Hey guys, just been looking at picking up a tig welder for the shop (haven't set up the shop since moving here last year) and I was wondering what you guys had to say. Personally I'm leaning towards either the Miller syncrowave 210, or the Miller dynasty 210. Normally I'm a Lincoln fan but they didn't seem to have much any more for selection. I only have minor welding experience but have always wanted to get into tig welding as a hobby.

I know a lot of you have some excellent welding skills, and I am looking forward to hearing your suggestions and input.

Thanks,

Jason

 

If you can justify the expense of a miller you can't go wrong. I haven't used the dynasty but have welded on a syncrowave and it's an awesome machine. I have Lincoln 100 amp mig and a miller 211 mig so I wanted to stay with either of those brands but I just couldn't justify the price tag so I went with a ahp alphatig 200x and couldn't be happier.

 

I bought an HTP Invertig. I got a lot for my money and couldn't find a bad review back when I bought it.

Excellent support and customer service. No complaints or problems in the 4 years I've had it.

The Miller's are awesome, just out of my budget. I'm not using it in a production shop, just me in my garage. Love it.

 

The Eastwood 200 AC DC tig welder @ 699.00 is the biggest bargain for the buck. You get all the same features as the "name" ones at 1/2 the price. (note carefully how many of those name units lately also look suspiciously like the Eastwood with a different color paint job... just sayin') If I was in the market for a TIG welder right now I would head straight for the Eastwood website with my credit card in hand. If you want to spend more money, get it with the plasma cutter combo.

 

Thanks for the input guys, just hadn't been sure about the reliability and quality of the Eastwood welder. I will take a closer look

 

Check out Longevity welders/plasma cutters. I think they are the great frozen northland.

 

I would stay away from both Eastwood and longevity tig welders.

Unlike what AX said the longevity has no features at all. It has pre-show and post flow and balance. No frequency adjustment, no pulse, no start amps or ending amps. It has a goofy foot pedal that you adjust max amps on the foot pedal with a ****??

Longevity was about the same.

You definitely want pulse, Start and ending amps, and frequency adjustment.

 

I have had a Dynasty 200DX for close to 10 years and it is a sweet machine. I have welded a bunch of aluminum and stainless as well as steel and it has never disappointed. If you plan on welding a lot of aluminum or thicker material you will need a cooled torch and cooler. It's a significant $ investment for a nice set up so unless you plan on using it quite a bit it might be better to pay a welder as you need it.

 

I will be doing a decent amount of welding, and but I doubt it would be enough to warrant the cooled torch. And tools are never a bad investment. (Just picked up a nice 80 gallon two stage air compressor. ) Thanks for the input guys, any more input out there?

 

I just did the spec comparisons on the Eastwood 200 A AC/DC Tig @ 699.00 to the Miller Diversion 180 (their entry level AC DC tig) @ 2063. 04 (???.04???)for my brother. The Eastwood has more features, capacity and duty cycle than the Miller at 3X the price. A novice welder has little to no real need for features and adjustments that might be beneficial in the aerospace or other high tech welding by certified welders, that only come on industrial units costing multi K dollars. If you want to learn to ride a horse for fun you don't buy a Derby winner or steeplechase champion. Might want one of the high end units if you are building Top Fuel dragster chassis for a living welding 8+ hrs a day x 7, or welding high tech metals, but the Eastwood will do anything a hobbyist builder is ever likely to need to weld (steel, aluminum, stainless) and do it well without getting so wrapped up in technology that you never crest the learning curve, or can ever afford to fit it into the budget. If and when he ever gets to the point of needing the esoteric features the Eastwood will also have a far greater ROI on the used market.
disclaimer: I do not have any relationship with the Eastwood co, and do not receive a dime in discounts, products or anything else. I do have some in hand experience with their welders tho.

 

I was in the same position some years ago, I wanted a TIG but didn't want to have to mortgage the house to get one. I ended up buying a Miller Synchrowave 200...it listed at around $2,600 but was on sale for $1,800 with the cart accessory, free shipping. What I didn't realize at the time was that the industry was moving away from the transformer-based welders and into the invertor designs...much smaller and cheaper. When my Synchrowave dies I am selling it for scrap copper, I'll be rich!
I played around with the welder a few times and never felt comfortable with my TIG skills, I found that buying a Stradivarius does no make you a great violinist. Last year I found a TIG class offered at the local HS so I jumped on it. What I learned was exactly what I thought was going to be the case...practice, practice, practice makes you a good TIG welder. Think about it, you are sitting/standing in front of a piece or pieces of metal that you are goin to weld. You have a TIG torch in one hand and an electrode (filler rod) in the other. One foot on a pedal that you need to push down on to control the arc intensity. You establish an arc and hold it just far enough away from the metal to melt a puddle but not so close that the puddle jumps up onto the tungsten. This takes some amount of coordination...hold the tungsten at a precise distance and angle while pushing down on the pedal and watching the puddle form. Now comes the fun part, feeding the filler rod into the puddle without touching the tungsten and without sticking it to the base metal. Now move this circus along the joint making the elusive "dimes" as you go. Oh yeah, don't step on the pedal too hard or stay in one place too long as your base metal will warp like you used an arc welder on it.
I guess that the point I am making is that TIG welding is truly an art, an art that I have yet to master I might add. Some talent is involved but mostly it is a skill that must be developed...looking at a machine with lots of ***** and "features" is really a waste of time for a novice TIG welder. Advances are being made in TIG welder design every year, get a basic machine that you can practice with now and then if you stick with it, buy a fancier machine that meets your needs. Personally I learn a lot from videos, if you want to learn a lot about welding then I would recommend Jody at Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info. Not only does he teach TIG techniques but he does all types of welding and also equipment reviews. This guy is a welding master, he has even built his own welders and has demonstrated how a beautiful weld can be made with just the basic equipment. Good luck...

 

Thanks Ax. Been in the market for a TIG but haven't had 2k to drop on one so have not pulled the trigger. That Eastwood unit is now on my radar.

 

Great discussion so what are the differences between TIG and MIG for a hobbyist to consider when purchasing a unit? Sounds like TIG is suited for more complicated work and the MIG would be for easier to use but might have limitations?
For example, the common issue of rust repair via replacing panels, floor panel in my case, thinner metal might be better with MIG and not be best with TIG?
For the door latch repair as reported in Scotty's excellent thread, TIG or MIGa/
Sorry to hijack but I appreciate the help and disscussion.

 

You don't have a clue about tig welding and refuse to admit it and only try to discredit someone that knows more than you. I remember you telling someone to make sure they get a DC tig welder so you can weld aluminum?? Why give someone bad info if you don't have any knowledge on the discussion. If you did you would know how useful pulse is, start and stop amps and frequency adjustment is.

 

TIG is great for lighter weight/thinner metals where you want to control the amount of heat you need to put into the metal to make the weld. TIG welds can be worked, that is, hammered down to flatten them out without grinding. MIG welds are more brittle and have a tendency to crack when hammered. With TIG your panels must be matched precisely, TIG cannot be used to "gap weld" like MIG. For general purpose use, ease of operation, and the shortest learning curve you can't go wrong with a MIG unit.