well, heres my 2 cents..... after welding for 10 plus years, mainly tig, and teaching others to weld(local college) one of the biggest things is to stick with a name brand...ie: Lincoln or miller. with those brands, parts and support are readily avalabile.I personaly have a miller 185 mig welder and a lincoln 175pro tig welder. they both work great! Remember, you get what you pay for A tig welder is defanitly versitle.... it will weld mild steel, stainlesss, aluminum, titanium, copper...all with the same shielding gas , just have to flip a swich ac/dc depending on what material your "zappin" up.