Thats only if you don't work full time as a welder
I never bought a single filler rod nor stick nor brush nor gloves LOL!
Jokes aside..At work we weld stainless steel mostly but also do some aluminum.We have syncrowave miller 250 amp welders .As it was said..to weld aluminum you have to have a high freq A/C. Your tungsten should be sharpened like a crayon instead of like a pencil.
It's dangerouse to have high freq AC if area damp or high humidity around you such as wet floor or wet gloves cuz u can get a pretty big shock .As far as torch goes...You need to talk with welding supply store in your area.I once needed to fix my friend's aluminum boat and ***holes at work didn't let me bring it to work and fix it.So i bough a rods,i think it was like 28$/lb rods covered with flux.
All you do is clean the welding area,wipe it with acetone and brush it with stainless steel brush.Make your flame less oxidant.By that i mean ajusting your torch where you will have some unburned flame over the hottest zone .Then go ahead and weld.It doesnt flow as stainless,It sits there rather like a playdough. If you really interested i can find out a brandname of the wire i used sometimes next week .
pm me if you need any info.
ORIGINAL: KenLambert
well I can tell you to sell enough mufflers to pay for a tig setup at these prices would take a very long time and a lot of mufflers, My tig was 1500.00 plus the gas 30.00 every few mufflers , welding rods don't remember the price per #, stainless brushes every so often, tungsten 3.00 each plus collets for every size, lots od electricity, acids to clean the mufflers the aluminum to make them with .saw blades to cut the aluminum and the list goes on , so there is not much profit in them alone. I have lots of time and no money so I don't have to do it for profit it is a hobby for me but is nice to make enough to buy more material to make some more.