Hey @metaltechs
What’s the story with the tig welder? I’m hoping to weld up some box section aluminium and I can see there is one but I’ve never seen anyone use it?
The TIG welder we have currently is a Rohr HP-160L and is a DC-only TIG welder. Unfortunately, this is not suitable for welding aluminium. The explanation for this is the unit is on long term loan from myself; I bought it years before joining the space and never even considered TIG welding aluminium when I bought it.
We have been considering buying an AC/DC TIG welder recently that would also allow welding aluminium. We’ve been looking around but ultimately it all comes down to finance vs. demand.
It has been used by a few people for welding steel but TIG is more of a level up from MIG in a lot of cases. You won’t see very many people using it.
Those of us who have been looking into AC-capable TIG welders aren’t that interested in welding aluminium so the demand for it isn’t really there, we’d just like it for completeness. Because of this, nothing’s really been done about it so far. I believe we’re still open to suggestions.
I’m willing to sell the HP-160L and donate the proceeds to a new unit but I’d rather it be something kind of nice and not a 60 year old machine riddled with quirks and abstract controls.
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Hey @danielbenton,
Thanks so much for the explanation—it makes total sense now! I totally get the discussion around finance vs. demand, and yeah, given how much harder TIG is compared to MIG, it’s obvious why most people wouldn’t go down that route unless they already had the skills or confidence.
That said, considering the limits of the current MIG setup (only steel), how about reworking the welding/grinding area a bit? We could make more space for a larger welding table and maybe reinvest funds from the TIG welder into pure argon gas bottles, spool guns, and extra tips. That way, there’d be more flexibility with materials and a better setup for larger projects. I would also be happy to contribute financially to this!
Feels like it’d streamline things—more space, more flexibility, and getting rid of under used equipment.
As I’ve said to @VintageSteel before if there’s anything I can from a volunteering perspective to help out in the metal area, please do let me know as it’s where I spend most of my time!
I’d also back this, happy to donate funds/time to get this set up
I’m not sure if I understand you 100% but I’m not on board with selling the TIG welder just for more consumables. Metal area has a monthly budget to cover such things and if we do run out it’s usually because they weren’t ordered in time. I would not like to lose the functionality of a TIG welder for the foreseeable future (even if it is for steel) in place of consumables that will slowly disappear. I use it sometimes and I know other people have used it. There is a pure argon tank just for the TIG which needs refilling. Pure argon is not for use with MIG welding. The TIG machine is a budget-friendly machine and I probably won’t get much more than what a new bottle of pure argon gas would even cost to be super realistic.
Everything else you’ve mentioned sounds great, we’re always happy to hear people take interest in the metal area. It’s taken a long time to get it where it’s at now and we’re always looking forward to the next upgrades. For everything outside of TIG, I’ll let @metaltechs deal with it. 
Just to clarify Daniel apologies I may have mis read, I’m simply interested in getting the TIG setup that we currently have sorted again, nothing more.
I’ve been wanting to try it out since joining but as you say it’s missing a pure argon tank refill, happy to give funds for that and more rods if needed.
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