Welding Tips and Tricks

Ok I'm changing directions and may be willing to spend some coin on a TIG setup. I have a friend who told me if I get a welder he will teach me how to TIG aluminum and make the stack of coins welds. I'm going to make a poling platform and seat for my boat so the Aluminum won't be super thick, maybe 1/8" tubing, with 1/4" cleats and eyes? It won't be an ongoing thing so I don't want to spend too much.

So now I have a bunch of questions. First I don't think you can run a TIG off 110v, but will 220v work? Next what is the cheapest setup I can get to do aluminum well? I'll just start there, as my other questions will change with the answers given here. Thanks.

Silentneko,
There are quite a few people on this forum that recomend Everlast welders and I have found no reason to knock them. The price and waranty seem to be fair for the quality of their welders. Welding Aluminum requires a High Freq. start and A/C mode that most low end welders don't have. Welders with this capability are not to be had for a couple hundred dollars.

Others recomend the HTP and again I have no reason to knock them either. Name brand American companies will charge you well into the thousands for a welder to do the types of welding that you want to do. You can always check craig's list for a good used welder.

It's always an option to have somebody local weld up your project for a minimal fee if it's already cut and fitted. I'm in no way talking you out of joining the Aluminum welding world, just offering an option.

Len

I have an Everlast PowerTig 200DX and am extremely happy with it. AC/DC with pulse and it has been
a great buy. Only paid $1200 to my doorstep. Comes with a 5 year warranty too.

If you have a friend that welds would he not do the job for you ? if not perhaps get him to show you & have a go with his rig before committing to buy - I don't wish to appear rude but watching the Guru makes Tig welding look real easy - truth is not everyone masters it & few will want their first welds on a job that shows !
That said if you intend to buy a welder based on a one off job then cheap seems OK in my book - virtually any of the import AC/DC sets will do what you want - look at the 160 > 200 amp sets available where you live - any of the generic WSME sets work OK but the support from the various "box movers " selling them varies - if you can wait on the delivery "shop river / river weld" on Ebay are a reliable direct source & I've always been pleased with their service - also Eastwood market the most basic set I've seen - I believe it is dual voltage but I've not used one - there are various videos of it on Utube - unsure of US pricing - buts it's a re-badge import so should be fairly cheap & there are very few controls to learn - I'd price gas locally as well don't underestimate the cost of cylinders & argon.
Glad you went off the solder / snot stick theory & good luck with the project.

Thanks, let me set some better parameters. I am willing to pay upwards of $1200 or so, including the argon tank, for a decent welder. This won't be a one time use deal anymore, it just won't be a production deal either. I want to be able to use it on occasion after this job for trailer repairs and other fab jobs I may have.

As far as having my friend do it for me or use his equipment, well I would rather him not get fired, and he works for a manufacturing plant, so that is out. I've never met a task I couldn't do well with time, and I have plenty of scrap to work on and practice before I start bending tubing. I like to learn new skills, I've become quite skilled at fiberglass work, and boat designing and building, as well as marine mechanics, time for the next step.

So with all that, now which units should I search out? I like the idea of having a new unit ready to go, but I'm not opposed to using a conversion kit if need be if it's more economical. Remember I'm new to all this so you may have to explain some of your acronyms and some of the equipment.

OK - makes sense - but apart from Ebay items sold in both countries I can't advise on price & specs easily as I'm in the UK - I would shop around locally to find argon as this needs to be within a sensible driving distance from you - once you have a price for a cylinder & refill take this off your maximum budget & re- post the question " if I have X amount of dollars what's the best AC Tig I can expect for the price " - hopefully getting some feedback from owners of various brands.
Our mains power is'nt the same but most inverters in the 200amp range will generally need 20amp circuit 220 /240 volts to run - so you may have to figure in some wiring upgrade to your budget - some may say you could get away with 160 amp range set but I think it's marginal for 1/4" even smallish pieces unless it has a very good duty cycle.

Can I plug the welder into my 220v 40amp water heater socket? Thanks, keep the info coming, any recommendations for this side of the pond?

Well at risk of encouraging amateur electricians! when you look at the specs on a welder it should show a maximum absorbed power in Kw or amps - if you have a circuit going to a water heater / electric shower / large washer / dryer - I would expect these to have a breaker & wiring that would cope with a moderate size inverter welder - just check the numbers & if you extend the wiring use equal size cables - & don't be tempted to install a larger amp breaker without upgrading the cable to match - but you may need to change the breaker anyway- domestic ones are intended to trip very fast at their rated current & don't allow for surge loads - there is an identical looking breaker that can replace it designed for inductive loads such as motors starting that allow short duration loads over the rated continuous current - this is the best sort for welders.

