I want to learn how to do a bit of TIG and have been looking around for a while now to see what machines are available at a sensible price for someone who is never going to do it every day. Most of my welding is always going to be stick as it's making and repairing farm stuff, so I thought I would sell my existing MMA inverter and then buy something compact that will still happily run 3.2mm rods as well as being able to indulge my curiosity in TIG. The only question being which one as there are so many to choose from.
Price certainly helps to narrow down the choice, then I started to look at past comments on this forum and at online manuals and YouTube to see how easy/intuitive they were to set up and use. After a while I found what I thought would be the ideal machine for me - only thing was, the one that appealed to me the most looked the wrong colour !
Miller Blue, Kempi Orange, Lincoln Red, simple black etc. Any of those color schemes would have been fine, alas the one I wanted was nothing like that. What I fancied was bright yellow, although not like ESAB, which to me have quite pleasant contrasting black panels. No, my ideal machine had both yellow sides and top, plus a yellow and blue front, together with yellow control knobs. For some irrational reason I must be allergic to an abundance of yellow paint and I was unsure if I would grow to love it and then forever wiping off my dirty finger prints, or would I be giving it a respray before too long ? Maybe I should keep looking at other machines for a while longer...
By this point Google was bombarding my web browser with adverts for TIG equipment and I must have wasted hours drooling over fancy machines that were way over the top for my modest needs, then suddenly the original machine of my dreams popped up in a different format. The manufacturer (GYS, if you hadn't guessed already) have either run out of paint, or their marketing decided to give it a makeover and it now comes in shades of grey.
http://www.gys-welding.com/prod-011410-738/TIG_Welding/TIG_168_HF_DC_with_accessories_SR17DB/en
That will do me nicely !
Wonder if anyone else thinks they were swayed by looks as well as functionality when choosing a welding machine ?
Price certainly helps to narrow down the choice, then I started to look at past comments on this forum and at online manuals and YouTube to see how easy/intuitive they were to set up and use. After a while I found what I thought would be the ideal machine for me - only thing was, the one that appealed to me the most looked the wrong colour !
Miller Blue, Kempi Orange, Lincoln Red, simple black etc. Any of those color schemes would have been fine, alas the one I wanted was nothing like that. What I fancied was bright yellow, although not like ESAB, which to me have quite pleasant contrasting black panels. No, my ideal machine had both yellow sides and top, plus a yellow and blue front, together with yellow control knobs. For some irrational reason I must be allergic to an abundance of yellow paint and I was unsure if I would grow to love it and then forever wiping off my dirty finger prints, or would I be giving it a respray before too long ? Maybe I should keep looking at other machines for a while longer...
By this point Google was bombarding my web browser with adverts for TIG equipment and I must have wasted hours drooling over fancy machines that were way over the top for my modest needs, then suddenly the original machine of my dreams popped up in a different format. The manufacturer (GYS, if you hadn't guessed already) have either run out of paint, or their marketing decided to give it a makeover and it now comes in shades of grey.
http://www.gys-welding.com/prod-011410-738/TIG_Welding/TIG_168_HF_DC_with_accessories_SR17DB/en
That will do me nicely !
Wonder if anyone else thinks they were swayed by looks as well as functionality when choosing a welding machine ?