Welding Tips and Tricks

So I have a 2007 Miller Dynasty 200dx with a weak HF start board. It works. I wanted the miller because it performs better than others below 5 amps. It can do 1 amp with just by dialing, and it can mimic 0.5 amps if you fuck with settings.

Right now millers still command a good resale. New is absurd $4k. Average used is $2500-3500. While I love the miller and have used it, I've only been able to use it 2-3 times a year. I don't have the work space still. I've been fighting for years to get a work space so I can amass tools, do cool shit, and get them dollars.

I'm thinking about selling this to free up $2000-2500 so I can snowball cash.

I have a few questions that I'd appreciate a board range of perspective on.

-Selling the miller. Someone mentioned parting it out. Could I make more money parting it out?

-Getting a cheaper welder? Should I unicorn hunt for something decent like a HTP 221? Or just rock anything cheap that comes up. I'd like to be able to keep dual wielding with DC and AC. But I can forgo AC, if something is a steal.

-Build my own welder. I kind of want to do this mostly. I understand electronicals pretty well via physics and a basic electrical class. In reality, most electronics are just about the same damn thing. Once you get past the jargon, it's actually a lot more straight forward than mechanics and automotive shit. My question to you guys, is this the kind of forum that I could do a build thread on and get help with? Is there anyone here that can do the electronicals too? If not is there a better forum for that? I'm not talking redneck engineering, although I don't mind that. But there's a difference in caliber between a couple of transformers run in series with an on/off switch and what I want to do. I still want to be as cheap as possible, while maintaining effective function, versatility, and ergonomics.

Reality Checks are very welcomed.

If you have the skills to build a welder from scratch, why don't you repair the HF board in the welder you have?

I don't know that you could "build" an AC TIG welder capable of the multiple waveforms with the same reliability, programmability for less than buying one. Maybe you can...

Your 2007 Dynasty was comparable in price to the latest 210dx in "then money" so don't forget that. If you don't have the need for a machine of that capability, sell it. Buy a new, lower cost model (SquareWave, HTP, Alpha, Everlast...) and weld on. If your current unit is suffering from a poorly functioning HF board, it will not sell for the correct value. And you'd probably barely get $1,500 for a unit that old. Asking over $2,000 brings a LOT of new, modern units into consideration, FYI.

MarkL, I've thought about repairing it in the past, but 2 things have held me back besides time to dick with it: I wonder if I'd fuck it up. 2nd, I wonder if it's broken in a way that can be fixed. I've never seen anyone document it. If it was fixable, why hadn't someone in 2007 start up a side hustle with it? Fuck, even if someone charged $500 to fix it, it'd still be way cheaper than replacing the board for $1000.

cj737, if it can be done for cheap in china, I can build it myself. If everlast can sell it for less than $1k, I know I can make it for $300. Also, there are people building laser firing robots all over the internet, cooler shit has been done with relative ease. It'd just become a lot of learning curves all at once to tackle AC on top of it being my first experience building a piece of electronic equipment. DC would be simpler, amp control, pulse, and may be slope for fisheyes. Not much else is needed.

I know that it won't sell for retail, but no one is going to ask or care that it is 2007 model, nor does it matter. It's a dynasty DX. That's what matters. The buyer I'm looking for is going to like me 4 years ago. Wants a miller but not paying $4k for new.

I think you need to really decide just what project you want to accomplish. If you wish to have a decent welder with the goal of welding stuff for fun or income, just sell what you have and buy another that is more suited to your needs. If your wish is to build a welder for the fun/education value/cool-factor of doing so, that is an entirely different sort of project. Either one is a worthy goal, just know which you want most.

I do think it's pretty unlikely that you can build an AC welder that you would care to use for less than you can buy one, even if you don't count the value of your time. If for no other reason that the cost of components. The 4 or 6 IGBT's you have to pay $8.00 each for, Everlast is buying by the boatload for 89 cents. When you have one circuit board made for 50 bucks (cheap), you have burned through 15% of your $300 budget before you have bought a single component to put on it. And you WILL smoke a bunch of parts learning what does not work along the way. I studied this sort of stuff and have worked doing similar things for a long time, and I still smoke stuff on occasion. It's part of the game.

