Metal fab equipment help, what to look for.

[JamesMayberryIII]

Welp, Christmas and the day I got slapped on the behind by a doctor are only days away..
I'm thinking of adding a plasma or a tig to my 220v mig.. but not sure what unit would be better to have,
if you had a mig. what item would be harder to live without,,?? the plasma or the tig.?
and what should one be looking for in features..
Thanks..

It's either this or heads ofr a bbc

[Barry Donovan]

I'd have to go plasma.

I found once shaping smaller things, lots of heat.. drills can't get through the hardening.
plasma will work at all metal states, all the time.

heads have a hoax. don't spend too much.
Cams are the brain for your head.

the only constipated head I ever encontered was a 3 main bearing subaru engine. Had to have a port for each cylinder.
spent too much there..
but I am a car nut.

american stuff never failed, you gain velocity on tight ports...
big heads are for aluminum lovers of the 1320 foot path of insane.

I know what goes a long day.

[Deaf Bob]

You got MIG, get plasma.. If you do lots f cages, etc, then tig.. We do all out cages with stick welder, cut everything with plasma.. Torch holds too much heat, porta band takes time, chop saw too sparky..

[squirrel]

Depends what you're doing. Me, personally, would probably use a plasma a lot more than a tig, because I have enough skill to run a plasma, but not enough to run a tig very well.

[milner351]

I'm lucky enough to have all three - I got a cheap ebay plasma for less than $400. For the hobbyist use I put it through - I couldn't justify the cost of a name brand plasma.

If you do allot of fab work, or rust / body repair - the plasma is a serious time and hassle saver. There are so many things you can do with it that you can't do with any number of other tools. Sure - there's a lot you can do with a sawzall, cut off wheel, etc. But you can do it ALL with a plasma, faster. (unless you're cutting super thick plate, then you need a torch kit and a big one)