Tig welding equipment....what do I need vs what do I want?

[SPOKE]

Since I've decided I on my choice of a frame jig it's time to figure out what tig welding equipment is necessary vs what a professed equipment might really want. Since I doubt that i'll see much use for welding material thicker than 1/4" and really concentrate on the bicycle tubing gages. What equipment do I really need? What's nice to have if you can afford it?
Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.
Cheers.....SPOKE

[ThomD]

Depends in part on how pro you want to be about the whole thing. I am not talking about quality or features of pro vs others. Quality is a given, and features I will leave to others. I bought miller first time around, and I bought some chinese stuff the second time around. Part of the reason was that the Miller deal, didn't work for me as an amateur. Now that the fancier machines are inverters and increasingly integrated circuits for control, small problems can lead to huge write offs of the equipment. The service and guarantee packages just don't work for small end users, in my experience.

Another thing you might consider is how pro vs amateur uses these rigs. A pro might have the rig in the shop at a station where it welds bikes only. An amateur might do anything from build a boat trailer or fixtures, to the bikes, to Buck Rogers welding just to build skill and for the challenge. Same thing in a small shop. As an amateur I certainly wanted the capacity to weld heavy plate. I used it when welding the base for my Anvil jig, and all sorts of other stuff. I wanter Al welding for some bike stuff, but mostly around the shop. So you may want to think out of the box for whatever you try.

For the a bikes I want a really good arc at low amps. I want pulse, HF start. That might do it for steel. These days that can be pretty cheap. My first rig was lift arc and amps only. I just got one of these, and I really don't have an opinion yet:



Don't be put off by the welding lathe, it just keeps the focus on the settings.

While a lot of people might not want to go for this power source, I also got one of their cooling towers, cheaper than I could make it for from all the vids online, and made in Italy, so whatever you do shop around there is some good stuff from different origins.

[Whipsmart]

One thing that will narrow your choices of welder is available power. A transformer based machine, such as a Lincoln PrecisionTig or a Miller Syncrowave, uses substantially more input current for a given current output. If you think about purchasing a transformer based machine, I would be sure you have at absolute minimum a 40 amp circuit, and more reliably a 50+amp circuit powering the machine. If you don't have this, you need to narrow your focus to inverter machines.

If you plan on just welding steel, you can get a DC only machine. AC is needed for aluminum, and if you don't plan on welding aluminum, get a DC only machine (unless you want to spend extra for fun). You don't need a pulser control (which is nice to have, but not necessarily needed).

You might be able to find a DC only, inverter machine, such as a Lincoln invertec v200T (which has a pulser) or a Lincoln Invertec v300 (with no pulser) for around what you'd buy a new "import" (I don't mean a Fronius or a Kemppi). Others you might find suiting your needs - a Miller Maxstar or Econotig for a good price, or if you can handle a transformer based welder, I would think a Hobart Cybertig would come up once in awhile for a pretty small sum. I'd avoid any scratch start machines ( no HF circuit). I started with an old Airco without HF ~20 years ago and it was a painful introduction to TIG welding.

Having modern, fancy Tig welders such as a Miller Dynasty is great. I have had/used several TIG welders, and I like the Dynasty 200Dx that I have now better overall than any others. That said, I really liked using the Lincoln Precision TIG 275 for its "smoothness" and seemingly brute power. I'd really love to get my hands on a Fronius or a Kemppi, as I'd be willing to bet they would be either equal to or better than the Dynasty. I do use a great many of the features available on the Dynasty, and appreciate them. That said, I could also do a good job with a pulseless, HF less, DC only transformer based machine if I had to. But only if I HAD to!

You don't need a water-cooled torch, but its nice. I like the CS310, but many find the WP-20 watercooled torches to be great. An aircooled torch has the benefit of making the whole system a little more portable. I have a larger watercooler, and I don't enjoy setting the machine up somewhere other than where it currently sits! The watercooled torches are definitely more flexible, and dramatically increase duty cycle of your setup.

[Kumo Cycles]

I'd really love to get my hands on a Fronius or a Kemppi, as I'd be willing to bet they would be either equal to or better than the Dynasty.

I have a Kemppi MLS 2300, it is a beautiful machine, very stable a joy to run, but really it is overkill

As far as I have seen the actual machine seems to be far less important than the practice and skills that you learn. I have seen people do amazing work on a cheapy scratch start box, and work of the same quality with a machine 10x the price.

Get something with HF start, a good foot control pedal and a torch that feels nice to use, then get practicing, then do it some more!

[SPOKE]

Thanks so much for the info and advice folks. I have a line on a very low hours Miller Dynasty 300 with all the extras for about $2500. Do you guys think this is potentially a good deal? What potential issues do I need to look for or ask about?

Cheers.....SPOKE

[Whipsmart]

A Dynasty 300 is a very good machine. I have used 4 dynasty welders, and not one had a problem while I used them. I ran one particular one for 8 hours a day for around 3 years - machine never even hiccuped. Early on in the series, I believe that they had a board which consistently went out. The replacement board solved the problem, so any machine currently running has most likely either had the board upgrade, or is a newer machine.

I'd understand what all the features are on the machine, run it through all the features, and see if there is anything it doesn't seem to do. Other than that, I think if you've got a line on one and you have the cash, get it!

[SPOKE]

I'm now the proud owner of a Miller 300 and all accessories except a welding helmet and gloves! $2500 delivered.
Practice begins........once I get a 220v electrical power source.
Cheers.......SPOKE

[zank]

Nice score!

[Rody]

"once I get a 220v electrical power source"...Spoke

The Dynasty 300 being an inverter machine, does it not run on either 220 or 110? Should be able to swap plugs and go.

rody

[SPOKE]

"once I get a 220v electrical power source"...Spoke

The Dynasty 300 being an inverter machine, does it not run on either 220 or 110? Should be able to swap plugs and go.

rody

That would be nice! I'll stop by my local Miller dealer and get the proper cord.

Cheers.....SPOKE

[Whipsmart]

It's a matter of making the cord - you should be able to buy the cord with the needed electrical properties, add a plug, and then wire it directly to the the machine. You should be able to find the manual showing the correct wiring position on the Miller website. Be aware that there are limitations to running the machine off of a 110v circuit. The amperage requirements go way up (just over double), and the power output tops out earlier (IIRC 150 Max output amps on 110v). I am suspicious that a typical 15 amp household circuit would handle welding bicycle frames well. You will most likely end up tripping the breaker repeatedly - not the most desireable thing when welding the outside of a headtube/down tube joint!