Welding Tips and Tricks

So, my tig welder (AHP Alpha 200) was supposed to be delivered on the second. Things happened. Not sure what. BUT, it will be here tomorrow.

I tried sharpening these things. I had to use two drills. From a video I watched, I knew that I was supposed to have the diamond wheel, going the direction that the current flows.

The problem, I had to use two drills. One with the tungsten and the other with the wheel. I have a Harbor Freight Diamond wheel. Cheap, but, as one JUST starting to learn, that is the way I went.

These do not look good to me. So, I ask those who tig weld. Will these work, or should I make them sharper?

Hey there.

Just my opinion, I'd be aiming to make them sharper for crisper arc starts. If you are struggling with your two drills, maybe find yourself a cheapo belt sander. Before you buy, check that when you invert it (belt facing upwards) that it will sit on the bench in a stable manner.

Then put your tungsten in the drill chuck, lock the belt sander 'on' (with the belt direction running 'away' from you) and away you go. You'll be able to get needle sharp points if you want.

I am using a crappy $25 belt sander and 120 grit belts and I'm perfectly happy with the results. I burn through the belts fairly quickly but they are cheap, so no problems.

Hope this helps.



Kym

Thank you for the tip. Yes, after I saw the ends, I told my mom and grandfather, that I would have to get one of the things you said. Though I am just starting the tig thing, I mean, I would rather it be set up correctly. haha

Glowzinski wrote:Thank you for the tip. Yes, after I saw the ends, I told my mom and grandfather, that I would have to get one of the things you said. Though I am just starting the tig thing, I mean, I would rather it be set up correctly. haha

Yes. And in the scheme of things, a cheap sander and a few belts is small change.

The reward will be nice crisp arc starts, especially at low amps. You would be able to weld with what you have now, but it wouldn't be ideal. I am a great believer in 'eliminating the variables.' What I mean by that is that if, for instance, I am about to weld aluminium, I first clean it with a flap disc, then I acetone wipe. I sharpen my tungsten, get my fit up right, do all of my preparation as well as I can and then start welding.

Do I really need to fuss about with all this stuff like the acetone wiping?

Probably not, but if I do, I then stand a better chance of isolating any problems, instead of running into a problem and thinking "was that something I did, or was it just dirty aluminium?"

To me, well prepped tungstens represent just one more variable eliminated.



Kym

When stick welding, I clean the metal off as well. Though, I did not do so for the table I am working on now. I like clean stuff. For the past week or so, I've been in a fog. haha I am part zombie now.

I was planning on getting a 2 x 2 piece of aluminum, which is 1/8 thick. Then, cutting small squares and just use the gun thing to even get a puddle. THEN, after a few days, I would start to add the other stuff. No need to rush. haha

All good.

Don't cut the squares too small. Get yourself a piece onto which you can pad beads, using Jody's 'aluminium Tig drill.'

Be sure you have enough length so that you can work on a decent length bead. It's all about getting into a rhythm.

All the best with this, you are going to have a lot of fun.



Kym

I've had my Alpha Tig 200 x since last Friday.
Only week but so far, its an outstanding machine
Enjoy it
I'm not "new"to TIG, but my experience has been limited to repairing cracked
aluminum heads, not much steel or fabrication. I found some photos somewhere on here the other day of what your tungsten's should look like for different purposes, maybe someone has a link to them?

EDIT:
Here ya go- most of the way down the first page. I printed the pics for shop reference
http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/v ... +tungstens

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-inch-min ... 94071.html
I modified one side of mine to accept the diamond wheel. http://www.harborfreight.com/replacemen ... 98862.html

this might be helpful also.
craig

Thanks for all this info.

I got a bench grinder thing today. It was like, $39.99. I sharpened these things with that. Seem to be much better than before. Haha

BUT, as far as having fun, well, that is another story. The place I ordered the welder from, I’ve had nothing but problems. The welder was supposed to arrive today. Which, is a week late. Amazon told me to file a claim on them. I did so. Well, I got a bunch of emails back. None of them very nice or that which you would expect from a good company. My order was IN Baltimore. Out for delivery. They place canceled my order and had the delivery go to another place and refunded me in full. THEN, if that shit was not bad enough, they said that if I closed the claim through Amazon, they would see if I could get the item today.

My mom is the one who filed the claim. I was so mad at first. I told her she screwed me. Now, I only said that, because I was so freaking shocked at what the company did. It was not at all her fault. A company cannot hold your ordered item at ransom, until you do what they want you to. That is crazy. So, I will not have to wait to get my money back from Amazon, then I will order it directly through them. I cannot blame the company that makes the welder, because there are a few bad people who I dealt with. I will just have to wait longer to try tig welding. On top of all of that, the place I get my metal from, gets their stuff from places that have had bad storms lately. Thus, I can never get a hold of them. They were out of what I needed last time I talked to them. The tig thing, perhaps, it is not meant to be.

