Modifications on stick welding machines

draakken66613 · Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:24 am

Is it possible for you to adapt a foot pedal to a scratch start tig setup?

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crashbandit · Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:52 am

Well any stick machine can be a tig machine and any tig machine can be a stick machine. I’ve put the welder in tig mode and used the amp control (foot pedal). You can either put the stick electrode in the tig torch or just use the electrode holder. On YouTube search 6061.com and he uses his welder the same way. Here the link. https://youtu.be/YzD0riaTXiw

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draakken66613 · Mon Mar 04, 2019 9:34 am

Let me rephrase a bit. This is a dedicated stick machine. No high frequency, not an inverter, but is AC/DC selectable. There is a high and low on the AC side and goes to 230amps. The DC side goes to 140 amps. The only other control on the machine is the on/off switch and the power cord. This is why I was asking about adding a foot pedal.

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Mike Westbrook · Mon Mar 04, 2019 9:48 am

It can be done but it's not worth it me and the boy built a stick Tig machine with hf and amperage control with foot pedal from scratch starting with just an ac 225 transformer as a science project what we did was purchase a large like 20 k watt SCR and install it on one of the lines coming in then wired the pot. To the panel and also a homemade foot pedal then installed a line voltage gauge on the panel as a percentage indicator we built the diode assy from military surplus wound our own choke and even made up a variable Tesla style hf section it works decent with the exception of not having ac Ballance we just didn't go that far into it ......can be done but unless your doing it for fun not worth it

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nomoreusmc · Mon Mar 04, 2019 10:13 am

Yes, but why? It would cost more than an Everlast 140stl which comes with a foot pedal (all be it a crappy one) for the scr's( your gonna need the fancy expensive potted ones with the huge heat sinks), time to Fab up a box and pedal, find the right spring, find the right connection and solder it together, assemble the connector, install the other side of the connection to the welder's guts........ Huge waste of time when you can scratch start it right now and control your current with arc length like a pipe welder.

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LtBadd · Mon Mar 04, 2019 10:17 am

nomoreusmc wrote:Yes, but why? It would cost more than an Everlast 140stl which comes with a foot pedal (all be it a crappy one) for the scr's( your gonna need the fancy expensive potted ones with the huge heat sinks), time to Fab up a box and pedal, find the right spring, find the right connection and solder it together, assemble the connector, install the other side of the connection to the welder's guts........ Huge waste of time when you can scratch start it right now and control your current with arc length like a pipe welder.

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His last sentence is truncated and finishes at the left side (bottom) on the image.

draakken66613 · Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:45 pm

Thanks for letting me know how you did it. I do many things for hobbies and not really concerned about the price to much. I'm pretty good at finding deals on equipment that I might need. Would you be able to give a list of materials you used plz?

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Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:42 am

crashbandit wrote:Well any stick machine can be a tig machine and any tig machine can be a stick machine.

not always.
using a tig as a stick machine can damage it. there is a few videos on this showing it done but with warning that people have blown their machines doing it.

the other thing is tig setting can be a lot lower voltage so you may have a hard time stick welding with it.

a dc stick machine can do tig easy enough with no ill effects.

draakken66613 · Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:41 am

I can already scratch start tig with this machine. As you can see in the pic I can go from DC+ to DC- to AC high to AC low with relative ease. I'm getting a high frequency box so I will be able to tig aluminum on AC. The only problem is unless you have someone else with you to run the amperage up and down and they can see exactly what you are seeing, you're stuck at the set amperage. This is why I would like to add, modify, or integrate a foot pedal. As far as stick welding is concerned, I've put this machine through hell and it just asks for more. It runs 6010's insanely great and 7018's even better. I'd put this machine up against any Miller or Lincoln in the same amperage class any day. (and probably in a couple of classes higher as well).

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draakken66613 · Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:42 am

I can already scratch start tig with this machine. As you can see in the pic I can go from DC+ to DC- to AC high to AC low with relative ease. I'm getting a high frequency box so I will be able to tig aluminum on AC. The only problem is unless you have someone else with you to run the amperage up and down and they can see exactly what you are seeing, you're stuck at the set amperage. This is why I would like to add, modify, or integrate a foot pedal. As far as stick welding is concerned, I've put this machine through hell and it just asks for more. It runs 6010's insanely great and 7018's even better. I'd put this machine up against any Miller or Lincoln in the same amperage class any day. (and probably in a couple of classes higher as well).

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Mike Westbrook · Tue Mar 05, 2019 12:01 pm

Hate to say it but even with the hf box your limited to pretty cruddy aluminum welds with no Ballance control however hf is great for starting and maintaining an arc except most boxes are starting or constant if it's switched to constant then extinguishing the arc is a pain as well unless you have a pedal control

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draakken66613 · Tue Mar 05, 2019 1:12 pm

LOL. Yea I know. That's why I want to integrate a foot pedal somehow. Any ideas?

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MinnesotaDave · Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:53 pm

draakken66613 wrote:LOL. Yea I know. That's why I want to integrate a foot pedal somehow. Any ideas?

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Because your machine lacks a rheostat, you aren't going to be able to control amps with a foot control.

For example. My Miller Dialarc has a rheostat that controls the output amperage and can be outfitted with a foot control outlet (essentially a remote rheostat).

Your machine would require a foot control that can moderate full welding amperage.

I've done what you are going to do. Used a standard stick welder and a High Freq box.
Worked good for aluminum, but was not even close to as nice as an actual tig. I bought one a year or so later.

draakken66613 · Tue Mar 05, 2019 4:00 pm

Hey Minnesota dave, would you have any idea how to retro fit a rheostat in place of the lever slide for amperage. I know it sounds like I'm asking a lot. It's because I am asking a lot LOL. This machine is just my toy. I have a good machine that's all DC. I have learned to DC+ aluminum rather decently with it. This machine I'm working on is just a project to challenge myself and my abilities. So if I accidentally blow it up... It's really not a big deal (as long as I'm not next to it when it blows that is hehehe). So any advice on this build is greatly appreciated.

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MinnesotaDave · Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:35 pm

Since your machine uses a movable shunt to control the amps, I don't see how you would change that to a rheostat style machine?

DC+ tig works pretty good for thin aluminum - not super great or anything, but does the job.

draakken66613 · Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:55 pm

I appreciate your input Minnesotadave, thanks. DC+does work pretty ok doesn't it? Like you just said though, it ain't super pretty. LOL. It does melt pieces together. Probably sometimes alittle too together. LOL. Have a nice night dude.

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