What should I budget to start TIG welding.

That depends on a lot of things. Your machine does DC, and that will run a TIG torch. You can buy a torch with no cooling capability for around $150, but you won't be able to weld for very long or very heavy stuff, as it will get hot quickly. You can buy one with a recirculating cooling feature built in. From there, it gets more complicated.

Good TIG machines come with the cooling unit, with radiator and pump and all. An enterprising McGyver type can cobble together one with scrounged parts for cheap. I'd say from zero to $100. BUT, no telling how the performance would be, and how long you could weld before it got too hot.

A very lot depends on what you are intending to weld. You can weld stainless, and steels, and some other metals with DC TIG. For aluminum, and some of the other metals, it requires the high frequency starting unit, and variations in the AC side that your current machine may not have. On the DC side, you will not have "soft start", but will have to scratch start. A "soft start" is when you put the electrode close to the metal where you want to start, push the button, and it makes a high frequency start to begin the weld. It also turns on the gas. When you let off the trigger, the electricity and gas stop.

With your rig, rigged up with a straight torch, you would have to buy a torch with a starter trigger in it, and convert the gas with a solenoid. Otherwise, the gas would run all the time, and you would use a lot of gas.

What you are asking to do is possible, and it's possible for a low price. When I was starting out, an ice cream factory called me, and I got tons of work from them doing SS parts that were just braces and brackets and an extra thingamabob finishing things here and there that the original contractor didn't want to mess with.. I used a Miller Thunderbolt, non-cooled torch, scratch start, and a 90 Whitey valve to turn the gas off and on.

I did a lot of work with that machine. I did so much that I could have easily bought a good machine with all the bells and whistles. But for what I was using it for, it was adequate. The welder was $275 new, torch $135, flowmeter about $80, and electrodes and collets and cups were around $100.

I'd say with your machine, you could get it going for $300 air cooled, less for used gear, and you might find a used cooling unit here or where you live for cheap. They're just a recirculating pump with a small radiator on it. If you really scrounged, came up with some deals, and had the God of Welders on your side, you could build a decent setup for $500 or less.

THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE BOTTLE, which can run from here to yonder in price, and the circumstances on getting bottles into your name, custody and ownership has its own set of nightmares. Do you already own a bottle or lease one that you could swap for gas you need? If yes, the process can be very simple.

Remember though, you might not be able to do all metals, but just take $20 from each job and keep it stashed and research a good one, then watch for a deal or a sale.

HTH. Read up and study up. Do you want a square wave? Do you want high frequency starting? Do you want liquid cooled? Use Wanted ads in your local cheap Nifty Nickel. Just pick it up a piece at a time. You might find someone who has the whole shebang and will give you a good deal.

It's a buyers market. Lastly research brand names and don't buy cheap Chinese junk,

Good luck.

Keep us posted.

Steve

Yeah, what he said, and... I started with an Econotig. A very limited machine by my current standards, but I did a hell of a lot with it. Used they can go for as little as $600.

Steve & Ernie Thank you both for your responses, I will now begin bottle and torch shopping.

Be careful in this area. There are a lot of pitfalls here. You can buy them from suppliers, lease them, or buy them on the street.

Cylinders that have a name cast into the collars are usually owned by that company, and if they get away from them, suppliers are obligated to confiscate them. So some guy can sell you a yard sale bottle with an oh it's good promise, and you go to fill it and they confiscate it. Suppliers are "an agent or assign" (legal term) of the legal owner of the bottle, and are within the law to take it from you since they own it. You can cause a fuss, but the responding officer will probably tell you the same thing, and detain you until you tell him where you got it. If you refuse to do so, he can just jail you for possession of stolen property if the bottle is indeed stolen. If it is just an owner cylinder with a hazy paper trail, you just have to find a supplier who will take if from you and give you a full one, charging for the gas, and maybe a hydro if it needs one.

Leasing and buying cylinders are the other ways to go. It's all a numbers game. Where I live, the place that leases has refill charges of 40-60% of the other place that fills owner bottles. If you have an account, sometimes the owner fill places will be lax on the rules provided you have a purchase and payment record on which they can make a call. BUT, the refill charges may be higher. Some lease places will not take any owner container into their custody. Translates, they won't touch them.

Answer, you will have to Sherlock Holmes this in your area and see what you can come up with. You're talking about spending some money on lots of things. If you tell the counter guy this, he may give you a break.

