clubstylus

I had a crack at using a friends TIG last night and found it tricky to see what I was doing BUT the weld , although not perfect was very much smoother than anything I could do with my ARK . His machine's auto strike wasn't working and he reckoned I'd struggle with the foot pedal , so used the gun with a button trigger . Maintaining a steady hand wasn't easy with the tubes high in the vice top plus the button was awkward not to touch accidently.
I came to the conclusion that I need better very close work(10 ins plus)glasses --- with mine , the light produced by the TIG blinded me from the detail that you need to see to keep the tip away from the welded area and the rod .

What I don't know is what quality TIG would I be able to use and therefore what cost His was a second hand £2500 machine with infinitely adjustable everything . A cheaper TIG might be very difficult on light cds tube for a ' learner '

Any of you got a TIG or have any info for me I'm trying to make up my mind whether to swap the ARK for a decent MIG or TIG you see

Rob,

I have to admit I don't know a huge amount about welding, but it depends on what your wanting to do? If you want to weld alu nicely you'll be needing an A/C TIG, and they cost £££. If it's just thin CDS a D/C TIG or MIG would be a decent bit cheaper. As I understand it TIG consumables are expensive, and apparently it takes a bit of practice. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along to correct me soon though!

I recently got a Clarke 150TE (http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... mig-welder) out of frustration at not being able to make my own stuff. It seems to work ok despite my lack of skills!

This place is full of info- have a look through the tutorials in the top left to get an idea: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php

And get a proper mask- don't give yourself arc eye!

Craig-Chap wrote:Rob,

I have to admit I don't know a huge amount about welding, but it depends on what your wanting to do? If you want to weld alu nicely you'll be needing an A/C TIG, and they cost £££. If it's just thin CDS a D/C TIG or MIG would be a decent bit cheaper. As I understand it TIG consumables are expensive, and apparently it takes a bit of practice. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along to correct me soon though!

I recently got a Clarke 150TE (http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... mig-welder) out of frustration at not being able to make my own stuff. It seems to work ok despite my lack of skills!

This place is full of info- have a look through the tutorials in the top left to get an idea: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php

And get a proper mask- don't give yourself arc eye!

I've been ark welding not far short of 50 years , mainly heavyish stuff as I was farming , then later was landscaping , so it was still very useful to be able to weld. Once I started with the Stylus , having built it but then wanted better handling and adjustability , the ark came in handy again BUT --------- it's damned tricky arking on 1.6mm's I've done it but it's a real pain.
I can't justify another machine really but TIG's make such a great finish ---- maybe a MIG would too but I'd never used either , hence my trying someone elses last night

MIG can be reasonable- the attached pic is me welding some 1mm thick exhaust together (total beginner- ignore the really rubbish bits!) after a couple of hours practice. It's not the greatest bit of welding, but for my level of experience I think it shows the machine is capable! I'm sure you'd be able to pick it up quicker than me if you've got 50 years doing arc.

Your right though- TIG looks ace. But I've hardly done it so I'll leave someone else to comment on the cheaper TIG sets

Wow -- 1mm is really thin but the weld is sound Craig I may have to settle for a gas MIG in the end

According to my local friendly welder (MK Engineering who made my exhaust) you need to buy the most expensive set you can afford. £ for £ you will always get a better MIG than a TIG set for the same amount of money. So unless you have £1000's to spend or happen to fall on a decent TIG set going cheap I would guess you're better off going for a decent Gas MIG set.

You want at least the Clarke 151Turbo or above to do a decent weld on 3mm steel, ignore the manufacturers hype to the thickness they can do.

CMA wrote:According to my local friendly welder (MK Engineering who made my exhaust) you need to buy the most expensive set you can afford. £ for £ you will always get a better MIG than a TIG set for the same amount of money. So unless you have £1000's to spend or happen to fall on a decent TIG set going cheap I would guess you're better off going for a decent Gas MIG set.

You want at least the Clarke 151Turbo or above to do a decent weld on 3mm steel, ignore the manufacturers hype to the thickness they can do.

Yes , you're probably right that a TIG will be beyond my pocket