Tig set up questions?

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Hey guys,I am new to a newcomer to the tig world so bare with me. I have been building exterior handrail for my house with my mig but am ready to move inside. I have a fair amount of handrail inside down two flights of stairs so I think it's time to get a tig machine. I have never used any of the small portable inverter rigs but seems like they are the way to go. So I am thinking about either the Lincoln invertec 205AC/DC or the Dynasty 200Dx, from what I have read on other threads these two are very similar. Am I correct? Should I be considering other machines? I want to get a machine that won't be limited but that is portable. Other applications will probably be on my FJ40rock crawler, possibly some aluminum river raft gear.Ok, now what else is involved with portability. When you guys are going indoors to tig a handrail in someones house what do you need? What size tank do you use for this application? etc. etc.Thanks for your time.Last edited by FJ40; 12-28-2007 at 11:34 AM.Reason: spelling
Reply:Ok, now I know someone can help me here, you guys always have the answers. Cheers
Reply:Originally Posted by FJ40Hey guys,I am new to a newcomer to the tig world so bare with me. I have been building exterior handrail for my house with my mig but am ready to move inside. I have a fair amount of handrail inside down two flights of stairs so I think it's time to get a tig machine. I have never used any of the small portable inverter rigs but seems like they are the way to go. So I am thinking about either the Lincoln invertec 205AC/DC or the Dynasty 200Dx, from what I have read on other threads these two are very similar. Am I correct? Should I be considering other machines? I want to get a machine that won't be limited but that is portable. Other applications will probably be on my FJ40rock crawler, possibly some aluminum river raft gear.Ok, now what else is involved with portability. When you guys are going indoors to tig a handrail in someones house what do you need? What size tank do you use for this application? etc. etc.Thanks for your time.
Reply:Another machine you may want to consider is the Thermal Arc ArcMaster 185 ACDC, or, for a little more money, the 200 ACDC.   See www.thermalarc.com for more info.I considered the Miller Dynasty 200DX, Lincoln Invertec V205T and HTP InverTIG 201 when I was deciding on an inverter ac/dc tig welder and found that the Thermal Arc 185 machine was the best value for the money, for me.   I would love to have bought the Dynasty, but it was about $1000 more for basicly the same machine from Thermal Arc and I just couldn't afford the extra money.  I have been very happy with my choice and have no regrets about not choosing the others.   By the same token, I would likely have been just as happy with any of the other 3 machines I was considering, as they are all good machines.  With competing machines being all good choices with basicly the same capabilities, sometimes it just boils down to which one you can get the best deal on, or who you can buy it from locally, if money and/or convenience is a big consideration in the purchase.   I bought mine from my local welding supplier, as I prefer to support the local guy, as my supplier has always been good to me and they were able to offer a better deal on this machine than on the others.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:.030 fluxcore is what you could use. The wire is not the cheapest, but its not bad and a 10 pound spool lasts for weeks with regular use. 211 mp   or innersheild . Plus this stuff burns like no other on 110 machines.works fabulous for installation. no more lugging around a bottle.  I work at a steel/handrail fab and install company and this fluxcore wire is what we always use for installing handrail. Of course in the shop they use alot of MIG.
Reply:Hey FJ.I totally agree with William there,you don't want to be welding insitu .With proper measuring and planning you shouldn't have to excluding the odd top rail joint on a particularly gnarly staircase.One thing though, we do balustrading and only balustrading (*with a few glass roofs and glass floors) and we do NOT screw anything down all legs are bolted or chemically anchored. And yes you can do that into timber. (as with everything in building there is the odd exception , but that is rare in the extreme)BrettA good guess is better than a bad measurement