Like the topic says. I cant wait to try and lay my first TIG bead...gonna be pretty ugly until I get used to the different process. Ive welded with mig and arc welders...how much more difficult is TIG compared to these two? I know the work has to be about spotless, etc. I guess what Im asking, is how large is the learning curve?
Ill post pics of the welder and my first try at a bead later today...

 

it's pretty much like oxycetylene but with arc

 

never welded with oxycetelyne
heres my take on TIG:
To start, you start similarly to stick welding(the tap to get the arc going thing). Then from there, you control the heat with the foot pedal(finger controller option if you have one) Then from there, you feed the stick of whatever material in, while constantly adjusting the heat(foot pedal) to get the desired bead.
Am I close? I had a dream about it last night, I foolishly admit

 

i don't think its that hard to learn. after my 3rd time TIG welding i was able to weld thin wall mild steel pipes together pretty cleanly.

The TIG machine i used had hi frequence start, so I didn't need to touch start the arc. Once the arc is established, you apply the appropriate amperage with the foot control to form the puddle. When the puddle is established you dip the filler rod into the puddle, now you move the torch to drag the puddle forward, stop and add filler rod again, and basically repeat this process over and over.

 

nice. can I ask where ya bought yours from?

 

I am curious too, I have been looking for a reasonably priced TIG for a while...

 

I wish my tig had an eaisly adjustable ampreage petal I do have hi-freq tho

 

cool beans. when i first started welding my eyes hurt .....i kept flashing myself. it takes a little to get used to "rembering" where the torch and the part are after the helmet is flipped down.

 

Just curious, how often do you have to change the tungsten tip?

 

how much?

 

I have used about a tungsten length (2% Thoriated ... though I have tried Ceriated, but don't like it as much) per bottle of argon. I dress the tip about twice per hour running DC- The cleaner the material I am welding, the longer the tungsten lasts. I have a fair amount of contamination problems from welding non new materials. I have used up one ceramic cup about every three argon bottles, or if I drop the torch!

Running a Lincoln Squarewave 275 bought about 3 years ago on a closeout (model change) direct from Lincoln, for what I thought was a great price. And love the autodarkening helmet...........but its heavy.

Regards,
BigMoose

 

i was going to get a barely used lincoln squarewave 170 for $900, ready to tig or arc. It turns out though that the city owns the damn thing, and they only way to sell something of city/state is through auction
Monday, I think Im going to look at the Miller SD180. I can get it brand new w/5 year lease on a bottle for $1500 through Michigan Airgas in Traverse City.
If Im not mistaken, I think they are roughly the same on cyberweld.com. They might be a little cheaper, but then there is shipping(truck frieght, 210lbs )
I will keep you guys posted though...
I cant wait to make my air to water IC

 

what is a good setup to learn to weld. id like to be able to do AL too.

 

hehehe I need to take a welding class.... they have killer welding equipment at my work but I need to learn how to use it. I tried to TIG some 316ss tube lastweek and it looked kinda funky, I then found out I needed to purge the inside of the pipe with argon.... looked like lil turds inside hahahah.

I also tried to weld some aluminum but it came out like ***.... need alot of pratice for that stuff.

Is 316ss any good for manifolds? we have tons of it at my work (we make drugs, the legal kind lol).

Next i need to think of what I can use the mill and lathe for hehehe.


[Modified by TrueNorthStar, 7:20 AM 2/15/2003]