Basic Tig

[fortyfour]

Now you probably know these exist but have you tried the positive pressure air fed masks keeps the nasties out and cool in summer?

I have not had the opportunity to try one, however I do know about them but unfortunately they are a tad bit out of my affordability range.

[Jake Rosenfeld]

I have not had the opportunity to try one, however I do know about them but unfortunately they are a tad bit out of my affordability range.

I have one. it works awesome for welding big heavy all day long type projects but with the amount of on and off with the helmet for tigging bikes it would be a PITA at best.

the belt pack is cumbersome and awkward and sits right over your butt making the day after taco night a potential hazard.....

also, the side windows are great for seeing and moving around with the helmet on but it doesn't do much to block reflected light, I guess you could tape them up.

Now that I've given such a rave review if anyone is interested i'll dig it out charge it up and sell the whole maryann for a K or less

[Peter E]

OK, here we go.
First try. 1.5mm plate, 60 Amps, 3/32 tungsten. Thought I had the argon flow at 16 but noticed it was 9 when i turned of the machine. Cup is a 6 (we got a brand new tig and I just found out that the old cups did not fit).

Working from right to left, starting at the top. I guess a larger cup and more argon next time.

15.jpg



Second try. 0.7mm plate.
Amps at 35, everything else the same

07.jpg

Sorry about the quality of the pics.

[EnginCycles]

OK, here we go.
First try. 1.5mm plate, 60 Amps, 3/32 tungsten. Thought I had the argon flow at 16 but noticed it was 9 when i turned of the machine. Cup is a 6 (we got a brand new tig and I just found out that the old cups did not fit).

Working from right to left, starting at the top. I guess a larger cup and more argon next time.

15.jpg



Second try. 0.7mm plate.
Amps at 35, everything else the same

07.jpg

Sorry about the quality of the pics.

Remember when you are only running a bead you are starving the metal so it will be hard no matter what to get a perfectly clean bead. It is more to learn how to see the puddle.

Do not stick out the tungsten father than the opening of the cup. So a number six will allow you to have the tungsten out 6mm until it lacks coverage from the argon. I also bet that is a collet and not a gas lens (very common). Get a gas lens and a slightly larger cup. Turn the argon up to around 15-20. Tilt the plate up on a block and try to get the argon coming out of the cup to flow down onto the bead you just ran. It will help maintain the coverage as you move.

[sam]

Great thread, interesting read. could not come up at a better time, as I have started to research welders. Was looking to get a welder at end of this year, for some tools, machining type stuff, and start to practice to use it for frames. But do to a possible opportunity may be looking to buy mid summer, may have to work some more overtime at the night job so the bike shop can afford it, guess 17.5 hour days arent enough, haha. They are not cheap, but a few thousand is not really much for a professional tool, but after this farking cold winter I will be on a budget this year or should I say broke this year. But as I tell anyone who helps in the shop a good bike mechanic can not afford a cheap tool. But im not in a rush to buy, I will wait till after talking to my instructor this summer.

But I am curious what everyone thinks about the used welder market, do they have many issues and require pretty regular service, where buying local new is a big factor. I dont mind spending the money to get the right unit, but this is the wrong year to be spending money, so if used is a safe bet I would not mind saving the money. But I never want to regret the purchase, so if its better to buck up for new I will find a way to do it.

Also if you get an ac/dc machine, does it take away from the fine work capabilities of a dc only machine, does that question make sense? I guess what I am asking is that by asking the machine to do more things, does it mean it does each of those things less well?

