aluminium tig

[thetoystore]

ok i'm looking for an affordable tig machine. any recomendations. try to be under a grand

[hotrdblder]

i would buy a used lincoln or miller before buying cheap new machine.
look for lincoln square wave 175's or miller syncrowave 175, they also have 185's which are a few years newer model.
can find them 1,200 or under often

[astroracer]

Just remember if you plan on doing any "heavy" aluminum, 1/4" or thicker, you will need a bigger machine and a water cooled torch. A foot pedal is also mandatory to control heat. A "cheap" welder is not what you need...
Mark

[thetoystore]

1/4 would be the biggers but honestly it would mostly be used for smaller stuff and stainless but want to be able to fab alluminium intakes and the such

[Kamikaze Sy]

Even though this thread has been idle for awhile, I'm posting this for the benefit of others.

I have several welding units and have been doing most of my TIG work with a small Miller Diversion 180.
This is a dual voltage 230 /115 unit that will do most jobs up to 3/16".
I've pushed it to do 1/4" as well and it does the job fine.

I believe the current prices are at $1500 but still a lot cheaper than my Dynasty and it is more compact and portable. Great for Exhaust work and small fabrication jobs. The Hand control makes it nice to do roll cage and interior work instead of having to get someone else to operate the foot pedal controller.