n00b wanting advice

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OK, I definitely fit into the hobbyist category and mostly weld automotive stuff.  I want to get into tig welding and making pretty stainless headers for my toys, and maybe even aluminum someday.  My understanding is that TIG is king for that kind of application.  My only concern is if TIG would even work for all the other mild steel welding I do. (exhaust, frame, etc).  Right now I have a stick welder that is pretty much a pita to clean up after, but manages to stick metals together well enough to get the job done.  So would I need to have a MIG and a TIG or could I get away with a MIG/spoolgun combo?  I'd hate to drop 1800 bucks on a welder (and then another 300 on a cheap MIG), but I guess I could make them pay for themselves in the long run.  Also, any advice on those china TIGs? (Riland etc)  I've searched quite a bit, some seem to like them, but have yet to find out whether or not they'll last longer than their warranty.  (Like my gateway laptop that died a week after the warranty was up)  Thanks.
Reply:TIG IS King!!!  The degree of control is unsurpassed! I don't know much about the China stuff, but I know a lot of the guys here like the Thermal Dynamics TIGs. I'm a Miller fan! I like being able to go to the local welding supply and get my stuff. Also, unless you're going to be doing a lot of aluminum, I wouldn't worry about a spool gun. Just my 2 pennies!---john
Reply:Tig is the best way to do the welding jobs you mentioned but a mig will do the job just fine. You will not be able to have show quality pieces that a tig can produce but close enough for a hobby person and with a little extra clean up will come very close. I have a mig welder which I have had for the last 15 years and do all the jobs you want to do without any trouble. I also purchased a HF tig welder last year ( china ) and found it to be OK to play around with. It is very limited as it doesn't have a foot and hand temperature controller, so it takes a little work and practice to get the process down. Tig is very cool and I want to learn its process allot more but in your case a mig welder is what I would get first than maybe a tig later.Miller DVI2Lincoln Precision Tig 225Thermodynamics Cutmaster 38Everything else needed.
Reply:You can tig almost anything.  Any CC DC welder will also tig, but the control is the thing. Almost all the newer DC welders have a plug for a foot pedal or hand contorl.  For many years I used a Lincoln 225 gas powered to tig steel and aluminum with a High Freq box.  Now that I have the real thing, what a blessing.  No doubt my mig welders get the most work and make me the most money.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Something you might think about also is how much time you have to spend on welding something. Tig is a somewhat slower process than Mig is, but both will do the job you want.Bruce
Reply:Hey grumpy2,The replies you've gotten are good suggestions to consider. Your primary thought should be one of your needs to get a piece of equipment that will be used 90% or more most of the time. MIG will be the easiest to learn to be proficient and will produce the most work in any given time with very quality welds. There are many who shun the Chinese welders, but doing some homework and research on the brands that are reliable will help narrow your choices. Riland is a very reputable company and is being recognized as manufacturing quality products and are very reasonable in price if you shop around. Also, Chicago Electric welders sold by Harbor Freight work quite well and are reliable if you follow the duty cycles of the equipment. The HF Mod 151 MIG is a well made reliable 120A unit that will weld up to 1/4" nicely. A buddy of mine just got a HF 170A MIG and he likes it and said it welds beautifully up thru 1/2" without a problem.I recently got a Riland M250L MIG spoolgun unit that is superb and all the spoolgun parts are interchangeable with the Miller spoolgun. I needed to be able to change filler wire diameters quickly when welding on the classic car restorations and with 250A, it will handle all the thicknesses of metal on a car. As others will say, TIG is the premier welding process and the best looking, but a much slower process. Anyway, you can use these opinions and suggestions by all to help you decide your best route to take. Good Luck...DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Thanks for the advice.  I should probably get the MIG.  Is it true that stainless pipe is more prone to cracking after mig welding?  Anyway, I'm looking at either a millermatic or lincoln mig that runs off household voltage now.  (Unless I can figure out how to get 230 in the garage)
Reply:Hey grumpy2,Welding SS is no different than carbon steel if you use the correct filler metal for each. Generally, if you want to weld SS and do not know the grade, 308 or 308L will do a good job without cracks in the welds and is kinda the "general use" wire. It is best to try to get the grade prior to welding. In addition, you must use at least 80/20 AR/CO2 or higher, and best results will be 90/10 or 95/5 in gas ratio.....DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."