I was in ye olde Harbor Fright the other day, and spied this little item, identified as a 220 Volt, 130 TIG/90 Arc Welder Inverter. Item number 91811-1VGA, url:
Yeah, I know: "if it sounds to good to be true..."
Still, I'd like to hear what some real welders have to say about it.
Thanks, Henry
I'm not a TIG welder, but I've been reading up and looking for a machine.
It's DC only so probably no aluminum. It also looks like no HF so it's scratch-start. No gas regulator so you have to buy one.
All in all, about 1/3 of a real TIG welder at about 1/3 the price of the cheapest real inverter welder.
As a weldor, I say run from harbor freight. Look for a deal on an older Miller or Lincoln. A tig can be bought for a couple hundred bucks if you are patient. It's worth the wait. A friend bought a harbor freight arc welder (110v), we tease him if it says "just like dad's" anywhere on the box or for ages 5 to 9. He would have been better off to have spent the same money on a case of JB two part epoxy. Dixon
As a weldor, I say run from harbor freight. Look for a deal on an older Miller or Lincoln. A tig can be bought for a couple hundred bucks if you are patient. It's worth the wait. A friend bought a harbor freight arc welder (110v), we tease him if it says "just like dad's" anywhere on the box or for ages 5 to 9. He would have been better off to have spent the same money on a case of JB two part epoxy. Dixon
I paid a LOT more than that for a Lincoln Square Wave TIG 300, but it was WORTH it. I'm a crummy welder, have never taken any training whatsoever, and was barely able to fix stuff with a buzz box. I also hated the stick fumes, which really did stuff to me. I got the hang of TIG'ing steel in a couple of hours, and can make pretty decent weld beads on steel and stainless now. I REALLY like the control, and the ability to use TINY arcs to make fine welds on small parts. Like I had an $80 collet nut for a Procunier tapping head that had cracked in two. It had a tapered, square-profile thread that would be fantastically difficult to reproduce. So, I TIG'ed it, and only had the slightest hint of melt-through to the internal thread side. It is still holding just fine! YEAH!
Of course, this is a total MONSTER of a machine, 800 Lbs, the size of a refrigerator, needs a water-cooled torch at full power, etc. But an AC Square Wave machine with an arc balance control is REALLY the thing if you want to TIG aluminum.
Jon
Gotta agree with Jon, once you have a good tig welder you wonder how anybody could get by without one. Dixon
>
most definiatly. I used to grab my mig welder for almost everything, now i grab the tig about 75% of time. It's relaxing.
walt
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required