I've noticed a few of the shitty cheap arc welders are also capable of Tig welding.

So, if i buy a shitty old arc welder off egay, and a cheap flexi head torch. Am i all set for some crazy tig welding action? Or is there more to the choice of arc welder then just any old one working?

 

lol its not exactly that ez. you can do strike arc tig, but u still need tungsten, nozzle, bottle of argon.... even then you wont get good welds, you need the foot pedal to get good precision welds. good luck witn aluminum...

 

I can get an arc welder for about $80 and a torch for about $50 with tungsten and nozzle. A bottle of gas/regulator is more money again, but i'm still saving on the $6-700 a tig welder costs (without gas).

As for the foot pedal, i'll ghetto rig one out of a pot and a cheapo gaming pedal.

And i know i'll only be able to scratch start, which isn't great, but i only really want a welder for doing a few intercooler pipes, some body work and maybe a manifold once i've got to grips with welding.

How many amps would i need to weld pipes for a manifold?

 

By the time you do that ----, you could have easily bought a harbor Freight 220v stick/tig that's new. Not too long ago they were $179 & had a 15% off one item coupon ontop of that. At any rate they sell for $200 all day long...

 

arc/tig welders do work good, just not for aluminum since you need high frequency.