Oh My Gwhat have I done?!

[Poboy kartman]

Don't feel bad...he probably has so many...even he's lost count!

 

[JMINDY]

I got a new 3-n-1 welder just before Christmas. I work for NAPA’s headquarters and I was setting up a photo shoot for the new Tools & Equipment catalog cover. Manufactures sent in products to display in the shoot, one of them being a three-n-one Firepower MST 220i welder. Instead of shipping it back I was able to purchase it from the manufacture on the cheap… MIG/Stick/TIG guns, MIG spool gun for aluminum, TIG foot pedal controls, Regulator Gauge, Ground clamp, Welder cart, and a new tank of Argon for under $900. Didn’t really have even that to send, but couldn’t pass up the deal… the welder by itself is $1,400 retail.

I haven't played with it much yet. Just the MIG on the 115V adapter plug. I've got a 240/50amp safety switch box and material to make a 50ft extension cord, but haven't installed it in my shop yet. Had to alter the cart to get it to hold two tanks but I've got it where I can switch over for MIG to TIG easy. Huge upgrade from learning to weld on a Lincoln buzz box and then my MIG Clark 110...

 

[chancer]

I guess I missed somewhere there was 2 machines.
Still, under 3k might be in my price range one of these day.

I missed that too. I guess that is why the Thing says
"Double down on Red"

 

[B.M.800]

I missed that too. I guess that is why the Thing says
"Double down on Red"

You know what they, about how "great" minds thinking alike!

 

[supermanotorious]

slowly getting in practice and getting a little better as I do, far from perfect, I know, I know

 

[landuse]

slowly getting in practice and getting a little better as I do, far from perfect, I know, I know

It may not be perfect, but it is looking real good

 

[MonsterBike]

Also, just one word of caution the electrodes (doesnt really matter which ones - I use lanthanated because you dont have to keep track it works on AC/DC etc) they are slightly radioactive ceriated has cesium, lanthanated has lanthanum, etc etc. When you grind them, be sure to wear a respirator and wash hands. If possible do it in a spot where you can keep the dust down. The thing with radiation is that its not that bad when it gets on yoru fingers and whatnot, but the dust and particles if inhaled (or accidentally injested - itchy nose rub etc) can do serious damage when inside your body.

At school we never used respirator when sharpening electrodes. We used thoriated for steel and pure for aluminium. Were we killing ourselves or is thoriated not that bad?

 

[NOBLNG]

KartFab covered pretty much everything. Good advice! One thing I would add on a safety note is to NEVER, EVER use chlorinated brake cleaner to clean something you are going to weld. Even minute traces of it when heated will give off phosgene gas which, when inhaled will do permanent, severe damage to the respiratory system! Thoriated tungsten is also slightly radioactive.

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

Hey FR ^^^ Good times!!

 

[Johnnyboy110]

First post...Hello!!!

Not sure if you figured this one out yet but when I first started TIG welding I found a trick to learn heat control by stacking pools on top of each other. Hold the torch straight up and down, strike an arc and start a puddle, add filler rod to create a single "dime". Now do it again directly on top of it trying to keep it the exact same size. Do this as many times as you can to see how tall you can get it. Remember your looking for consistency. You should see a strait stack. You will probably see a crooked stack of different size pools at first most likely tapering to a smaller pool at the top.

 

[pRoFiT]

Wish i had the funds for a TIG machine. Took 4 years welding in high school but never got to use TIG. Just picked up the HF M170, hope it lasts for what i need it for. only $169 on sale. Only built a welding rack and a patio bench so far with it. Seems to do the job, so far i've needed the lowest setting to weld on the square tubing i have. I'm a Software engineer not a welder! At least not professionally.

@supermanotorious how about aluminum welding with that thing? have you tried that yet. It is the only reason i would get a TIG welder. And probably only use for bike frames. or Maybe the next hover car/monster quad copter?

as a hobbyist ill stick with steel. easy to find scrap steel. hard to find scrap aluminum.

 

[supermanotorious]

i've only laid a couple test beads on aluminum but IMO they laid down easier than the steel test beads

 

[supermanotorious]

just started TIG class this week, I'm super excited to become really proficient at it

 

[KartFab]

cool! post up what you learn for those cheapskates (me) that wont to go welding skool

 

[supermanotorious]

maybe lol, the 101 class changed my life, for reals, I'm excited to see what the 201 class does

 

[Jfive]

Food for thought, try some 1.5% lanthanted. 2% thorinated is the favorite of most, but I have had good luck with the 1.5 and 2 lanth, as well as E3 purple. If your machine is an inverter like mine, you don't use pure for aluminum anyways. Thats for old school tig welders. Like kartfab said, thorinated(red) is radioactive when you grind it. I chuck mine in a cordless drill, and use a brand new grind disc or flapper wheel to sharpen the tungsten. Use to use a bench grinder, but it don't take long and you'll have grooves in the stones. LOL

I took 4500.00 from un enjoyment for welding when I was laid off years ago(beginning of obama's presidency). Took it to pretty much learn tig welding, but did mig, stick, tig, and oxy/fuel welding.
Was worth the time and book work to learn it all.

Aluminum was easier for me on the old syncrowave 200 miller than with my inverter AHP200 it seams. I suck at aluminum now, although 7 years ago it looked like I had promise. Got to play with it still. With new machine, I stopped switching polarity and balling the tip of the tungsten, instead I leave a point just like with steel, and a ball forms all on its own as you weld. With a syncrowave and pure tungsten you probably need to.

4043 filler, and smaller filler and work up to bigger. I liked cheating and using pulse at 1 pps on aluminum to keep from blowing out the puddle, and getting the nice stack of dimes look. Someday, i'd like to weld like www.utahweld.com

 

[machinist@large]

Try figuring out how to run some ~50+ year old Lincoln machine with ZERO of almost all the fancy stuff people just can't lay down a proper bead without.

Try having the pedal be only one step above an on/off switch. High frequency? Try 60 cycles, and only in AC mode. Amperage is set in set in multiple ranges without actual reference as to what they mean.

I'll try to get photos of it tomorrow; one of the guy's with over 40 year's in retired about 6 month's ago; he claimed that it was old when he started, and that he trained on it back in the day.

Even with all it's issues, if the company put it up for sale in my price range, I'd be all over it.

 

[Bwdeaton]

I just started learning tig yesterday on the same machine (Squarewave 200). This is definitely more involved than any other welding I've done, but I'm loving that I'm able to get the experience. Hopefully I'll be able to get my own tig someday.

 

[B.M.800]

I recently procured an old Lincoln Idealarc 250. it came with an assortment of tig stuff. Scratch start. Id love to have a big welder like we had at the voteck, but this will do for now.

 

[supermanotorious]

second night of TIG class (actual welding happening, not just lecture) and I'm making good progress, instructor insists on having me weld thin stuff which is tough but I like it, not good enough to share pics but soon I hope

EDIT:

oh and yeah, I shocked myself good last week, scared the crap out of me, funny cause I was totally sober and I don't always weld that way but I've never shocked myself until then