[Glxy500]

Also true, and a good point.

[BoomerADF]

Originally posted by Dubz
bridges ect are built using sticks because they provide thier own sheilding, migs do not do as well in conditions that are windy ect such as outside as the sheilding gas gets blown away with even a small amount of wind.

Flux core wire? Again just asking because I dont know.

[T Hoose]

My sons and I are beginners. They want to weld tube frames so we bought a Miller 180 SD TIG welder.

I am in the process of running 100 amp to my car garage. Since the house is rented I just split the service and put in a meter for billing purposes.

Need to find someone local to help me learn how to TIG weld. I understand I can also stick weld with this unit.

Anyone know anything about TIG welding or have any suggestions?

Dane
Wynnewood, PA
610-896-0217

I bought a tig attachment for a Sears sold stick arc welder years ago. My first project was repairing a cracked alum snowblower engine i'd bought at a govt auction ( I wondered why it went so cheap!). The tig kit cost about $300, new engine was $800. After about 30 minutes of fooling around with alum filler rod and gas pressure i'd fixed the substantial crack - AND built ribs inside the crankcase cover to prevent further cracking. It's about 12 to 15 yrs later..engine still runs fine - no further cracking or problems of any kind. Paid for tig kit with first job. Get some scrap and practice is my advice. IF you do not demand absolutely perfect appearance in the beads, reliable welds are obtainable. I"ve fixed numerous items since, including a magnesium chain saw. (it caught fire when i removed the tig head before it cooled enough not to ignite..*g*.. i put it out with the argon, and filled in the little place that had burned. Startled my customer though! One way to light up your shop. Take care.. TH

[39deluxe]

Do you know if Sears still sells the TIG conversion kit? Can they be run on my AC stick welder or is AC/DC required? Sounds like a more economical way for us low budget guys to get TIG in the shop.

Tom

[macx]

Awhile ago I found an excuse to finally but the mig machine I'd wanted.

Found a way to convert it to tig, just
don't have high frequency to do aluminum, but the hi freq is available
as a stand alone unit.

Need different gas (argon is best like
for stainless) and a "tig rig" but it's
easy to convert the power source which is the main expense.

I think I've got a simple schematic
I drew up if anybody is interested.

macx
CWI (AWS Certified Welding Inspector)

[T Hoose]

Do you know if Sears still sells the TIG conversion kit? Can they be run on my AC stick welder or is AC/DC required? Sounds like a more economical way for us low budget guys to get TIG in the shop.

Tom

I don't know. I bought it about 12 yrs ago as i recall.. It amounted to a spark gap RF source (son't use if bowl games are on the tv..your neighbors will kill you..) , as well as a regulator, hose, and electrode holder that would clamp in the regular stick arc cable. I got tired of having 2 seperate boxes, so i took it apart and built contents of box into my sears stick arc machine. Added extra electrode jack to outside. Basically it puts a couple of turn high current winding on a toroid transformer in series with your electrode..to couple the high freq in to start the acc. I'll check and see if i can find it in their tool catalog. If not.. the manufacturer must be around somewhere.. It wouldn't be that hard to build up from scratch. A single frequency RF source would be more elegant. I'll see what i can find out.. i still have the box somewhere..might have mfg name on it..Lemme get bact 2 u on that..

[39deluxe]

Anyone had any experience with Clarke Welders? I see Eastwood has them and there is a local tool supply place where I can get the 130 at a good discount.

Tom

[jmanz69]

I haven't used one, but I belong to another board where a couple of the guys have them. They say they are pretty good. Maybe not the quality of a Lincoln or a Miller, but for hobby use, more than adequate. The tool place near me has them with the cart and the MIG kit for like $450 or so. Not a bad deal for the whole deal. I've seen them have them cheaper if you catch them on sale too.

[gcrmcc]

The high frequency arc stabilzer sears sold was manufactured by Century welders. Lincoln bought Century in October 2003 from Clores automotive. I called lincoln inquiring about the Century HF unit and was told Century quit manufacturing the HF unit 2 or 3 years ago. You might watch ebay as they occasionally have them, I got mine from an ebay auction and paid $300.00 for unit, regulator and tig torch. You might also check around the larger pawn shops in your area. Miller sells a stand alone HF units but they are about $1,000.00. That was a little steep for me. Hope this helps

[T Hoose]

Back to 39 Deluxe in edgerton, Oh:

Do you know if Sears still sells the TIG conversion kit? Can they be run on my AC stick welder or is AC/DC required? Sounds like a more economical way for us low budget guys to get TIG in the shop.

Tom

.....

See preceeding post. U see..if you hang on long enough, someone knowledgable comes in. I checked my HF metal box and there is no identification on it (of course). I even found one of the cardboard shipping boxes and same thing..only Sears was mentioned. And yes, i have only an ac stick arc i'm using it on - no DC here sadly. Interestingly enough, the price quoted ~$300 is not too different from what i paid for it new, however that was in 1980 or so dollars (they were somewhat bigger then).

[39deluxe]

A thousand is a little steep for me too. Thanks for the replies.

Tom

[T Hoose]

I can't help but think that you could adapt a "Model T Ford spark coil (remember those) to generate the high voltage to initiate the arc on a normal stick arc welder. The welder transformer would probably appear a high impedance to the spark coil due to its high inductance, so you could capacitively couple the HV in parallel to the basic welder. The only tricky part would be to avoid breaking down the insulation of the basic welder with the HV. Spark coils are cheap tho.. and the Model T coils have their own vibrator built in. I haven't seen one for years on the market, but i'll bet that one of the antique auto parts places could turn one up. As i recall..the basic Model T had 4 of them per car..one per cylinder. Another option would be to put a home made transformer in series with the 'hot' lead from the stick arc machine (like the Sears adapter does) - and then couple the coil HV output into that. I think i'd use a series resistor (like a spark plug resistor) in series with the coil to limit output current. You can get across a ford coil directly..but it stings a bit.. (i've done it accidently while it was running).. Good Luck.. TH

[gcrmcc]

The HF units are based on the tesla coils. This is a coupling coil that allows the HF to couple with hot lead of the welder but it is not directly connected, I guess by induction. The Sears unit is using 3500 volts and the amperage is measured in milliamps. You could make a coupling coil or buy one from a welding supply co? car coil might be a slight hazard as ignition coils are high tension. Might get bit (shocked) allot more than you would like to. The HF unit I have is a very low amperage, you can barely feel it sometimes and that is if you put your finger directly in the arc of only the HF unit with out the welder turned on. This unit will jump about 1/4" to 3/8". Hey man, If you try it with coil and it works, let us all know!! It would be a cheap way to go and there could be thousands of old welders turned into TIG units for little cash. Good luck, I hope you experiment with it and get it working

[EverReady!974]

whatever you do, get 220 hook up. 110 buzz boxes are good for fixin the ol' lady's busted candle holder..........

[swellwelder]

on the comment of stick welding having better penetration than MIG. It is true that 6010 or 6011 has the best penetration, but there are very few "amatuer" welders with the skill and experience to make good welds with this rod. This is also true of most people who think a few passes with a MIG gun makes them an expert. While it is possible to make a good looking weld with MIG, lots of times there will be lack of penetration on one side of the weld, and without experience, it is not easy to see! When you have the experience(I have over 12,000 hrs of welding MIG) a wire welder will handle anything from 20 gauge to 3/4" plate. There is no easy way to be an expert welder. It, like most things takes a lot of experience, and if you are lucky, someone to show you what is right and wrong.

Dale Nelson