The last scenario is you buy a bottle from a yard sale, or even from some nice guy in a nice neighborhood. Or you get one in a storage locker you bought, or a neighbor gives you one. You take it to the bottle place, and they either won't fill it, or want to confiscate it. You may avoid hassle by calling ahead and stating you bought a bottle, and it says Milton Metal Works on the collar, and you have a bill of sale, and ask what they can do. Check around until you find someone who'll be reasonable. Again, tell them you'll be spending about $500 on other things. This can cause them to bend the rules a little.

If you do find a supplier who does help you out with a questionable bottle, remember that, and buy your stuff from them, even if it is a few bucks more. If you ever get in a spot with another bottle, you'll have a friend in the business.

Conflict situations of owner bottles happen a lot. But once you're past that first time, and they see they may have you as a potential long term customer, the next exchanges are much easier.

I'm an owner type. I have one lease now, and as soon as it's up, the bottle goes back. I own five others. I have since gotten two bottles that another supplier took in for me, gave me back in-hydro bottles, and didn't charge me for the hydros, just the fill. Because I buy my rods and stuff there.

Lastly, leave that bottle on the truck until negotiations are over. They can come look at it in your truck. YOU have to remove it from your truck. Once you wheel it in, THEY have custody of it, and things can get sticky from there. Hopefully you live in an area where there are enough suppliers to find one who will work with you.

I know it's a lot of information, but you seem to be a newcomer, and it is very easy to get tangled in the net, little fishy unless you know where the holes are..

Steve

When I was learning I couldn't distinguish problems with my technique from those caused by broken or incorrectly set voc-tech equipment. I'd fuss around for an hour until the instructor came by and set me straight. Do you have help available to check out and correct a homebrew setup?

You might consider trading the Hobart for a used entry-level AC/DC/TIG machine. I'm still happy with the Lincoln Square Wave 175 after using bigger stuff.

The 30A minimum on the Hobart seems too high to me. The original SW175 goes down to 12ADC, and was soon replaced with a 5A model.

jsw

What a generous amount of information this group has given me. My sincere thanks to everyone who has taken the time and made the effort to respond to my request.

With all that you have shared, I can realisticaly consider just how interested I am in starting TIG welding in my garage hobby workshop.

I will look locally and see if there are courses of instruction for "wanna be" TIG welders. At 72, I will certainly be conspicuous in a classroom.

Or you might blend right in. See if the welding shop will give you both student and senior discounts. They let me have only one.

jsw

If you are a McGyver type, you will have a lot of fun making your own "stuff." If you just want to go out and buy it and plug it in and use it, there's that, too. I think one learns a LOT more by building a car than buying one.

Have fun. TIG is so cool, and you can weld small stuff, too. Lots of crafts and repairs.

Get a good hood. I suggest an autodark, and a good one of those starts out at $250. You can skimp on everything else, but you only get one pair of eyeballs. If you screw those up, there's no eyeball stores.

Learn the safety part and be safe.

Steve

My policy has always been to buy long term. I dislike buying something, then finding out that I should have bought a better one. Then you can't get anything for the used item. That is not true for all things. I still have and use and like my HF band saw. Some people swear at them. I knew I would be welding a lot, so just got the NexGen when it was on sale at a local dealer for $200. Got the Huntsman hood, and never used the Jackson that came on it, but sold that at a yard sale for $20, mint condition. I research an item, and if it is high dollar stuff, I will wait until I can afford what I want. Currently, it's a $1600 plasma cutter, and a $3000 Nikon. But then, I have the HF $11 165' fiberglass tape measure, countless

I guess I have to try one of those HF hoods one day. My helper has a Miller small window autodark with all the flames and such, but loves mine because of the increased visibility of the bigger window. He even commented that if he had tried the big window first, he would have bought the NexGen.

Steve

I and a pal of mine attended a machining and metalworking course at a local junior college, years ago. We were the only students in the class sporting white hair. We learned some very valuable stuff, enjoyed the heck out of the course and both passed with 'A' grades.

I highly recommend the experience.

--Winston

I loved my welding classes.

In a lot of states taking courses at junior colleges is very inexpensive if you are over 60.

You may not be all that conspicuous. I took a welding course when I was 64 or 65.

Dan

Thanks to Winston and Dan for the responses

Iggy, Dan and I suggest "Go for it!"

:)

--Winston