High Quality TIG Accessories

[HighOnWelding]

Originally Posted by CaddmannQ

Folks, I am not a pro welder. I am a retired CNC guy.

I learned to weld in high school and I have done some stick, MIG, and TIG over the past 50 years. I always had access to high dollar welding rigs, but I am mostly a torch jockey. I own a few sets of Victor torches and regulators, but I have never owned an electric welder. I have modded cars and motorcycles with just a torch.

But now I am keen to buy a quality TIG or multi-function welder, and there are a lot of choices. I have a 240vac 50 amp receptacle available, so no 3-phase or high power gear will work.

And it’s unnecessary. I am just welding cars, and mostly light gage mild steel to 1/16 or 1/8. I may see a little 3/16” or 1/4” plate but I can make 3 passes if necessary. This welding only needs to please me. I also want to do some TIG brazing on 16ga cold rolled.

Since I’m not trying to make money, the duty cycle is less important than it could be. At my age I’ll probably be ready to take a break before the welder is anyway
.
What I want most is advice on high quality pedals, torches, and switches. I need the sensitivity to weld thin gage more than anything. I don’t want to diddle around with janky gear.

I have worked with a clunky pedal and it was torture. I want advice on the best stuff that isn’t unobtanium.

Everlast Machines are great! Can’t beat the price for what you are getting!!!

[CaddmannQ]

I finally rolled the dice and bought a complete kit.
Primeweld TIG225ACDCP.

I like the feel of the controls, and the included gear is pretty nice. The clamp could be heavier and they only give you one tungsten, but I really like the pedal and the torch. I think the stinger will crack if dropped hard.

I want to test it out but I must wait ‘til Monday to get argon and a new helmet.

[mccutter]

Good for you! The more I think about it the more I may get one for my shop as an excuse to claim a "business expense". Most everything I have has "depreciated" out.

I've used the little wood HF moving dolly as running gear until they had a sale on their welding cart (the $40 special).

The ads and videos are not very clear on dimensions. Could you measure the linear dimensions and weight of just the welder without accessories? They say it weighs 90lbs but I'm assuming that is with all the cables, etc. What are the input amps required for both 120v and 240v? I have not been able to find this info and it could help others to make an educated choice.

Also because of glare, it is hard to tell from videos if the values on the LCD screen change when the individual knobs are turned to set. Do they change then the display reverts back to amps? If so, about how many seconds?

[moe1942]

Originally Posted by Matt Shade

I really am not up on tig machines, but for welders in general right now if you are worried about size and features more than duty cycle, then an inverter type machine is the way to go.

I run lincoln welders in my shop. Dad had an old tombstone stick welder I learned on and they had lincoln welders in the lab when I was in college. I have had good luck with them. I know you're talking tig but my lincoln power mig 216 is a transformer machine, and my MP 210 is an inverter. The 210 has 3/4 the power and much lower duty cycle but I can carry it like a suitcase, where the 216 requires a loader, and the 210 has many more features/parameters to fine tune with.

For the criteria you listed I would be shopping new small inverters and passing on the old industrial stuff even though they are familiar names.

I have a tombstone welder I bought in 1976. Still looks and works good..My blue machines tolerate it...

[digger doug]

Originally Posted by Matt Shade

. Dad had an old tombstone stick welder I learned on

Originally Posted by moe1942

I have a tombstone welder I bought in 1976. Still looks and works good..My blue machines tolerate it...

Who is welding up all these tombstones ?

[CaddmannQ]

Originally Posted by mccutter

Good for you! The more I think about it the more I may get one for my shop as an excuse to claim a "business expense". Most everything I have has "depreciated" out.

I've used the little wood HF moving dolly as running gear until they had a sale on their welding cart (the $40 special).

The ads and videos are not very clear on dimensions. Could you measure the linear dimensions and weight of just the welder without accessories? They say it weighs 90lbs but I'm assuming that is with all the cables, etc. What are the input amps required for both 120v and 240v? I have not been able to find this info and it could help others to make an educated choice.

Also because of glare, it is hard to tell from videos if the values on the LCD screen change when the individual knobs are turned to set. Do they change then the display reverts back to amps? If so, about how many seconds?

The welder is 12 inches wide 20 inches long and about 22 inches tall tall At the handle. I guesstimate that it weighs 65-70 pounds without the accessories as I am able to pick it up and set it on a 3 foot tall shelf without a problem. You will need considerable clearance front and rear of course. The cables stick out quite a bit.

I just plugged the welder into a 110 socket and turned it on for the first time. The only knob that has a display is the welding heat knob. In other words, the total amps available. Adjusting the other knobs does not change the display.

This is one of the big criticisms of this machine. There are no numbers on any of the controls either. The best thing is probably to take a photo of the panel once you get it set up for the job you’re doing. You’re not gonna be able to write those settings down on the inside of your helmet.

In the video I watched the display amps changes in real time as you weld, showing the amps you are actually delivering. At least that’s how it appears to work.

[CaddmannQ]

Rookie mistake #1

I bought a 125cuft argon tank today, a Jackson helmet, 3lbs rods, 2 spare collets & bodies, and 10 red 3/32 electrodes. They did not have an electrode sharpener at the welding store and said I would have to order it from their warehouse shop.

So anyhow, I go to set up my machine and do my first test weld (1/16” wall steel tubing) and realized that when you buy the electrodes they are not sharpened at all. I assumed they would have a generic profile of some kind.

So now I have got to go find a diamond wheel. I didn’t know you couldn’t sharpen them on the ordinary grinding wheel.

[Scotts]

Originally Posted by CaddmannQ

So now I have got to go find a diamond wheel. I didn’t know you couldn’t sharpen them on the ordinary grinding wheel.

Hmmmmmm, I have been sharpening mine on a regular wheel, green wheel, and even used a belt sander before. Don't remember if I ever used a diamond wheel to sharpen one on.

I might be missing out though.

Scott

[astronut]

Originally Posted by Scotts

Hmmmmmm, I have been sharpening mine on a regular wheel, green wheel, and even used a belt sander before. Don't remember if I ever used a diamond wheel to sharpen one on.

I might be missing out though.

Scott

Years ago when I was tig welding, I sharpened my tungestens the same way, with a regular wheel on a bench grinder.

[Matt Shade]

I've never had to sharpen a tungsten, but most drill doctors have a diamond wheel on them. If you have one of those and are in a bind, you could probably take the collet out and free hand grind on it with light pressure.

I'd be inclined to try the belt grinder or bench grinder. It may wear the wheel down a bit faster but I bet it would make a point.