Sorry to hijack

[afwalker]

^Go name brand if you go used. Tyler's recommendation of the Miller Maxstar 200 is a great one. AC lets you do aluminum, you will use more amps than with steel. I doubt the newer inverter welders lose anything ac/dc vs straight dc since the circuitry is probably the same just inactivated. If you can find a used name brand inverter go for it. The non-inverters may require a thorough going over before purchase. Bring an experienced welder with you to check it out. Welders seem to hold their value pretty well, so you may find peace of mind for a few more dollars new.
cheers
andy walker

[EnginCycles]

^Go name brand if you go used. Tyler's recommendation of the Miller Maxstar 200 is a great one. AC lets you do aluminum, you will use more amps than with steel. I doubt the newer inverter welders lose anything ac/dc vs straight dc since the circuitry is probably the same just inactivated. If you can find a used name brand inverter go for it. The non-inverters may require a thorough going over before purchase. Bring an experienced welder with you to check it out. Welders seem to hold their value pretty well, so you may find peace of mind for a few more dollars new.
cheers
andy walker

Andy I am sorry to be constantly dis-agreeing with you but I think just the opposite. An inverter machine is something you only want to buy new. A transformer machine can be fixed by ANY TECHNICIAN and they are bullet proof. I had to warranty my inverter (which took 1.5 years to get back because it could only be fixed by Miller) and I just bought a transformer Syncrowave in the mean time. Now I use the transformer for steel and projects and the inverter is dedicated to titanium. The settings are very similar but they are different torches so it is easier to leave them all set up.

Little motivation (all 175 amps of it):

[Peter E]

I also bet that is a collet and not a gas lens (very common). Get a gas lens and a slightly larger cup.

I don’t even know the difference. How do I tell a collet from a gas lens?

[Rody]

Here's a pic to illustrate the difference: Gas lens set up on left, regular collet body on right.

gaslens.jpg

gaslens2.JPG

A gas lens allows for diffusion of the shielding gas over a broader area, "showering" the weld puddle in inert gas.

[schollen]

I read through this thread a while back and the one comment from Drew about controlling the heat with the rod over the pedal helped me immensely. Before when things would get just a little too hot i would back off on the pedal and next thing i know im not putting enough amps in and my puddle is too small and cold. I still use the pedal to do more major adjustments, but for the smaller adjustments i simply just adjust my feed rate.

welds went from this:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...o/P1010820.JPG
to this:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...409_190658.jpg

Although my welds have gotten a lot more consistent i am still having some trouble, specifically i have a lot of trouble at time seeing the puddle and i burn a hole and end up going through a lengthy and ugly process fixing the hole. First i want to just post my current setup in case that raises any red flags, i think it aligns with what i have been riding and i doubt it is why i am having trouble with seeing the puddle.

- using a thermal arc 200 gts welder
- running pulse on the welder somewhere around 30 pulse per second, 50% on time, 50% background and change max amp between 50 and 70 depending on if im welding bottom bracket/head tube or tt-st.
- i use a number 9 gold plated lens
- i use 1/16th tungsten

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...013_175643.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...013_175705.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...013_175617.jpg

When i cant see the puddle i have found that there is often one of two things at play
1. i have to be far from the welding spot or at a weird angle. sometimes this is because i hood is too bulky. i am not sure if there is much i can do about this...
2. the arc seems to blur around where the puddle is and makes it difficult to see. could this have something to do with how i am grinding my tungsten? is my welding lens too dark or too light? do not have enough background lighting? my garage is a little bit dark. am i angling the tungsten wrong? is my head positioned wrong? am i not putting enough heat in or enough filler in? or maybe some combination of all of these?
3. Welding helmet gets fogged up. is there some anti fog solution i can put on it, sometimes i find myself holding my breathe simply so the helmet doesnt fog

Im not sure if there is a fix to any of these problems over just practice, but hopefully there are some guidelines that i can follow that will help point me in the right direction. I have only been welding for a year and a half, i have no formal training and it is a very part time hobby.....basically i dont really know what im doing beyond reading through these threads, watching online videos and practicing in the garage on occasion. I am currently welding my third frame, some pictures below.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y...009_211416.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...013_175442.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...013_175433.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l...013_175502.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4...013_175454.jpg

This is where i burned a hole...i was at a great angle here and could get really close but for some reason just was not seeing the puddle very well due to some blurryness.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p...013_175420.jpg


Thanks for any comments you can offer,

Scott

[triathloner]

Duh moment, love this thread. I'm 44 and have been suffering short arm syndrome for a few years. Fired up the welder last night and actually used my cheaters under the helmet, it's a big difference. Why did I not think of it. Dumb sometimes. thanks for all the ideas I have overlooked.