I'm sure not saying you can't build one, nor am I looking to discourage you from trying. Just don't kid yourself into thinking it's a path to a bargain welding machine. I guarantee you'll learn a ton and have a real sense of accomplishment when you are done. It just won't be fast or cheap.

^thank you sir. Thank you kindly. That's the reality check that I was wanting.

I want all of that. I just have to prioritize it. Kind of knew within certain degree that AC would be PITA. I wasn't thinking $300 for an AC + DC machine. I was thinking that budget for a DC only machine. That's why I was breaking it up into possibly 2 different welders. Do DC first, less shit to "smoke" I guess. Then slow build an AC, which will probably just be an AC/DC welder. Or by that time just not care again and buy stuff at a good price.

I also just need more skills on my resume. I'm broadly intelligent as opposed to having a strong bent in one field. It's been rough marketing myself within industry. I'm finally at a place that recognizes what I can bring to the table so I'm trying to cultivate a created position or revive an old one, "continuous improvement specialist". Electronics and software is something that most everyone there is weak on.

Also, this z generation and the millennials are kind of out of touch with electronics. Most of them would never think to fix their own mobile device even with the abundance of youtube how-to's. I glued an apple pay station back to it's base and was called a handy kind of guy. I don't understand.

------------

A somewhat tangential topic. Overall, I'm just trying to stay ahead of the curve. I fix my own shit or make it, when it makes sense to do so. I buy when it's better to just by. I may never make it to 6 digit thousandaire or beginner millionaire so I have to plan to keep my cost of living close to zero, while still trying to snowball into becoming a thousandaire. Getting your cost of living as close zero is pretty much what thousandiares and millionaires do. They just have lawyers and accountants hustling for them.

------

A tangent. Entrepreneurship, is artistry. There's no one way to get there. There's only heavy crossover between paths, when there is regulation or franchising. Otherwise, it's open ended. I can't do what someone else is doing and they can't do what I have planned.

JKR wrote: A tangent. Entrepreneurship, is artistry. There's no one way to get there. There's only heavy crossover between paths, when there is regulation or franchising. Otherwise, it's open ended. I can't do what someone else is doing and they can't do what I have planned.

I'll offer this advice: When you think you have all the answers, you've only proved you've stopped asking the right questions.

As for Entrepreneurs, the only difference between the High Net Worth Individuals and the other 90%+ is how much risk you're willing to take. Entrepreneurs are willing to put it all on the line, and bet upon themselves. That's why they score big sometimes. Once they amass success, then, they go into wealth protection mode. Its this sequence that the rest of us slobs don't understand or ever get taught.

I appreciate that you took my reply in the spirit that I offered it, and not as someone just being a naysayer.

One thing to note is that if you plan to build a DC "inverter" type machine, rather than an transformer based one, that the complexity of the power part of the system (rather than the controls) is not a lot different than an AC unit. There is a lot of subtlety to these sort of high speed, high power switching circuits. It can be tricky to get right, as well as costly but you have to consider that "tuition" for your education and not let it derail you.

Just to show it can be done, here is a link to a guy who took and old DC TIG machine and converted it into a squarewave AC machine. I was following this guy's build way back in the days of rec.crafts.metalwork on usenet. He is not an electronics engineer by trade, but is a very bright and persistent guy. Lots of details on his project here:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Homemad ... -Inverter/

If you are serious about diving into this sort of thing there are tons of resources online to learn from. You may want to download a copy of LTSpice from the link below and start learning how to use it. Long learning curve, but this is a very powerful tool that will allow you to build circuits on your computer and run simulations to see how well they work (or not) without actually building them.

http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/#LTspice

Don't be shocked when the circuit that ran fine in sim smokes when you build it. That happens too.

As to entrepreneurs, Cj737 hit it on the head. Those people are not afraid to take significant risks, and they fail often. But then they do it again. And sooner or later they hit the right thing at the right time and place. And don't discount the "luck" factor, it's real. I read a quote from someone who is both an very successful pro poker player as well as a PhD in psychology that went:

"Don’t be so hard on yourself when things go badly and don’t be so proud of yourself when they go well."

Some real insight there.
Good luck and keep us all posted, Be fun to follow your progress.