If your budget allows for that much money you should be able to find a imported inverter welder to do the task at hand. You can rent or lease most sizes of argon cylinders or you can buy up to an 80 cf cylinder for around $200 US. Refills in my area are around thirty dollars for an 80 cf and 55 for a 330 cf cylinder (330 would have to be rented or leased). Just know that you will be using 15 to 20 cubic feet an hour to weld Aluminum so an 80 cf bottle will last only 4 hours or so.

Yes a 40 amp circuit should run most inverter welders in your buget. I would not put it on the same circuit as the hot water heater as you have no control of when it would kick on, unless you shut it off while you're welding. Remember that if you shut off the water heater and the little woman happens to need a shower things will get ugly and you'll never be heard from again, just sayin.

Len

With your experience, expect to continue to develop once you have the TIG skills on aluminium and steel: spend the money on an electrician, get the right plug in your workshop/shed, and, although the sparky might know exactly what to do, consult a boat builder about the volts and amps your chosen welder needs for marine grade aluminium, just so that you know what the sparky is telling you. It will double your set up costs, but its a hurdle you need to face. Happiness only comes from success, not from avoiding spending that extra. (If you have MIG skills and good kit, you might find welding aluminium much faster in MIG.)

I have no idea what a sparky is. I have an electrician who can rig up a plug for me.

Would this be a good starter machine?
http://www.everlastgenerators.com/Power ... 10-pd.html

From everything I've read it seems like it was made more simply for hobbyists and it got decent reviews. I can get it for $800 shipped. Thoughts?

Seems like a fair price and a decent machine to me. I would opt for their better foot pedal and negotiate it into the delivered price (Made by SSC I believe). May add a 100 or more to the price but it will be worth it in the long run. My opinion only. Plenty of people on here with more experience with inverter machines than me though.

P.S. A sparky is an electrician in the union trades world.

Len

I'm in Florida, so there aren't any real unions here besides the Firefighters and Police. I read that it just needs 220v service with a 30amp breaker so I should be able to work it out ok for now. I may end up running it off a generator later on.

Thanks, I'll wait to see if anyone else has strong feelings about it before I pull the trigger.

Sorry, mate. A sparky is an electrician.
220 volts / 30 amp is plenty of juice (electricity) for most work one person is likely to do. You can run quite a hefty machine on that. Good luck.

Thanks, I've got to set some things up, but if all goes well I'll be ordering the welder inside of the next few weeks. From everything I've read so far it seems the PowerTig 185 Micro should be a good fit for me as a beginner. Who knows maybe I'll get hooked and do all kinds of projects.

Oh one major thing I have to consider is where am I going to weld. This may sound like a silly question, but when not welding on a steel table, where do you put the grounding clamp?

Hey,

When ever you are welding, its always best to attach your clamp directly to the work, as close to the area of welding.

If you are welding on something with moving parts, such as a vehicle, making the welding circuit flow a long way can damage things. Also when on the bench, connecting your clamp to the job will stop "stray arc marks" from the current jumping from the table to the job if the job moves slightly.

Jody has some videos on Mig grounding which are applicable to all welding, including using a copper cable for maximum contact.

Mick

Awesome thanks.

No worries mate.

i was in a shop once and i saw a lincoln tombstone welder with a air cooled tig torch attached. they were using it for stainless. not sure if it would work on aluminum. i see those machines all the time on craigs- some for 100. not too many bells and whistles but cheeep!!

Yes you can scratch start Tig from a variety of power sources - some are more suited than others - obviously DC for stainless is easy from a DC source or running a buzz box through a rectifier - Jody did this fairly recently because he had one & to show that a sound weld can achieved without a Dynasty !
Welding aluminum is a bit trickier - it conventionally requires AC unless you have access to helium & then requires HF or square wave to work - output from a standard buzz box is a sine wave & the arc is not easily maintained as the voltage slopes down past the 0 volt line of the output - I guess someone may have managed to weld this way but it would not be easy or practical - so I think the original posters choice of an Everlast on his budget makes sense as at least on paper ( never having seen one ) the machine looks simple but capable - certainly a good first machine.

Thanks guys, I keep going back and forth on if I should take the plunge. I think I am going to give it a shot, but want to get a few other small projects finished up first so I can get set up in my garage for it.

I saw this machine mentioned a few times in other reviews, would this be better then the powertig 185? It runs about the same price.

Sorry don't know why the link isn't showing. I meant this one:

http://www.amazon.com/LONGEVITY-Tigweld ... tig+welder

Or what about this one?

http://www.amazon.com/NEW-Eastwood-Pro- ... tig+welder