I attended a Miller welding seminar recently and got a chance to try a couple of the company’s new welding machines. The first was Miller’s new Diversion 165 TIG welder. One of the difficulties for entry-level or part-time TIG welders has been setting up the machine. The process is very intimidating because there are so many different settings that must be correct to get a good weld. Miller has eliminated much of the difficulty in set up by redesigning the front of the machine so all you have to know is what material you’re welding—aluminum, steel, or stainless steel—and the thickness of the material. With those two settings, you’re ready to start welding. I’ve never TIG-welded before, but on my third pass on a chunk of aluminum plate, I was able to lay down a decent stack of dimes with help from some of Miller’s instructors. TIG does require some dexterity and practice, and I’m hardly ready to begin a new career as a welder/fabricator. But I think that if I had one of these machines, I now have the confidence to build some simple aluminum brackets for my Chevelle. We did a quick search and discovered this machine sells for less than $1,300, so it’s not cheap, but the freedom it allows could very well make it pay for itself in terms of fabricating jobs you no longer have to pay someone else to perform. I also discovered Miller’s new MiIGmachine that offers an aluminum spool gun for welding aluminum. I’ll talk about that in my next blog.