/2 years in a trailer mfg company. The owner started building trailers by himself and in 15 years built his business into a 50 employee company. If something would improve productivity, he would buy enough for the entire line. He bought flash lenses for 20 welders when they cost almost $500 apiece, because it speeded the line up dramatically. No more constant raising and lowering your hood every time you moved to a different spot on the trailer.

He bought the best mig welders available, and they made the job a lot easier. You could be welding 16 gauge metal, and with a few seconds of adjustments, you could start welding 3/4" steel.

[Russ Filtz]

Well as a basis, here's what I plan to do. My experience is limited to OA welding in HS metal shop, a little more OA and MIG in metallurgy class in college, and that's pretty much it! Only thing I've done in the last 20+ years is soldering electronics & water pipes, and MAP gas brazing!

What I plan to do is welding on some trigger guards on a couple of Saiga shotguns I'm converting to US spec (these are 20 & 410 gauge, so I can't use the Tromix part for those in the know!). Alternative is to do cheap looking bolt-ups or attempting to hot rivet like the factory does (probably more difficult/hassle than welding). The metal involved naturally is not that thick, not sure of the gauge though. I could try and find a local welder to do it, but what's the fun in that?

[Thomas Bank]

That does sound more like TIG work than MIG there. But I'd also consider a small oxy-acetylene torch - possibly something like the DHC2000 (formerly the Henrob2000). I had considered the Henrob torches to be a bit of a gimmick until I read an article by Ron Fournier on them - the author of the Metal Fabricator's Handbook and the Sheet Metal Handbook - two mainstays in the automotive metalworking field. You'd be under your $500 price with that and have a much better tool than a cheap import welder.