I have a few large projects needing aluminum welding. One is the frame on my road racing motorcycle about 1/8" thick and the other is sheet metal work. I've been researching TIG welders and I'm hoping a 110 unit under $400 will do the trick. Any advise or models to consider?

mikenix,
I do alot of TIG and MIG welding.
Are you sure you are referring to a TIG welder for $400? The cheapest TIG welder I know of is Daytona's or Firepowers and both of those are $800.
Even the TIG welders I carry are not cheap.
I do sell some MIG welders for the $400 range though.

When you look at the units, it doesn't matter whether it is 110V or 220V, but the amps is what you are concerned about.
For example, while alot of manufacturers will state that a 145 Amp MIG welder will weld up to 5/16" mild steel, when in reality, it is more like 1/4" that it will readily weld without making more passes.

Most TIG welders that are 135 amp will do light duty stuff. Anything less than 3/16" should work fine.

If you are going to be doing alot of TIG or MIG welding, I would suggest this welding hood.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91214  and set it to #10 shade to start. If #10 is too dark, then go to #9 shade.

If you can supply me with the brands and model numbers of the units you are looking at, I can take a look and let you know what it will do and might even be able to give you a decent price. Maybe not. LOL!

Email me
tm at troublecodes dot net

I've been looking on auction sites and seems like I can get a name brand used for under $400 and total import crap for $250.

I got real excited about this, but just realized it's some sort of add-on.
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p002033.htm 

Based on everything I'm reading MIG welding sheet aluminum is almost impossible.

I don't mind spending the cash to get up and running even if it is $800. Do you know a way or resource to estimate how much in materials TIG would cost operate? I'm looking for something like it would cost X amount per foot of weld.

A 40 Cubic foot bottle of Argon, CO2, Argon/CO2 75/25 or helium usually lasts me at least a full roll of 10 lb wire on a Mig welder, but I can go through about 30 lbs of aluminum or stainless filler rod with the TIG.
Each bottle costs me about $30-$40 to fill.
Aluminum and stainless filler rod run about $10-$15 per pound.
How much you will use, depends on how you weld.
I don't use alot of filler with aluminum or stainless TIG, but can go through quite a bit using the MIG welder.
Anything under 1/16" sheet gets a little tough to weld with a MIG welder, but can be done.
Tig is alot easier to work with when you get that small.
I like to use the MIG on exhaust and heavier stuff and the TIG mostly on aluminum and stainless.
To get a cost per foot is really difficult, because everyone welds different and consumables are different.

One bit of advice, I would get a whole bunch of scrap aluminum to procatice on before you start on your project metal, because either TIG or MIG, it is real easy to blow through the metal and until you get the hang of it, you don't want to be blowing through your work metal, cause it sucks to fill holes. : )

I used to TIG quite a bit. You're not going to get anything useable with a high freq unit in that price range.

A decent home light duty cycle (air cooled)unit will you $1500.

I suggest you look in the yellow pages for welding shops in the area. You can always find one that will do repairs for the general public at reasonable rates.

Besides, they will have professional equipment and skilled welders.

WaldoAR15

Is right on the money, especially for aluminum, you need high-freq to break up the aluminum oxide coating on the material and you should have a foot peddle to vary the amperage. Aluminum soaks away heat at first and takes a lot of heat, then less as it becomes heated. You also need to take care selecting your filler rod, there are many varieties of aluminum, and it can be critical. If you really need the equipment, consider looking for a used rig.

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