Got a TIG welder :)

[240hoke]

Just bought a Miller 180SD tig welder. Ive been wanting one of these for a long time. Found one locally with very few hours on it and decided to go ahead with it. Im still up at school but my dad is going to pick it up from the guy for me.

 

Cant wait to go home and get some practice in!!! mmmm I cant wait to start playing with aluminum.

 

And on second thought I dunno why I posted, but im excited hehe.

[JustinOlson]

What kind of deal did you get on it? Its all about practice and its fun as hell!

[240hoke]

Its supposably in like new condition. With one bottle of gas run through it in its lifetime. it sounds like he welds as his job and menioned that he needed a smaller more mobile unit to go in his truck from his new job I dunno. Comes with all the paper work, i jsutgotta get a bottle.

 

I think I paid the going rate for one, considering its like new I am happy. I paid 1200, I think the comparable new welder form miller is the 200sd. Best price I could find is 2,000.

[Doug71zt]

It was a deal - I'm sure that you'll be happy with it. Same model as mine.

 

Doug

[JustinOlson]

Very cool, that should do just about everything you need to do. Post some pictures of your welds as you get started. I love to watch the progress people make in the first couple weeks.

 

Justin

[grumpyvette]

first< IM NO EXPERT, BUT I CAN STICK STUFF TOGETHER THAT WON,T BREAK, I feel humble looking a the skills some of you guys have.

I started welding with a oxy-acetolene torch back in the late 1960s and altho I use stick,mig,and oxy-acetolene TIG is by far the best system in my opinion when the QUALITY of the welds far exceeds the need for speed/quantity, and its more like oxy-acetolene in that you control the heat,and feed rates

its both more precise and more controlable in that both the heat and material feed rates are instantly controlable, thats not a big deal on some projects but it makes a world of differance on others

the only thing I see many guys screw up on is that the price of the equipment tends make some guys sellect the lower quality and lower output welders, now what your welding comes into this of course but its fustrating to use a p.o.S, once youve used a top of the line machine.

 

heres three that work ok, but ask questions, you don,t want to spend more than you need too or get a P.O.S. for your particular application

 

http://www.weldingdirect.com/tig252helsys.html

 

http://www.htpweld.com/products/tig_welders/tig201.html

 

http://store.cyberweld.com/milsyn250dxt.html

 

BTW the water cooled torch with the hand control is so much easier to use under odd angles and under the car its amazing vs the air cool torch with the foot control thats basicly fine for the bench but a P.I.T.A, under the car

 

while you new guys to welding may be shocked silly at a tool that costs $3000-$5000, it PAYS for itself many times over if you do alot of car stuff like engine swaps, roll cages,suspension work etc.

 

heres an old post that cover much of the info, LOOK THRU THE LINKS

 

 

http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk6.html

 

TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding)

 

 

basically youve got a controlable electric arc in a gas shield that you use similar to a oxy-acetolene flame to melt the material and feed a rod of similar material to flow and join the peices

This process is the toughest to learn. The electrode is composed of Tungsten, and a current is flowed through it controlled by either a foot pedal, a hand switch, or a fixed current on the machine itself. I am learning TIG using a foot pedal, the more you press down on the metal, the more amps you get. Once you get enough current flowing to get an appropriate sized weld pool, you start dabbing a filler metal into the puddle as you move the electrode further down the work piece. TIG allows you a great amount of control because you regulate how much current the electrode gets and how much filler metal the weld pool gets. This process is very slow compared to the other types though. in my opinion its by far the best process simply because you can CONTROL BOTH THE HEAT POLARITY AND MATERIAL FEED CONSTANTLY MAKING ADJUSTMENTS IN BOTH SHOULD YOU CHOOSE

 

MIG - (Metal Inert Gas)

http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk4.html

 

 

MIG is the easiest process of welding. A feeding gun is used to feed a spool of filler metal wire into the weld pool. in effect you feed a charged wire into the weld are where it melts on contact due to the current arc ,Current is usually switched on and off by means of a trigger on the gun. Amps are usually controlled by a dial on the MIG machine itself, meaning that you cannot adjust current in the middle of welding. Though, with some machine you are able to get a foot pedal to control Amps while welding.the better machines allow you to vary the speed of the wire feed but you set the electrical energy (heat with a dial), its extremely fast and simple to use but your basicall shooting molten wire into the area to be welded.

 

Arc Welding

Arc welding is mostly used in industrial applications. An electrode is used to strike an arc, the electrode then melts away to deposit metal into the weld pool. The electrode is coated with a variety of different materials which are used to help keep the weld pool from being contaminated.

 

TIG and non-flux-cored MIG both use a variety of different shielding gases to help keep the weld pool from being contaminated depending on what metal is being welding.

[240hoke]

Grumpyvette im am continually impressed by your ability to create super long posts! That would have taken me and hour or more to put together those pictures and what not. Thanks for the info.

 

The 180sd was much more welder then I was planning on buying. After hearing many people talk about what a great little welder it is i think ill be happy with it.

 

When I start a shop perhaps the 5,000 dollar welder will come along!