wire feed for tig

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Anyone ever use a tig with automatic wire feed?
Reply:Alan, ......... I used a wire feed, for a tig setup, for about 6 months, when doing a job for Los Angeles Water & Power. Once I got used to it, it worked quite well. the trick was to get the wire feeding at the right rate and angle to the tungsten. After that, it was a breeze. Oh yea, you also better have a real steady hand.
Reply:Ive heard of them.  Differnt types.  Some are real simple, some very complex.  Very nifty if you ask me.   But Im fine with doing it the old fashioned wayIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:^^^ im a purist in that sence too and find that the "old fashioned way' works best
Reply:Originally Posted by Rockski^^^ im a purist in that sence too and find that the "old fashioned way' works best
Reply:I don't know...I have seen some of the results from the wire fed tig units.  It looks pretty dern good to me.  Some use a separate feeder (torch in one hand, feeder conduit in the other, foot on the accelerator....they are pretty good, but there are also ones that have the torch and feeder in the same unit, like a spool gun or push-pull unit with the tungsten at the end.  They are pretty cool and make some fine welds.  I think there are some issues with keeping those running right, though.  I talked with a guy that uses one and he kept saying that those units are not as "robust" as other fully automated tig processes.  I asked what he meant by "robust" and never really got a clear picture of what he meant...maybe they aren't as mechanically reliable, require too much human intervention to be economical, or maybe they still require a lot of skill to make good welds, I don't really know.  But, usually when you add automation to a process, you also add more points of potential problems.  I personally hope they work the kinks out.  Tig-quality welds from a wire feeder...nothing wrong with that.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.