[Tim Hancock]

I traded an partially built airplane project for my like new Miller Econotig TIG welder which at the time was selling for about $1500 new. I had paid $1500 for the airplane project so it was an even deal in my mind...... Plus it came with a tank of Argon.

Any welder is better than no welder, but my TIG welder has served me well doing high quality welds on steel, stainless and aluminum. Sure one can buy spools of stainless or aluminum wire to attempt to weld those materials with MIG, but the quality of the welds (especially with intricate aluminum work) is marginalized. When weld quality could result in catastrophe on highly stressed thin structures, TIG welding wins every time due to having complete control of
the weld heat/penetration.

I do own a 110 MIG welder, but I have used it only three times that I can remember in the last 10 years or so since I got the TIG. Those three times I could have used my TIG, but the MIG was allowed me to complete the tasks quicker (stitch welding auto sheetmetal patches and welding 50 "non structural" target stands together in production line fashion).

All that said, for larger heavier steel weldments (1/4" and thicker), I would choose a large MIG welder if given a choice. Fortunately for me, I have access to large 3 phase MIG welders at work for the rare occasion that I need to do some heavy welding (eg: building a snow plow frame for tractor)