TIG welding off a stick machine?

[fripoll1]

I'm somewhat new to welding but my dad has this old Lincoln tombstone and for a while now I've been mostly burning rods with it, but I keep hearing people say I can scratch start TIG off a stick welder since it's basically just a constant current power source. I've got a spare argon bottle and regulator lying around, and I'm tempted to grab a torch with a gas valve just to experiment.
Obvi I'm not expecting it to be fancy like a real TIG setup with high freq start and pedal control, but I'm curious if it's actually worth setting up or if it just turns into a headache

 

[gasolineholder]

Yeah, it works fine for learning and small projects but just don't expect the smooth control of a real TIG setup, and be ready for a bit of trial and error with arc starts and maintaining the gas shield

 

[_g33km3ist3r]

@fripoll1 you're right that a stick welder like the Lincoln AC225 can run scratch-start TIG if you use a torch with a manual gas valve and keep the current steady, but you'll need DC output for steel and stainless since AC won't give you a stable arc or clean welds on those. If your tombstone is AC-only, it won't work well for TIG unless you add a DC conversion box or switch to aluminum with a different torch setup. Have you confirmed whether your machine has DC capability or are you planning to experiment with aluminum only?

 

[singin.welder]

It's totally doable and a good way to learn TIG basics on the cheap, won't be as smooth as a proper machine but plenty of people learned that way. You'll want DC electrode negative (DCEN) polarity for steel.
Anyway, it's worth trying if you already have the argon, worst case you're out $50 for a torch and some tungsten but best case you decide if real TIG is worth investing in