Bronze Casting - WHICH TIG??

[TBOMB]

Yo!
So I’ve decided to set up my own art foundry (lost wax ceramicshell and ludo investments). I’m goingto be pouring silicon & LG3 bronze and aluminium. My equipment list for the whole foundry ismammoth but I’m trying really hard to make sure every bit of kit… from tinywingnuts to big flash burnout kilns are exactly what I need.
Now comes the big question… which TIG to buy…
Surprisingly I am not much of a welder, my experience is only8 months chasing silicon bronze sculptures, and during this time it was alittle head down (*** up), I was handed a pre-set TIG and told to get on withthe job. So I need a little advice as towhich welder to buy as I have little Tech knowlege.
I have budgeted around $3,000, but this can be more if itreally has to be. The artworks I will becasting won’t really be load bearing therefore the welds only have to look goodonce chased… does this make a difference in selecting a welder?
I like the idea of a foot pedal to control the heat, thesections I will be welding together (dependent on artwork) can be very shapely,lots of facets, and often varying thicknesses. Does anyone have any experiencewith this foot pedal on work like this?
Once I buy the thing it’s going to sit in the foundry, so I don’tnecessarily need any of these handbag welders.
And is Miller actually any good? I have recently been usinga ‘Migatronic’ a Danish TIG that’s pretty sweet to run, but the circuit boardwent bust after 4 months… My friend informed me that Miller is the Connoisseurschoice of welder & even though I trust his opinion, a few more views woulddo me good before I part with my hard earned cash!
Cheerio

[H80N]

Much of your choice will depend on how thick the thickest wall sections of your castings are and their total weight... that will determine how much available amperage you will need....

could you explain what a "handbag welder" is.....

as to how good Miller is...... for TIG I would put my Dynasty 200DX and Dynasty 350DX Tigrunner against ANYTHING out there in their amperage class at any price....... Period...!!

[TBOMB]

So the wax pattern determines the eventual thickness of thebronze, a rule of thumb is to get good at ‘pulling’ a wax around for thethickness to be 4 – 6 mm. This helps get a good cast… With Ali Igenerally go on the thicker side maybe 6-8mm.
Handbag welders… an old chaser at my last foundry used thatone to describe compact welders that are easily transportable.. I just wantedit to be known that I don’t necessarily want/need to pay for something that isdesigned to be small… as its going to be in the studio all the time.
Thanks for the input, seems to me that a lot ofpeople love this kit…

[shovelon]

Sadly $3K is not going to get you very far. The Dynasty200DX would probably do what you need with a little coaxing, but if you could wait for the intro of the Dynasty280 basic model, you will have the grunt to do what you want.

I demoed the 280 beta version last year. The extra 80 amps does make a difference. It will not have the housecurrent option though. Whether it can or can't work with European power or not is to be seen, but it is one heck of a tig.

That being said I will not ever purchase a tig without highspeed pulsing, it is that good. I have 5 Dynastys, all with high speed pulse, and I am using it more as time passes.

Good Luck with your decision.