Hello. Haven't been online for a while. Last September, I attended the first Sportair TIG workshop at Oshkosh. EAA had to move the TIG workshop from Griffin, GA due to loss of Ron Alexander in the crash of his Jenny. We got to use the all new shop and welders set-up in the Aeroplane Factory, Paul Poberezny's former shop on Doolittle Drive just down the street from the Fly-in movie theater. The instructor is Wyatt Swaim, aka "Mr. TIG" who does forums at OSH and consulting. Do a search on his name for more information. He knows the subject and has both education and experience that he shares in the class. I've owned a TIG machine for 12 years and taught myself to do it. I figured being self-educated means I either had the best instructor ever or learned from the the dumbest cluck on the planet-- didn't know what I didn't know. The class is two intensive days of class and practice welding. 50% of attendees had never done any TIG welding before. Covered was welding 4130 sheet and tube, stainless steel and aluminum. My own machine uses older electronic controls and a transformer. The workshop at OSH has the latest and greatest Lincoln inverter power supplies. Not a big difference in DC mode for steel and stainless, but when you switch to AC mode to weld aluminum, every aspect of the current is adjustable and it is amazing. I never welded aluminum before and thanks to modern technology, was making some pretty beads after an hour of practice. At the end, I learned a bunch of stuff and it was well worth the time and expense.
I have a oxy-acetylene torch and originally intended to use it to weld my project. In my opinion, TIG welding is superior in every regard, requires no more effort to master than learning to gas weld and has many more practical uses besides airplane construction. (Just repaired a 18ga steel belt guard on my lawn tractor using it.) An aircraft TIG joint using ER80S-D2 filler rod requires no post treatment and can be cleaned to bright metal with a stainless steel wire brush. TIG welding produces a lot less distortion.
If you'd like help to make up your mind, order the TIG welding DVD from EAA that Wyatt Swaim made for them. Covers a lot of the basics and great refreshing your memory.
I never get used to being at OSH off-season. My motel room had a full view of airport. Didn't see even one airplane!
Later, Galen J.