Lincoln Idealarc TIG 300/300 VERSUS HOBART CYBERTIG CT300

Thanks for the input, Don.

Well, I love bells, whistles, lights, knobs, switches, etc.

I GUESS neither of these machines are squarewave. I don't even know if I would want squarewave never having drawn a tig arc or seen anyone do it.

I hope that I can find a how-to video on tig so that I can have some idea of what I may be doing.

Are all tig torches (water-cooled) pretty much alike? I may can get a Profax unit cheaply.

What would you recommend as far as consumables, etc?

Squarewave is nice for aluminum welding, but not required.

For accessories:

A torch. Gas cooled is cheaper, water cooled is a lot nicer. With a water cooled torch, the torch is smaller, the lines are lighter and more flexible and you can weld until the duty cycle on your machine says stop. For water, a continuous loss system like the wall tap works. A 5 gallon bucket with a gear or diaphram pump (need enough pressure) works. I can't speak to brands too much - I have been using mostly Weldcraft water cooled torches. Others are probably good but I don't know.

A ground lead and clamp.

A foot pedal or other remote current control, arc on/off thing. For bench work a foot pedal works fine, for climbing under or into stuff, forget it, a foot pdedal will drive you nuts.

Torch bits - collets, cups, and tungstens. I think that the rule of thumb is that the tungsten should be a similar thickness to the work, but I stop and 1/8" tungstens. The collets are sized to the tungstens, the cups to your torch and the work you are doing.

Filler rod. ER60S2 is a common one for steel, 4043 is a common one for aluminum and stainless needs to be matched to the flavor of stainless you are welding. I use a lot of 1/16" rod and some 1/8" for jobs with crummy fitup or thick material.

A helmet, #10 or so filter

A pair of light leather gloves.

Some non-synthetic long sleeve shirts and long pants.

Good Luck, Bob

Forgot a minor detail, An argon cylinder and regulator/flowmeter...