hers some of my latest aluminum TIG welds,
within the next 2 weeks ill have a custom intake manifold for renoracing 5" plenum and all

 

Don't buy a cheap welder...you will sorely regret it down the road. Not only will it's lack of power frustrate the hell out of you, it's lack of upgradeability and bad resale value will haunt you, too.

If you're looking for an entry level welder, look at the Lincoln 135 SP or the Hobart Handler 135. You can get one of those Lincoln 110 amp Weldpaks, but make sure it has the option to upgrade it to a MIG setup later. Fluxcore (gasless) welding sucks. It's dirty, smokey, produces tons of spatter, and looks like crap. I fluxcored at first using my old MIG machine and when I switched to using gas (MIG), the difference was amazing.

You can also go old skool and get an oxy-acetylene gas torch. That's what I learned on and I still think that if I could only have one welder in my garage, it would be a gas welder. It is incredibly versatile and very cheap. I paid about $400 for all of my gas welder stuff.

Sonny

 

i have a lincoln 135, the best investment ever, handles thick flanges for exhuats etc

but for AL i use an old school TIG at my neighbors mahcine shop..... and as you can see it does the trick

 

evoeone: What kind of tig machine did you use to make those welds? They're purty.

Sonny

 

yeah those aluminum welds look nice.. I'll post some of mine up this weekend.

I bought a sp 125 about 7 years ago and I still use it all the time.. Its by far the best thing I have.. Second is the grinder and third is the Tig welder.. FWIW a buddy of mine has been using his MIG with aluminum wire and is having very good results..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sonny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
evoeone: What kind of tig machine did you use to make those welds? They're purty.

Sonny
</TD></TR></TABLE>
your gonna get a kick out of this... the big orange box, its for a mahcine shop, has big power, so as long as you hav ebig power, and can control your foot, you dont need syncrowave, squarewave technology thats for thin stuff anywyas, and i weld 1/8" thinnest and i have no problem

 

^ that's good stuff!lol

 

old machines ROCK!!!!! and you can get em real cheap too! I use a 1976! Miller Syncrowave 300, it works like any newer machine ive used!

-Brian W.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSiTurbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">old machines ROCK!!!!! and you can get em real cheap too! I use a 1976! Miller Syncrowave 300, it works like any newer machine ive used!

-Brian W.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah really I kicked myself plenty of times for not jumping on some of the deals I've seen before I got my machine.

 

man, that thing is old skool!

My buddy's Lincoln TIG weighs 1200 lbs. It was made in the 60's. It does nice work, but he has to move it around with a forklift.

Sonny

 

lol looks like a orange refrigerator!!!

 

thank you for your repsonses

 

what exactly does the syncrowave/squarewave mean or do?

also, Overblown-Teg, I would like to see pics of your friends aluminum mig welding if you have some!

 

i know squarewave is from linocln and syncrowave is from miller..... im highly guessing its the same ****.... it smeant for thin materials, but i odubt you even need it, when i mean thin i mena liek soda cans adn ****, TIG welders have foot control so you have to learn to control the heat with your foot

 

Squarewave/syncrowave are both technologies that are designed to make the a/c output of the welder look more square. If you've seen a sine wave before, you'll see that it curves smoothly up and down. This is the way a/c power works. By making the output look more square, you have more time at the peaks and less time at the transitions.

Sonny

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sonny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Squarewave/syncrowave are both technologies that are designed to make the a/c output of the welder look more square. If you've seen a sine wave before, you'll see that it curves smoothly up and down. This is the way a/c power works. By making the output look more square, you have more time at the peaks and less time at the transitions.

Sonny</TD></TR></TABLE>
And that cleans the material better than a "traditional" sine wave, which makes a cleaner weld, and EASIER to weld.
^
That correct? Thats what Ive understood...

 

This isnt welding, but related. I am looking into purchasing a plasma cutter at the moment. I am pretty much sold on the Miller Spectrum 375 CutMate plasma cutter from its features. I have checked out the Thermal Dynamics and EASB equivalents, the prices are about on par with each other. Anyone have any experience they would like to share with different brand plasma cutters?

BTW, I love my Miller syncrowave 180 SD. Its the best investment I have made in this sport so far. I kind of have some brand loyality towards Miller, but I am open to ideas on the plasma cutter.

 

Get a hypertherm 380. That's what we have.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tinker219 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
And that cleans the material better than a "traditional" sine wave, which makes a cleaner weld, and EASIER to weld.
^
That correct? Thats what Ive understood...</TD></TR></TABLE>

An added bonus of the squarewave is that the arc is much more stable and less likely to turn off i.e. stop welding when traveling through the point in the wave that you are at 0 amp output because the transition is so much faster traveling on a square wave versus a sine wave.

 

I had a hypotherm 600 for a while.. I liked it alot. All they do is plasma cutters. One word of advice.. pick out the one you think will meet your every need.. Then get the next bigger one. you will always want more cutting ability.

 

I also have heard nothing but good things about hypertherm plasma cutters. All hypertherm does is build plasma cutters and they have been making them the longest.

 

Very true. At this point I cant imagine wanting to cut through more than 1/2 in at the 115 v configuration. Most of the stuff I'll be working with isnt any thicker than 1/8". The Miller is also within my price range (under 1200.00), how much did yours run you?

 

ehhh squarewave or not, just get out there and TIG!!!!

be back in a few hours, going to the machine shop to make some more parts



i seen a miller goldstar TIG, 20 amps used for $600 in the bargaina news, sound good? i think imma just buy aused TIG cause new ones are way too much, id rather spend 1 g's on a mill then a TIG

 

20 amps? I hope you mean 200 amps. I think 20 amps will be good for some aluminum foil, but that's about it.

Sonny

 

Jeff I think it was $1400.. I got it from the boc gas in Carlisle. The shop owner there only sells them because he said they are the best.. ours cut 1/2" no problem.. Although not very straight. But I was not very good at using it.. I used to have a business partner and when we parted ways the cutter went with him.. I only used it a few times and mostly to cut holes in log manifolds.. It did that very well. The few hundred extra you will spend now will pay off in the long run.. FWIW they have a smaller size one that is less money.. When I told him what I was looking to do he told me he would ONLY sell me the 600.. The guy is a real trip. His reasoning is he wants happy customers.. if he sold me the smaller he said he knows I would be back in telling him it won't do what I wanted.. So far I have never been unhappy with something he recomended and I told him that. If you feel like making a road trip its worth it to talk to him. I could get you his number and directions if you want.. its really easy off I81