Newbee needing direction on TIG machines

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Hey guys I am as green as it gets so please be gentleI am looking at purchasing my first welder for personal use and for my son to grow with, he is 16 and expressing a interest in learning to weld.My only experience with welding was over 28 years ago in high school metal shop so please excuse my lack of knowledge.I am looking at the Miller Syncrowave 250 or the Lincon precision Tig 275 and only have the salesman's opinions to go with, and I know many members here will have a little more UNBIASED insight so....would you have a preference between the two?The Miller is about $250 less than the Lincon but it is rated at 25 amps less so????? will it make much difference Does one machine have advantages or flaws over the other?Any advice or input would be greatly appreciatedTIA SR
Reply:Hi SrWhat sort of jobs are you looking at doing with your machine?If your both learning to weld maybe a cheaper option would suit?I cant believe for 5k they won't supply the unit with the pulse board but list it as optionalA pulse option helped me to learn to tig just gets you in the groove of feeding the wire in have you looked at a 2o5t or miller dynasty?
Reply:advice:-------you and your son take a night course together at a community college  and learn some basics, if you dont have a knowwledgeable perspon around to show and watch..------get an oxyacetylene setup and learn to cut and gas weld..... first.------by the time you.ve done those you'll know much better what kind of welding you wanna do
Reply:I am with weldbead... there are 28 welding process if I havent lost count... this will be an expensive hobby if ye bought a machine and suddenly found other welding process better suit to yur style and need... but TIG is a clean and fun process... expensive on the shielding gas... and consumable... Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:I'll agree with Weldbead on the class at a CC or local votec school. The money spent will be well worth it especially if you are looking at that class of a machine. Thats a serious piece of hardware for serious welding. Something you will probably not out grow. Only stands to reason you should put some serious effort into learning to use your investment. Since you basically get a free stick welder with the machine it should cover all your needs. Well almost all anyways. Oxy is a good learning tool for tig and a cutting torch is nice, but don't feel you need to learn on oxy to do tig. Personally, I would suggest a good 220v mig as a 1st machine, but I could see good reasons for going with a tig to start also.I've only run the smaller syncro 200's and the 300DX dynasty's myself. Both are very good machines. At the money you are looking to spend I would give a long hard look at the Dynasty's. Again it will depend on what you plan to do. I would think that you could most likely get away with a syncro 200 or dynasty 200, but you haven't listed your requirements for the machine.Good luck.
Reply:I would agree about the suggestion about taking a CC class.  I had been welding for years but never with TIG.  I took a CC class and was really well rewarded.  The instructors were tops.  One instructor is currently a professional welder who has been teaching night and evening classes for many years.  The other ones have had similar backgrounds.  After being in the class I picked up so many tips from instructors and fellow students.  These things are not in the books. To  complete the course the students have welding projects and are expected to do things over and again till they get them right.   They get feedback from qualified instructors and perform destructive tests. Many of the students were getting certified in different processes and I picked up a lot just watching them go through the processes.We had to go through a series of exercises in the four welding positions on projects that varied in metal thickness and configuration and complexity.  At times it was frustrating but the instructors helped out a great deal.  As one instructor stated, "I will guarantee that every one of you will hit a mental brick wall on some type of welding."  He was right, mine was overhead but with his help and lots of practice I worked through it. Another thing was the opportunity to use different welding equipment and get more information from instructors about the equipment that they liked.    There was a combination of Miller, ESAB, and Lincoln welders that I was able to try out.  I also learned more about making an intelligent decision.This was my first exposure to our community college.   Perhaps our CC is exceptional but I was really impressed with the quality of students and instructors.   With steel prices and everything going up and educational budgets  being cut it becomes harder and harder for Community Colleges.  Most equipment comes from grants.   It is important to support your local CC.  I am not a professional welder by trade but the experience was an eye opener.  In what seemed at times like a very long term I learned a great deal about both MIG and TIG.
Reply:Thanks for the replies guys!I will be taking some night school courses with my son as suggested.I have a few projects in mind that will require 1/4" aluminum plate but other than that mostly just smaller SS jobs like railings for the boat. As to where it leads my son ???In school I was fairly capable in the gas welding arena and still have my oxy/acety tanks and torches but rarely pull them out.
Reply:The Miller or Lincoln are both good machines.I like the blue Miller because it makes me cool just looking at it.There is almost nothing you cannot repair or build with the 250 syncrowave.If your son learns to TIG very well he will earn twice as much money. His life will be easier.Resturant equipment and facilities are built using TIG. The nuclear industry uses TIG for its plants to be built. The marine industry used stainless exclusively for railings and other items on a boat.The 250 syncrowave is THE MACHINE!!!
Reply:You came to a welding forum looking for UNBIASED advice between a Miller and a Lincoln????????????Might as well ask for opinions on Chevy vs. FordSeriously, though, both are fine machines, I'm partial to the blue, too.  In my experience, you won't be changing out the spark gaps as frequently in a blue one as you would in a red one.I r 2 a perfessional
Reply:If you are going to spend that kind of money look at both brands inverter machines. They use less juice, and take up a lot less space. Not to mention that 80 lb inverter is a lot easier to move around than that 500 lb synchro 250. I really like my Miller inverter and I was very skeptical when I got it. Though the next one will be red. The synchro 250 blew so it went in the scrap pile.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I agree with what has been said.  I think you could find a good machine to learn on alot cheaper than those two, but if that's what you want then go for it.  I also agree with Jolly that the inverter machines are very nice, and portable which will make a big difference at times.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I saved the tigrunner cooling unit off of the synchro, built a rack to bolt on it (got busy and haven't had time to blast and paint it yet) and will be able to store an inverter, 2 wire feeders (an LN-25 and an XR), tig torches, 6 tubes of rod, a water cooling unit for tig or mig, and all of the cables, leads and guns for them in the same space the synchro occupied, lol. Talk about freeing up some space.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I had not done as the guys here mentioned, but I think they are right on taking a class first.  And they are both great machine.I started with MIG, was going too fast, learned to slow down finally.  But the welds were still sort of ugly to me.  Then I went to Oxy/A and I was a natural with it (probably the 30 years of electronics and soldering).  But the welds are so much nicer (I will say it, pretty) and stronger.  At that point talked to a friend with an Iron Works company, and I am now awaiting a AC/DC TIG welder due here Monday.  I did play with a Lincoln yesterday with AC tig.  It was a blast, first time, and he was right, like Oxy for me.  Good luck in your choice.  But the suggestions above are good and from experts, make me wish I had done it that way.  Oh, the lincoln rep was there and gave me a 15 minute how too, that was worth it all (see what I mean on the class).  Would have took me weeks to figure it out.