Is the old TIG adage

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outdated the says you should learn to O/A weld first?Seems like a waste to buy an O/A setup if I really want to TIG SS and Aluminum.  Especially with all the new features on the TIGs like pulsers that would help a newbie.
Reply:i think you have to learn to walk before you run...getting a o/a set-up is a little overkill as far as backwards goes..get yourself a cheapo stick welder and learn to master that (as best you can)before going on to bigger and better things... tigging requires hours and hours of patience and to get started in tig work requires big $$$ for the machine and everything else you need to start out properly...go slow and get the basics down first... ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:zap s right  walk b4 ya run .. learning to O/A weld will help in the cordination of using both hands but you CAN T cut alum or SS with  O/A but it does help with  the technics
Reply:As an old shooting buddy of mine used to say, "it ain't the gun, it's the Indian."  Tiger woods could take a set of K-Mart Specials and beat the socks off a duffer equipped with the finest clubs made.  A skilled craftsman can take an O/A rig and weld rings around an amateur with the latest electronic doo-dads. To me, the advantage of learning O/A is that it seems to happen a lot slower than SMAW or MIG so you can learn more about controling the weld puddle,  heat in the filler rod, hand eye coordination, etc.
Reply:First process I ever tried was TIG.  I did it because I thought it would be a challenge.  I found there was no benefit to starting one first than the other, oxy and tig.   One will help with the other, but I dont think you could say it only works one direction, or its better in one direction.  I found tig to be easy to start, difficult to master.  Running the oxy fuel first I dont think would fix that.  Just practiceIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Hi Etonline!It's been my experience that "SS & Aluminum TIG welders" with prior experience of "OA" welding have an advantage in the quality and consistency of their TIG welds for the most part, (There have been a very few "naturals" exceptions) over welders without any prior exposure for any prolonged period of time or any "successful" amount of practice time with "OA" (Oxy-Acetylene) welding. I personally TIG weld on SS, Aluminum and Titanium just about everyday of the week and I can tell you that the exposure I had to "OA' welding many, many "moons" ago has helped me tremendously over the 30+ years that I've been TIG welding but then again, that's just me. Sadly though, there are less and less "OA" welding courses out there being offered by the many schools and community colleges around my neck of the woods... If there is one community college (usually inexpensive) by your neck of the woods offering an "OA" welding fundamentals course, I would strongly suggest for you to take the course and then practice TIG welding afterwards!!! The learning experience will be like someone shining the light on you from above after being blind for so long when it comes to TIG welding  Respectfully,SSBN727"Run Silent...  Run Deep!!!
Reply:Interesting input.  I did fail to say have been MIG welding for a while and getting better.Guess you guys didn't tell me what I wanted to hear so I think I'll be looking for an O/A setup.ThanksEd
Reply:For those on a budget, which is pretty much all of us, there is no reason to buy equipment that is solely to help learn what you really want to do.  Sure, it's the traditional way to learn, and it IS helpful.But if you want to TIG, and you're on a budget, buy the TIG you need and practice until you get it.  It'll stick weld as is anyway, and with the right help, you can TIG just fine as a first-time welder.Practice pushing a washer around a piece of paper using a sharpened pencil.  The trick is that you can't make a mark on the paper.  Each of those is a weld that needs to have the tungsten ground out of it.