Interesting build, would not a computer power supply work as well? Also what diameter is the PVC pipe, looks like maybe 3"? I actually tried a computer power supply first. Just bridge green to black for the motherboard power on signal and then the yellow wires are the 12V+ rail and black is gr...

Can you TIG weld at 200A+, AC with 65%EN and still have ambient temperature water exit the entire cooler after being cooled? All the compactness and savings don't mean squat until you do heavy AC TIG. :) other than that, good job. Can't say I've had many occasions to run my machine that hard but th...

So I've seen plenty of tig coolers here but a lot of them seem like they probably cost more to make than just buying one would. So this was under $200 and came together pretty fast. This is framed out with just a 11 gauge sheet for the bottom, a few feet of of 1" angle iron and some 1" tub...

Rick_H wrote:Got the patch made and tacked in tonight....

Are you going to have to purge that entire tank or can you get backside coverage some other way?

-Sandow

I'm not sure a casting is a great thing to learn on. Just too many things going on that can be confusing while getting the hang of it. I'd grab some sheet or bar stock in the thickness you'll be welding and play with dcep on time and stuff like that. Easy to see on mill finished aluminum. Get used t...

I've managed welds on 1" aluminum with a 200 amp machine but it took enough preheat to do it that any contact with my glove puffed smoke... You can manage it but you need to be concerned about distortion far more than I did. Trying on scrap is a good start but hit it with some calipers before a...

I've been using emt conduit to practice cluster joints and I've been happy just using muriatic (hydrochloric) acid to strip off galvanization. It won't eat iron so just toss it in and when it stops bubbling it is clean. If you then do a few minutes in phosphoric acid, it will give it a thin rust res...

I'm just beginning my adventures in tig welding and was told by an ole timer to use 3-SMW filler rod (1/16 or 3/32) when I'm unsure of the properties. Just wondering what the welders out there think of this filler rod, it was the first time I had heard about this particular filler. Thanks in advanc...

If your tungsten is dulling quickly you may have your post flow set too short. Are your tungstens turning color?

-Sandow

That is a head for a very specific CK worldwide torch, not a part for normal torch.

-Sandow

Phosgene used to kill welders, now and then, when brake cleaner used to contain methylene chloride. Some idiot would use brake cleaner to degrease a weld zone, and strike up before it was dry, and "poof", nerve gas. There are still people online warning about the dangers of brake cleaner ...

Might want to give ERNICr-3 a try. It is probably a better match than 308L.

-Sandow

First, you might want to try all the motions without firing up the arc before you weld anything. With the issues you are having, you might want to just do that for a half hour or so on some butt joints and then fire it up and see if that helps. There are a lot of ways to feed and not all of them wor...

Are you mating the plates up flush or leaving a gap between them?

-Sandow

Oh, I missed that those drawings were square tubing. The copped joint is stronger.

-Sandow

Which is stronger? Well, kinda neither. You are better off doing a fully open corner joint. Pretty easy joint to weld nicely too.

-Sandow

In response to grinding, I am grinding the points so that the grinding lines are along the point, not swirled or around the point. You might want to play with grinding a flat at the end of your tungsten or grinding to a pretty blunt point. Heat penetration is shallow and wide with a sharp point and...

Airgas in richmond has charged me from $47 to $94 on a 150cf. For some reason setting up an account with them has never made it into their system...

-Sandow

I wonder if you could use copper tape like this:

http://www.amazon.com/inch-yds-Copper-F ... pper+strip

The adhesive would slag but it might give you the protection you need for a quick pass anyway.

-Sandow

Is it possible that you have a bad bottle of argon? Yes. Is it more likely that the problem is the tank vs something you are still doing wrong? Not really. If you take the tank back to your supplier they'll probably swap it out for free if you tell them it is bad. If it isn't hard to do that, why no...

Threads on the torch head are either 5/16-24 or 3/8-24 depending on what you are using. Block it and hit the peddle. If there is a leak the ball will float. Soap bubble test as mentioned works well, the only thing I'd add is that it helps to apply suds with a sponge rather than a spray bottle. -Sandow

Ya I went and got a 300 temp stick and 400 temp stick so I don't go over interpass temp, cause I will have to do 2 passes. They are 4 link bars, not horribly critical but still want to do it right. My concern about post heated that hot is distorting the threads. I disassembled the Hiem joint so I d...

My charts say preheat to 300 to 400F and post welding heat treat at 1275 to 1400F. Welding to mild, I'm not sure the post heat treatment makes much of a difference though. If it is a critical part, I'd use a temp stick: http://www.amazon.com/Markal-Thermomelt-Temperature-Indicator-Fahrenheit/dp/B008...

Isn't 4130 considered a low alloy steel?

-Sandow

As for welding it... This might be stupid to say but maybe some Hastelloy W? Someone correct me if I'm wrong but hastelloy w is just er312 isn't it? I love it too but I don't think that is going to stick to any aluminum alloy. -Sandow Well, no it isn't the same but it still won't work on aluminum l...