After months of scouring the dreaded eBay in vain hope of finding a TIG welder at a bargain price I did what any sensible person would have done and gave up. Some manly number crunching ('I can afford it. Can't I?') and purely logical reasoning ('I want it. No. I need it') later and I got in touch with Matt1978 and ended up with a Lorch T 220 AC/DC. Snowy's already given a bit of a write up on his but I thought I'd add my tuppence from a considerably less professional viewpoint.
Obvious points first: the size and weight of this thing are unbelievable! It's just over half the power of my MIG but is about the same size as the wire feed unit and about a tenth as light as the power source. In fact the wire reel alone weighs more!
One of the things I am most impressed by is the build quality; everything about it feels bomb proof. A feature of which Lorch are justifiably proud is the control panel cover. I would have expected it to be fixed in the usual manner with a couple of plastic toggles that locate in holes (you know; the ones that always snap off
) but this thing is attached on a metal hinge so sturdy that (should you be struck by a strange urge) you can hold onto the cover and wave the whole machine around. I've also noticed that the socket covers are attached by wires rather than some dodgy bit of plastic. At least two of the three are....
All of this gives an air of quality.
Once you get round to turning it on you're greeted by a panel of white lights and green numbers. There's a plethora of different settings but, mercifully, the majority are either set by the machine automatically or can be left at the factory settings. The layout is pretty logical too (Germanically so) so it really didn't take very long to work things out (Matt did run me through everything but it then sat about for a week before I used it so I had to figure some out again
). There is only one setting, the so-called MACS, that requires you to get the manual out. It's a hold-this-button-for-so-long-then-press-and-hold-this-one-for-another-bit-do-the-hoki-koki-stoke-the-boiler-and-say-the-necessary-incantations type of thing. OK, OK. So I exaggerate a bit but I can't really see why it isn't on the same button as AC/DC, DC+, DC- and HF.
I'd initially thought that I wouldn't use the 'TipTronic' job store but having had I play I've decided it's pretty damned useful. Saving settings for a job is a damned site easier than remembering them though if you've got the full hundred jobs saved you're going to have the same issue. Perhaps that's why Lorch provide you with a pad of paper?!
As far as the bits and pieces go, well they're all of the same high quality. The foot pedal is good and solid, the torch is a Binzel one and there's a Harris regulator. The torch has a rocker switch that can be used to cycle through jobs or increase/decrease whatever parameter is active on the machine. It's probably more useful if you've got the 8m torch and are working far from the machine but it's handy none the less.
So. The results. First up I gave it a go on stick. No idea what make the rods were but they were 6013s and at least a century old.
I forgot to take any pictures but, even with my fairly rusty (sorry ) abilities, the results were pretty good. No peelers though. Show off, Matt! 
Once the arc is going it seems almost impossible to put the thing out by touching the rod down. Like I say, it's a while since I last used a stick welder but that's not how I remember things on the Oxford!
Next came TIG and here I am an almost complete virgin (how does that work?). TBH It's probably not really fair to pass too much comment on it's behaviour at TIG because I know so little so I shan't!
I was amazed by how quiet it is on DC though. Pretty well silent and a welcome change from my MIG which has an enormous fan in the back!
Having seen it in the hands of a pro I know absolutely what this machine is capable of. Needless to say I'm seriously chuffed with it and have no doubt at all, that with quite a bit more practice, it'll do everything I want it to in the future. Plus it has a three year guarantee and backup from Matt, which is worth a lot. Next time I post it'll probably be with a raft of questions about using it properly! Can't wait!
P.S Sorry about the pictures. I seem to have lost my camera charger so these are phone pics and not the best..... I'll try and change them for some better ones later on.
Obvious points first: the size and weight of this thing are unbelievable! It's just over half the power of my MIG but is about the same size as the wire feed unit and about a tenth as light as the power source. In fact the wire reel alone weighs more!
One of the things I am most impressed by is the build quality; everything about it feels bomb proof. A feature of which Lorch are justifiably proud is the control panel cover. I would have expected it to be fixed in the usual manner with a couple of plastic toggles that locate in holes (you know; the ones that always snap off
) but this thing is attached on a metal hinge so sturdy that (should you be struck by a strange urge) you can hold onto the cover and wave the whole machine around. I've also noticed that the socket covers are attached by wires rather than some dodgy bit of plastic. At least two of the three are.... All of this gives an air of quality.Once you get round to turning it on you're greeted by a panel of white lights and green numbers. There's a plethora of different settings but, mercifully, the majority are either set by the machine automatically or can be left at the factory settings. The layout is pretty logical too (Germanically so) so it really didn't take very long to work things out (Matt did run me through everything but it then sat about for a week before I used it so I had to figure some out again
). There is only one setting, the so-called MACS, that requires you to get the manual out. It's a hold-this-button-for-so-long-then-press-and-hold-this-one-for-another-bit-do-the-hoki-koki-stoke-the-boiler-and-say-the-necessary-incantations type of thing. OK, OK. So I exaggerate a bit but I can't really see why it isn't on the same button as AC/DC, DC+, DC- and HF.I'd initially thought that I wouldn't use the 'TipTronic' job store but having had I play I've decided it's pretty damned useful. Saving settings for a job is a damned site easier than remembering them though if you've got the full hundred jobs saved you're going to have the same issue. Perhaps that's why Lorch provide you with a pad of paper?!
As far as the bits and pieces go, well they're all of the same high quality. The foot pedal is good and solid, the torch is a Binzel one and there's a Harris regulator. The torch has a rocker switch that can be used to cycle through jobs or increase/decrease whatever parameter is active on the machine. It's probably more useful if you've got the 8m torch and are working far from the machine but it's handy none the less.
So. The results. First up I gave it a go on stick. No idea what make the rods were but they were 6013s and at least a century old.
I forgot to take any pictures but, even with my fairly rusty (sorry ) abilities, the results were pretty good. No peelers though. Show off, Matt! Once the arc is going it seems almost impossible to put the thing out by touching the rod down. Like I say, it's a while since I last used a stick welder but that's not how I remember things on the Oxford! Next came TIG and here I am an almost complete virgin (how does that work?). TBH It's probably not really fair to pass too much comment on it's behaviour at TIG because I know so little so I shan't!
I was amazed by how quiet it is on DC though. Pretty well silent and a welcome change from my MIG which has an enormous fan in the back!Having seen it in the hands of a pro I know absolutely what this machine is capable of. Needless to say I'm seriously chuffed with it and have no doubt at all, that with quite a bit more practice, it'll do everything I want it to in the future. Plus it has a three year guarantee and backup from Matt, which is worth a lot. Next time I post it'll probably be with a raft of questions about using it properly!
Can't wait!P.S Sorry about the pictures. I seem to have lost my camera charger so these are phone pics and not the best..... I'll try and change them for some better ones later on.
That's one area I'm hoping not to put it through it's paces! 
Im not gona ask about the towel after Mr Drains painted that picture with words
As for the cooler...... I think I'd best wait for the bank manager to recover. 
