Welder Buyer's Guide - Welder Knowledge

TIG welding is a labor-intensive process. The fitment of the pieces to be joined needs to be held to a tighter tolerance. As stated earlier, the power levels are controlled by a foot-operated rheostat or pedal used by the operator. This extra control makes it possible to vary the amount of heat applied to the weld. This means that the total heat input to the part can be less. This is important if you are welding parts that are thin, as any excess heat may cause the work to become warped. TIG welding is all about control. The gas shield in TIG welding is usually argon. When TIG welding was invented, the shield gas was helium. That is why it was called Heli-Arc welding when the process was initially patented, as Heli-Arc was a brand name.

Weld strength is often a concern when discussing TIG versus MIG welding. There is almost no difference. The issue is preparation and the skill of the operator. If the welding is done properly, there is virtually no difference in strength. However, both types of welding can fail if done poorly.

What kind of material are you welding? Are you just welding steel, or do you also need to weld aluminum? If you don't know the answers to these questions, just review the past several months. What have you needed or wanted to weld? Was it all steel, or was there some aluminum in the mix? This makes a difference. How heavy or thick is the material that you are welding? Does the welder need to be portable? Do you need to run power to your shop to run the welder? This is an additional cost that can be quite expensive.

Do you have a place to weld safely in your shop? This is an issue that needs to be rectified prior to even going to the welding store to look at welders. You need to have some room around the welder, and it needs to be located in a well-ventilated area due to the fumes generated from the welding process. You need at least one fire extinguisher located near where you are welding. Actually, several located around your shop would be an even better idea.

Safety should be a primary concern when welding, and getting burned is a real issue. I have seen the results from some very bad burns-believe me, it is not an experience anyone would want to go through, especially if it is preventable. Make sure you exercise every caution to avoid placing yourself in a position that could get you or someone else burned. You also need to purchase a good set of welding gloves. I suggest getting several pairs, as they are just like socks in that they tend to disappear.

You may want to invest in a leather welding jacket; short-sleeved shirts are not the way to go! Many professional welders who make small parts with TIG welders often don't wear a full leather top suit, but wear long gloves. TIG welding is much cleaner than MIG welding. There is very little spatter or sparks, so many welders don't wear all of the protective gear that they should. I suggest wearing a leather top smock and gloves at the very least. MIG welding has a much greater amount of spatter and sparks. You need to wear leather top smock gloves; otherwise, you will have hot sparks dancing down your shirt-not a pleasant experience.

You need a good welding helmet. I suggest wearing safety glasses as well. There are selections to make with helmets. You can choose between the helmet with auto-darkening lenses or the old standard-the flip-down helmet. Having used both types, I would favor the auto-darkening lenses in a quality helmet. You should not skimp in this area. Over the past several years, many guys have taken to putting some pretty trick paint jobs on their welding helmets. I think this is great. In fact, some of the welding companies are selling helmets with some pretty fancy graphics. Hey, the drivers can't have all of the fancy stuff!

You'll also need a strong table. The table should be made of steel, and a tabletop that is at least 1/4-inch thick is preferable. This provides enough strength to support some heavier projects. You need a good bench grinder and possibly several handheld grinders. A cutoff saw is a good investment if you plan on doing any fabrication that is more than just repair. A good bandsaw is also a good tool to have. Welding is only one part of the fabrication process. You need to cut and shape the metal prior to welding. As you get better, you can make many of the tools and fixtures required to do the repair work. It is really surprising just how much you can do when you have the right tools.

You should develop a list of questions to assist you in the buying process. Talk to some of your buddies who own welders. Ask them what they suggest and what they would do differently if they were buying a new welder today. When you get to the welding store, explain what you are going to do with the welder and what your expectations are for capabilities. It has been my experience that these guys want you to be happy with your purchase and will make sure that you get what you need. But they are not mind readers. You have to help them know what you want.

I also suggest going to several stores and looking at various brands. Spend your money carefully. You should stay with major brands because you want to be able to get support for the equipment. Beware-welders are not cheap. This could be a significant expense. The money you save when buying an off-brand will be forgotten as soon as you can't get replacement parts should the welder break. I've had my MIG welder for over 20 years, and only recently did I have to buy any repair parts.

When you start looking, you'll find that there are some really neat welders on the market. They have come a long way in the past 10 years with the implementation of inverter technology and the increased use of solid state circuitry. This has reduced the miles of wire the welder once had when it was based on transformer technology. The elimination of the miles of wire has made the welders a bit lighter as well.

The inverter technology has also reduced the need to have special power requirements to run the welder. I have seen some completely portable TIG units that are smaller than the suitcase my mother-in-law brought with her the last time she visited. These units weigh about 50 pounds when ready to weld, and the power cord can plug into 115-volt or 230-volt power supplies with just a simple adapter at the plug end.

The real message here is that welders are more user friendly than they have ever been. This gives the individual racer more selections than ever. Ask the right questions and use the information to make good decisions. The accessibility to recent technologies gives the racer the ability to make repairs and do fabrication in a much less structured environment than ever before. Maybe your next trophy shelf will be made out of steel, and you can make it in your shop.