Is it worth buying an AC/DC TIG for Ali car body work

[Steve Lovelock]

Hello,

I have a gas welding and a MIG setup which I use for work on an old car that I am restoring. The car has aluminium shrouds and doors which need some welding work. I have been thinking that I will take these body panels to a classic car restorer for the welding up until now. They will charge £35+ VAT an hour and I suspect that it will take a few.

My question is this: should I buy an AC/DC TIG and learn how to use it and do the work myself? How realistic is it to buy such a welder and self teach myself to the standard required to work on 1954 ali? Should I just get over it and pay somebody or should I stump up the cash and buy a TIG welder and learn ho to do it myself?

Cheers
Steve

 

[HughF]

What's your o/a welding like? You could get some flux and gas weld it, probably be more forgiving on the Old aluminium panels. I assume you are familiar with the stuff from Kent white? (Tinmantech)

 

[zzr1200]

If you can gas weld thin steel sheet it shouldn't be that bigger step to tig welding, allow plenty of time to practice on Ali, backing strips can be useful for supporting the weld pool and surrounding material, also depends on panel fit up and position.

It really depends on how much Ali welding you need doing and if you can justify the outlay for the AC/DC Tig unit.

 

[piman]

Hello Steve,

from a cost point of view the oxy/acetylene you already have is the way to go. It does take a bit of practice to gas weld aluminium, but then so will learning a new process if you buy a TIG. I have gas welded for years but bought a TIG to do Stainless steel welding and expected it to be easy given my gas welding experience. I found it a lot harder than anticipated.

Alec

 

[Richard.]

Is it purely for this one project then finished with? If so then no it's not worth buying unless you buy a used machine that you can move on for the same money. However if you can see yourself using it on other projects and keeping it, learning the skill etc then it's a very worth while investment. An acdc tig offers more flexibility on what you can weld than any other type of machine.