If you are 31 as your profile says, why do you even have your mother involved. There are all kinds of reasons for shipping delays that are out of the control of Amazon and the seller once UPS has the order. In less than a day you went from expecting your delivery to cancelling the order through Amazon. I would expect the seller to cancel the delivery and have the machine returned to them. Else, like many scammers, you would have a welder that you never paid for?

soutthpaw wrote:If you are 31 as your profile says, why do you even have your mother involved. There are all kinds of reasons for shipping delays that are out of the control of Amazon and the seller once UPS has the order. In less than a day you went from expecting your delivery to cancelling the order through Amazon. I would expect the seller to cancel the delivery and have the machine returned to them. Else, like many scammers, you would have a welder that you never paid for?

e: TODAY!

Postby exnailpounder » Fri Jul 29, 2016 6:16 pm
Good for you man! I didn't know about your brain injury. If welding makes you happy then I am happy for you. Personally I would have chose gynecology over welding if I had a choice but, to each his own. You have all my respect. At the least you are trying to learn a craft to support yourself instead of getting some scumbag doctor to say you can't work so you can cash in on Social Security. I wish I could stick weld so I could help you!
Miller Sycrowave 210
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Millermatic 200 MIG
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exnailpounder
Weldmonger

Posts: 1062
Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2014 8:25 am
Location: near Chicago

Ok, did not catch that part about the TBI. Makes sense now. If you are not already, you should contact your state vocational rehabilitation office. They will work with you and if they agree that you may be able to work even part time as a welder, they will help with paying for training and sometimes equipment.

haha Well, I like my mom to know she is still important and needed. My entire family is close like that.

I did not wait a day. First, the thing was supposed to arrive on the second. I filed a claim on the 8th or 9th. It had to do with other things. Amazon can read everything sent between myself and that company. I don't make stuff up. haha As for getting the money back, they were not going to give me the money, until the other person got it. Why would I be responsible if the shipper lost the thing? If I got the item, I would have returned it. I will never by anything from the Amazon seller. I WILL buy the machine from that company, but through Amazon. The shipping delay would not be a problem. It is the fact that they never contacted me. Then, when I did them, they seemed to not care at all. They actually laughed about it.

As far as the brain injury goes, I only lost like, 90% of my vision and my smell. I have a copyright on a cartoon and am writing a series of kids books right now. I just like the welding thing as a hobby. My dad used to do it. I gave it a try and it stuck.

I was thinking about what was said on here. All day it has been churning through my mind. haha The only reason I even contacted the company is this. I got an email that a shipping label had been created. The delivery date was September second. So, four days after the delivery date, I looked at the shippers site. The item still said "a shipping label has been created for this item." It had done nothing since then. Nobody contacted me, telling me of any problems.

I contacted the company that sells through Amazon. They said they had no clue what happened and that they would send me another one. After that, there was one question asked to that company by me. I got no response. Which, seems to be a problem with the seller. Amazon told me to open a claim. I did so. The company, from their replies, seemed to get pissed off. Things got worse from there.

AHP, has nothing to do with the problem. I have read nothing but great things about that company and their welders. I am still going to get the AHP tig welder. BUT, I am going to do so directly from Amazon. I also plan on getting their mig machine, next year.

So, things happen. Shipped items arrive late. That's all good. But, that has nothing to do with what happened. It was the way the seller handled the problem, that made Amazon suggest I open a claim. I do not at all blame AHP.

Also, for them seeming to have no way of knowing, what happened to the original package, and telling me not to contact the shipper, which, I am going to do tomorrow, they sure in the hell had no problem canceling my order and having it sent to another buyer. Just makes you wonder is all I'm saying.

I have had the occasional similar issue with some sellers on Amazon.
I have the Amazon Prime, and when you buy stuff marked Primes 2 day shipping I expect in 2 days, after the date of order.
so if you order Tuesday it should arrive Friday at the latest. It used to be when you ordered 2 day shipping on Tuesday, it would arrive on Thursday.
What gets me, and my issues have been, some of the sellers take it as 2 day shipping, after they get around to shipping it. So you order on Tuesday, they screw off for 6 days, get you good and pissed off, then ship the next Monday and it gets there in 2 days, on Wed. Yeah 2 days shipping, but a week late
I was looking at the Aplha 200 on Amazon and had it in my cart at 799.00
Then I clicked on AHP's link elsewhere, and it took me to their page and showed it for $680.00 & $30.00 shipping.
Lets see, sans common core math, $710 is better than $799 so I bought tungsten's and gas lenses with the savings
Order from AHP thru Amazon you wont be disappointed. Mine said estimated 2 weeks for shipping, it came in 5 days

I love that grinder when I'm not using my Dremel attachment and diamond wheels!

I read a few ppl complain about the Harbor Freight grinder and all said it doesn't have the horse power to grind tungsten down. Now I'm not so much a n00b anymore I can say that is BS. If you're pushing the tungsten down enough to stop that wheel, you're doing it wrong! So enjoy your grinder, it was a great investment

The n00b2n00b tip I have for you is pick one side of the wheel for steel projects and another for aluminum. You'll be somewhat close to the edge so angling the tip so it points a bit inwards of the wheel will help it from jumping off the wheel. If it jumps, grind some more or you will hate your life because the arc will be strongest on that lil flat spot you just made.
Lastly, install the tool rest and rest the bottom portion of the tungsten on that tool rest while the tip is pointing to the sky albeit on the wheel being ground down. If you try to angle it downwards, or horizontal to Earth you will again hate your life.

Have fun!