my current mig welder and plasma cutter

[KyHotRodder]

Hi,

I'm new so I'll kinda give you a rundown on myself.. I'm a tool&die maker by trade, and a streethodder at heart.. I work on cars and trucks on the side tubbing them out and putting rollcages in and tube chassis's and such..

i currently have a millermatic 250 w/alum. spool gun..I traded a 87 250r quadracer 4wheelerthat was worth around $2000, the welder come with Co2 and Argon bottles and everything just plug it in and hit the trigger.

http://www.di-squad.org/US/modules.p...yimage&pos=-67

i also just bought a bluepoint plasma cutter for $300. just brought it home. it needs a tip and a seal in the torch. pretty cheap parts, it will cut, but not to good right now, ive seen the same machine work and ive used it in the past and it worked good.. a friend was hurting for money so i took it off his hands...

http://www.di-squad.org/US/modules.p...at=10041&pos=1

and now for my question....

I'm in the market for a tig welder, looking at the miller econo tig to match my millermatic 250 as this might also be my best choice for the money----or miller syncrowave 180sd-- Hobart tig mate, nice looking machine for the money---lincoln precision 185----or possibly the HTP 201 (which i just read up on on this site, actually very interested in the HTP).. my majority of tig welding will be on 1/8" wall mild steel/.120 and
.134 wall dom tubing/ and .083 wall chromoly tubing and 1/8" and 3/16" aluminum and possibly some stainless exhaust pipe..

Ive welded with a few different mig welders, actually owned a century 150A that worked real nice/ and hobart handler 175 if i remember correctly maybe it was a 150 it was ok, a snap-on 130A that was junk, and my current millermatic 250 thats a caddilac.. ive used only miller tigs at work and both were nice and easy to use but way outta my price range.

I'm a fairly experienced tig/mig/stick welder but not professionally trained, so i need some help.. price range i'm looking for is $1000-$1800 finger remote is a must have when doing the rollcages and chassis work... and i havent messed around with working on a tig welder, so if i need coolant on these various machines is it easily adaptable to them..

Thanks guys i hope i dont sound to stupid i just need some professional advice..

[chrisr]

I own the same plasma, works good on 3/16 down and severs 1/4 ok. I had a lincoln square wave 175, the older version of the 185. It was a nice running machine but the millers we have at work are a little easier to set up and htp has customer service no one can touch. I would stay away from off brands though as parts are hard to get sometimes.

[hankj]

KyHotRodder,

Welcome aboard. A lot of your neighbor Kentuckians are here, too!

I recently bought a Thermal Arc Pro Wave 185 TSW. $1600 ready to weld. Came with a CK-17 rigid TIG torch, stick stinger, and enough TIG consumables to get started right out of the box.

Real happy so far...

Hank

[KyHotRodder]

where did you purchase the thermal arc tig from? i would like some info on it.. pricing mainly.

htp's website didnt have pricing on it..

[RcRacer]

I bought mine at my local welding supply for $1775. Yeah, I know it's more than the internet price but it's not that much higher. IOC has them for $1677 on the internet with free shipping.
Mine should be in on thursday. I hate the waiting .....

[Bigger Valves]

Search these forums for info on the Thermal Arc machine. It's extremely popular for those looking at machines in this "small" category. It's inverter based and has lots of AC wave shaping capabilities comparted to the other machines you mentioned. It's also a lot of band for your dollar. Don't buy the econotig unless you find one used that's cheap. It's basically a toy machine (I've owned one) and the much nicer syncrowave 180 is only a few more dollars new. The Lincoln precision tigs are great machines in their own right. Go with one of these three big names and you really can't go wrong. Just buy the most machine you can get with your money. You'll be happier in the long run.

[KyHotRodder]

After about a week of debating and which tig i should purchase. i went with the TA185tsw, main reasons are power consumption and portability.. I had it narrowed down to 2 choices between the TA and the HTP unit.. and then price . i didnt really need the invertig201, because i have the miller 251 with the spool gun.. and the $500 dollar difference was a large factor..

I had it shipped ups, so I'll be counting the days..

thanks for the information...

[KyHotRodder]

ordered my TA185tsw late monday afternoon from IOC and recieved it at noon wednsday.. Wasnt actually expecting it until thurday, so now i need a few supplies and i'm good to go..

one thing i did notice, Thermal Arc needs to add a sceath/cover for the gas line/torch lead in the packaging.

I was really impressed when i opened the box, very nice compact and lightweight machine. i hope it holds up, it should be perfect for a hobbyist like myself. might even be more than what i need. but after over 3 years of waiting, i finally have my own tig machine..

I turned it on, and messed with the controls a little, and read up in the owners manual.. Alot of options on this thing, some of which i know nothing of :] but will find out sooner or later..

oh my, i'm gonna have a fun weekend!