I've got a stick and a nice MIG, but I lust after a TIG.....
Yeah, we're a sick bunch of average dudes. I keep thinking about a TIG, but I just can't justify the cost for the few times I'd use it every year. That is why I gave up my Victor torches/guages/hoses a number of years ago. I had rental tanks, and the cost per year just wasn't worth it. I also sold my 1960s Lincoln Tombstone a number of years ago because I got tired of throwing away sticks where the flux all deteriorated off.
My little Lincoln 140 MIG does pretty much all I need. The wire doesn't go bad (I just use flux core). I've done enough welding in the last 50-some years to know ways to safely extend what can be done with a small welder. Mostly, I miss being able to cut fairly thick material, and there are things I'd still like to braze. I just haven't had many occasions when I've needed to, or wanted to, weld aluminum. But, my little machine would handle that too if I bought the wire and had the bottle re-filled.
I figure if you live in the country, and especially if you own a tractor, you need to have a welder of some kind.
As we are mainly talking about gardening in this thread, I can't even begin to estimate how many trellises, cages, and other garden structures I've made over the years with re-bar, T-posts, and/or livestock panels that wouldn't have been possible without a small welder.
