[montejw360]

new to the forums. been watching jody's vids for awhile. just got my 186 ac/dc thermal arc machine and need to get some filler and gas. what would be a decent list of fillers (mild steel, stainless, alum) to pickup to get started with? guess i need some gas too? yeah, basic questions, i ask for your patience, it's late. thanks.

monte

[AFSATCOM]

The most common fillers are ER70S-2 for mild, 308L for stainless and 4043 for alu. Some 309 would be good to have as well for dissimilar metals. I use 1/16" filler more than any other size but i would be good to have an assortment of sizes. Pure argon for gas.

[AKweldshop]

Hey Monte, here's some 3/32 er70s3 rods I've gotten in the past, and were very good quality and a great price.

http://www.amazon.com/INETIG-ER70S-3-36 ... 32+tig+rod

here's some Aluminum tig rods, also a great price....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ER-4043-ALUMINU ... 53e5eb5424

And for stainless, you'll haft to do some looking around.

and you'll need a fair amount of tungsten if your just getting started tigging

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-HTP-2-Lantha ... 20dacd0259

I've had good luck with HTP's 2% lanthenated tungsten in the past, I've switched over to weldcote, just cause I got a bunch of it at a good price.

And for tig cups and collets etc, it's up to you.

good Luck, and feel free to ask any questions.
~John

[AKweldshop]

And for gas I started with a 84 cu ft bottle,
But the larger the bottle the cheaper per cu ft prices are going to be.
I'm up to a 155 cu fter now, and about $60 bucks to fill it, or rather, trade it out.\
John~

ps. almost a weldmonger with 500 posts

[Superiorwelding]

Monte,
Welcome to the Forum. One question for you is how are you using your machine? If you are just beginning and practicing in the garage than a wide selection is not necessary. I would recommend everything that has been mentioned by the others for filler. One thing I might change is the 308L. If you are just practicing or not doing critical welds than that is more than fine, but if you do anything for customers or friends I would recommend getting 316L. If you have 316L you will not have to worry if you have a good enough filler. Once you master your Alum welding skill on 4043, go for some 5356. I think you will like the bead characteristics better. As for your cups and collets I mostly use CK Worldwide. I love their stubby gas lenses. Any of the Weld Craft (now Miller) will work well for you. As was mentioned this is going to be more of a personal preference or whatever the job dictates. Have Fun!!

[Superiorwelding]

P.S. AK I guess I have a long way to get my 500 and weldmonger status.

[DSL power]

Try to get your consumables online and not at your local lws. I bought my first batch of consumables at my lws where i got my machine and i ended up paying almost double what i psyed for my ck stuff online.

[DSL power]

Did you get a pedal with your machine or just get the torch switch?