need help selecting a welder type/model

[MikeWatkins]

Hi, I'm new here and am looking into purchasing a MIG or TIG welder. I'm leaning more towards the TIG, though. I have some welding expierence, I started with oxy-acetylene and then did some MIG and stick welding. I am only looking to spend about $1600 on a welder. A likely candidate is the Miller Econotig. I want to be able to weld bike frames and furniture possibly, thought probably nothing aluminum. any comments or suggestions would be a lot of help. -Mike

 

[Capntom]

As a good rule of thumb for GTAW you will need approximately 1 Amp of current for each .001 thickness of material. Example: .060 thick SS tubing will need app. 60 Amps of DCEN current. This is just to help you decide how "Big" a machine you need.

 

[weldtek]

If you have no experience on GTAW there's probably a slightly larger learning curve, but, it may be worth it to you if you're looking for greater control over metal deposition. With GMAW (MIG), as I'm sure you know, you have to feed wire to establish an arc, while with TIG you can actually fuse the base metal while adding little or no filler. While MIG will probably enable you to complete more welds in a given time, TIG offers greater finesse. Since these are both great processes each having unique advantages, you may want to consider a machine with dual capability.