(I can't think of a better place to put this )

I currently work at a factory as a welder. At work I have been moved to a different area(and shift) and now I don't even weld.

The new area is mostly robotic with pretty much nobody hand welding for any significant amount of time.

I may not be there long but I kind of have another question anyway.


I genuinely like welding and actually miss it.(only been one week)

I would love to have a small mig around the garage just for some odds and ends.

I also want to learn how to tig weld. I spent about half an hour messing with the one at work and really enjoyed it.


I already know a few things I plan on doing if I owned a welder.

If I actually start welding at work again I still would like to own a tig and get used to that.

Not having much money or a consistent use for my personal own welder I can't justify forking out $2000+ for a nice miller tig welder.

I am not looking to get rich off weekend welding, I just need it to kind of pay for itself if that makes any sense?


???????

Do you guys feel your personal mig welder comes in handy and has earned it's keep?

What kind of things do you do(if any) to make that nice tig machine worth it?

Who has multiple welders and feel they are all necessary?


I know for some of you guys a decent tig welder isn't a big purchase but for me it's a big deal, but I don't want to buy some piece of junk that can't hang just because that's what I can afford.


Sorry for the novel.

 

If you are looking for a decent home welder then it depends on what your garage is wired for. Miller and Lincoln both make nice mig and tig welders that can be had for under 2k so that should not limit you. You should also decide what you are planing on welding (aluminum or steel) That will have the biggest effect on what you wil be wanting. You can check out cyberweld.com if you want to browse a little bit.

 

i have a syncrowave 200 and i can justify its uses in just a few things ive made in the garage. in fact just yesterday my friend brought over his "new aluminum bumper" support for me to weld.
as my home hobbyist welder was 2k with helmet and all that jazz it was a great purchase. i just spent most of my weekend out in the garage welding stuff up for my race car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by -RedneckDave- &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you are looking for a decent home welder then it depends on what your garage is wired for. Miller and Lincoln both make nice mig and tig welders that can be had for under 2k so that should not limit you. You should also decide what you are planing on welding (aluminum or steel) That will have the biggest effect on what you wil be wanting. You can check out cyberweld.com if you want to browse a little bit. </TD></TR></TABLE>


Oh believe me, I check out cyberweld often just for the sake of dreaming.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1 2 NV &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have a syncrowave 200 and i can justify its uses in just a few things ive made in the garage. in fact just yesterday my friend brought over his "new aluminum bumper" support for me to weld.
as my home hobbyist welder was 2k with helmet and all that jazz it was a great purchase. i just spent most of my weekend out in the garage welding stuff up for my race car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's kind of my problem, my friends aren't into cars and I can't justify having a welder just for my own stuff.


Does anybody pick up side work pretty frequently to keep the welder in action?