Please help a lady with an Xmas present Q?!!

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I want to buy my boyfriend a welder for Xmas. He will primarily be using it to contruct a tower for our boat. He is going to be building it out of aluminum. After that he will just be using it for stuff around the house or maybe even on the car.Can you PLEASE help me out with where to start? I have tried but I am completely out of my comfort zone here!! I have a limit of $700 or so.I really appreciate and words of wisdom you have for this complete newbie!!
Reply:Realistically, you are under budget, or you are going overbudget rather!  It would take a high quality tig machine in my humble opinion. They can be pricey for quality aluminum work, like a boat tower.  A Miller Synchrowave or Dynasty would do in at least the 200 amp range minimum.http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/syncrowave_200/http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...ty_200_series/You could swing a nice auto-darkening welder's hood well within your budget. City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:I agree I'm afraid you are under budgeted for this. Tig or possibly mig with a spool gun will require a bigger budget. Both also require a bit of training or previous experience with welding alum.You might consider getting him a class to learn if he doesn't know already. My instructor was real keen on people in the class having projects in mind while learning. If the project was a bit beyond the skill set of the student, he'd help do the welds if the student showed a real interest in learning. Your boy friend could then use the school equipment to do the project.We've got several guys here who weld boat towers. Hopefully they'll chime in..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I agree with Danny.   There are couple small affordable mig machines out there in your budget that can weld aluminum, but the results of using that process on small diameter thin wall tube won't be very pleasing to the eye unless the operator is exceptionally skilled and even then, the results won't be as good as even a so-so tig weld in that application.Does he need a new saw, or air compressor?   Those are well within your budget.   I think most guys here would love to have a new Milwaukee or Makita 14" dry-cut chop saw ($400 range) under the Christmas tree this year!  MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33I agree with Danny.   There are couple small affordable mig machines out there in your budget that can weld aluminum, but the results of using that process on small diameter thin wall tube won't be very pleasing to the eye unless the operator is exceptionally skilled and even then, the results won't be as good as even a so-so tig weld in that application.Does he need a new saw, or air compressor?   Those are well within your budget.   I think most guys here would love to have a new Milwaukee or Makita 14" dry-cut chop saw ($400 range) under the Christmas tree this year!
Reply:I like Yaks!  Attached ImagesCity of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by meaganHe is all set on those! (thanks to me )I was thinking he needed a tig and when I saw the price tag I went I was hoping there was another way....otherwise he is getting a kayak!!
Reply:How about a tubing bender?  He'll have to bend the tower tube before he can weld it...JD2 Model 3 bender with a couple sizes of tube dies is in your price range, or maybe a notcher, if he already has a bender.www.jdsquared.comMM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Last lady that spent money on me was when she chipped in her half of the cost of the divorceHold onto your money.Take him shopping the day after Christmas, and tell him to blow 700 bucks on whatever he wants.Do it sneaky like................like it's your shopping trip.  Then spring it on him.I would have loved something like that back then"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:maybe he already has one hidden in the garage so that you dont see it.It will come out of the covers a few months after Christmas when its old.Thats how i brought almost all my expensive equipment!Last edited by LarryO; 12-07-2009 at 10:56 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by LarryOmaybe he already has one hidden in the garage so that you dont see it.It will come out of the covers a few months after Christmas when its old.That how i brought almost all my expensive equipment!
Reply:Originally Posted by meaganI want to buy my boyfriend a welder for Xmas. He will primarily be using it to contruct a tower for our boat. He is going to be building it out of aluminum. After that he will just be using it for stuff around the house or maybe even on the car.Can you PLEASE help me out with where to start? I have tried but I am completely out of my comfort zone here!! I have a limit of $700 or so.I really appreciate and words of wisdom you have for this complete newbie!!
Reply:Originally Posted by JohnnyWelderThe Miller Dynasty 700 is a good welder. That would make a really nice present.
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33That's about 20 times more than her $700 budget...http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/dynasty_700/  Note msrp of $14,206 for the machine/cooler/cart package.  The power supply alone is $12,382 msrp.
Reply:meagan,As said, an aluminum boat tower is usually going to mean either an AC-capable TIG machine or maybe a spoolgun+MIG machine.Either of those is typically going to be waaaay more than your listed budget of $700.  Again, barring the poor shlub who has to sell a $2000+ welder for $700 just to make a mortgage payment type of deal.So it sounds like there will be a kayak under the tree and not a TIG machine.Or, as already mentioned, take the $700 and start a "TIG welder fund".  Take taht, add in maybe a birthday and he kicks in some bucks into the fund and an AC-capable TIG might happen in 2010.    The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:maybe he already has one hidden in the garage so that you dont see it.It will come out of the covers a few months after Christmas when its old.Thats how i brought almost all my expensive equipment!
Reply:Good on you Meagan for having a go at this for your bloke.And well done seeking advice before blowing $700.You reckon after the tower, he might use the welder for stuff around the house?Seems to me that a machine good enough to weld that aluminium tower might be wasted if it's then just used for stuff around the house.I imagine that lots of places who sell welding stuff would do a gift voucher for $700, but getting a gift voucher isn't always all that exciting.Maybe you could get $700 worth of welding gear i.e. everything except the machine? The guys on here will advise what sort of stuff would be handy (assuming he doesn't have a bunch of it already).Yeah, I carry.House keys, wallet, some change, usually a newspaper, maybe a pen.
Reply:Hi! If you do get him a Tig welding machine? Make sure it is ACDC with high frequency.I purchased my Thermal Arc TA185 off Ebay for $1600.00 (Floor model with a 3 year warranty.)They sale for about $2600.00 or so.It has plenty of features and power to spare.If you buy him a tig machine he will really appreciate that immensely.Happy Holidays and good luck Meagan!THE OLDER I GET! THE  SMARTER MY DAD WAS!Thermal Arc 185 inverter Tig welderABITIG 26  tig torchLotus foot pedalLincoln 225 stick welderClark 185SG Mig spoolgunwelderVictor torch/regulatorsHF36" shear,bender,roller.
Reply:I really appreciate all of your input everyone!! We set our limit at $700, so it sounds like i would definitely be going over it!!
Reply:Is your boy friend a welder? Does he know how to tig weld?THE OLDER I GET! THE  SMARTER MY DAD WAS!Thermal Arc 185 inverter Tig welderABITIG 26  tig torchLotus foot pedalLincoln 225 stick welderClark 185SG Mig spoolgunwelderVictor torch/regulatorsHF36" shear,bender,roller.
Reply:Originally Posted by 6010That is how I got all my guns. I kept telling my wife they were all old until one day she said " when we first got married you only had one gun, now you have at least 10. How could they all be that old".  Give him the money and let him get what he wants. The only present my wife has ever gotten me that I would have gotten myself was a horse, and I was already negotiating with the guy on the price and she surprised me with it.
Reply:Why don't you check a local welding supply store, they may rent a machine. See what it cost for a week, you may be able to kill two birds with one stone. (kyack for Christmas and rental fee for welder) Next year a ac-dc mach.  revpol
Reply:Hey I was at a local General Air store shopping for my fiance for Xmas and I saw they offered a financing plan with welders they do it through Wells Fargo or G.A. they run your credit and see what they can offer you. You could put it in your name and pay 700 down and have him pay the payments on the rest. They offer 3, 6, 9. 12 month payment plans. http://www.generalair.com/ See if there is a store near you.