i'm a big believer in buying quality and getting what you really want the first time. it is a lesson i've learned the hard way. ends up costing more in the end to trade up once you've already invested in sub-par. do it right the first time and be done with it. this applies to everything in life, from wives to cars to tools. and it's not just the additional cost of getting the better one later but also the expense of dealing with one that doesn't work as well and then the hassle of getting rid of it later.

You can do A/C w/o a pedal. Lots of syncrowaves will do pushbutton start/stop (I think the dynasty will as well.) Good for repetitive production stuff. My dad has a roller pot that attaches to the torch and has a button. Push button to start, fiddle w/ wheel if needed, push button to stop.

Speaking of: You can also get a torch slider or wheel. 95% of work the pedal is best but I have a CK products slider that will attach to the torch. When you are hanging upside down on a roll cage its hard to use a pedal. Its one of those niceties when doing out of position work. FWIW, I prefer sliders to rollers (miller makes both a N-S roller and an E-W roller but no sliders.) I actually have a N-S miller roller that came w/ my dynasty that I need to sell.

I have a good friend w/ a maxstar he got used. I'm SURE I could borrow it for side-by-side testing. Doesn't do AC though so no aluminum.

Key thing to know about yourself is, "how much is my frustration worth?" Am I willing to invest less for the increased risk that I will be upset down the road? Perhaps I'm the kind of person who would much rather pay more than expected (or "should") in order to guarantee the peace of mind?

Another thing to consider: what's the use case for this tool? I personally never skimp on cordless drills, impact guns, and other tools which see very frequent use. But will the TIG be a once-every-six months kind of tool? I would personally find it very difficult to justify the $2000+ expense for an A+ tool when I'll only use it 20 times over the next ten years.



I once had the opportunity to use a slider -- I really liked the concept and could definitely see it being very handy. Unfortunately didn't get a chance to use it much and therefore was not all that proficient.

Yep. Diversion is a dc only unit. I really like the finger control silders. I grew up welding scratch start vs hf. I prefer the slider over pedal for 90% of what i weld. Ships rock so the pedal and bracing get old. Also nice for welding when not on a bench or in a weird position .... So about half thr welding you do on a car.

with some Millers and other brands I suspect, you can also set up lift off to start. Touch the torch to the work and the machine senses this. Lift off and the arc strikes. No pedal but nicer than scratch start.

Another reason to go name brand is life cycle. Even when you have something that you only use once every 3 months time wears on stuff too. Name brand solid stuff has a long and stable parts supply. No name stuff might be out of business when you need to replace some odd bit. Things like slider and other addons are more likely to be found with the top brands.

This is actually the main reason I'm thinking Miller right now, even though it's a bit counter-intuitive. My Millermatic 180 is 10 yrs old. I can still get parts quickly and easily for it. And I know Miller's not going anywhere.

My hobby is building things, not welding. If the things I'm building happen to not need welding, the machine could sit for a year or two. I want to know that when I pick it back up the company will still be in business.

That's generally how I think too. Is TIG something you can pick up once every once in a while and be proficient? No experience here, it's something that's always interested me but like you said the nice machines are a $$ and I've always thought it was tough.

I have the Hobert version of the 120v miller MIG and it's top notch, dont overlook the Hobart stuff, same co as Miller.

I usually include hobart with the red and blue machines. There are some nice cheap machines but i wouldnt expect to be able to get parts for them in 10years. Pros and cons for both.

I've got a Dynasty 200DX as well. I bought it to weld up a new exhaust manifold and down pipe on my Callaway 944 but shortly after I received it life went crazy and I started moving around a lot and got busy with new jobs etc. I have yet to use it, that was 6 years ago.

Nuts and bolts are for the great unwashed mouth breathing hamfisted shade tree check writers.

Welding is building.