thewisepranker wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:52 pm TIG welders capable of welding aluminium cost about a grand up and the TIG technique is difficult to grasp, even when using a DC machine to weld low carbon steel. Welding aluminium is difficult - far more so than welding stainless steel, which is more difficult than welding mild steel. You must have an AC TIG welder in order to weld aluminium.

There are a few decent aerials out there that you can buy off-the-shelf, for far less than the expense of a tenth of a TIG welder, plus at least two different bottles of an inert gas (the gas you need to use depends on what material you are welding), bottle rent x2, electrodes (two different types), ceramics, the cost of the materials to make the aerial itself, etc...

Unlike MIG, if you mess up with a TIG welder you also more often than not mess up your tungsten electrode. You will then need to smash the end off with a hammer, re-sharpen the end or throw it away completely if it gets too short. This means you will also need a bench grinder with a suitable grinding wheel. You will find yourself getting through wheels quite quickly, too.

It is much cheaper to pay a fabrication shop £30 or whatever to weld your bits up each time you need them doing, unless you are making hundreds. If you're serious about learning how to weld, you won't let this put you off, however it is not worth the expense and the amount of failures you will experience to just weld up one or two aerials.

If you have any questions about welding feel free to message me. I was* a coded welder and have a fair amount of experience welding aluminium, copper and stainless steel, which are materials of interest when building aerials. I can gas, arc, MIG and TIG weld.

Brazing is another technique you could look into which is a lot more accessible for the DIYer than TIG welding.

* Was because the codes are non-transferrable between employers and I don't need to weld at my current employer.