Hi folks!
I went down to one of the local welding supply stores this afternoon, and spent some time at their demo rack. There was a guy helping me who used to weld for a living. Really nice folks!
First, I tried out a Lincoln PowerMIG 255 (I think that's the correct model) on 1/8" and 1/4" mild steel. The fellow working with me ran a few beads then handed me the torch. Not bad at all! I can tell a big difference between about 150 amps vs. my current 90 amp unit. He ran a much neater bead than I could, but it all worked as I would have expected from my experiences with the FCAW-SS welder. There was still some spatter and a little bit of cleanup would be needed to make it look neat, but it's quite a huge difference compared to self-sheilding wire.
Next, I tried a Lincoln SquareWave TIG 175 Pro w/footpedal amp control on some 1/16" and 1/8" aluminum. Man, I really, REALLY like this one! He ran a couple of beads, one fusing without filler, and another using filler rod, then handed me the torch. I ran a bead without filler on the first try! My bead was about twice as wide as his (I was giving it too much power I think?), but this wasn't nearly as hard to do as I would have expected. Both of our beads cracked when not using filler (how do you prevent this? Keep the torch's post-flow gas over the weld for a little while?) I then proceeded to burn a couple of holes (doh!), then tried running a bead using filler rod. I ended up with about a 6-9" bead that's too wide, but looks pretty darned neat. (Beginner's luck, I guess...) Then, of course, I burned 2-3 more big holes in another section. One area turned black, and I think that's because I got the torch (and shielding gas) too far from the metal (sound right?). I am very, very impressed with how clean the TIG process is. No spatter at all!
The high-frequency start made it really easy to get an arc going (I'm still amazed at that feature!) Since these TIG machines also double as stick machines, does the high-frequency start also help with starting the arc in stick mode?
Anyway, I had a blast, especially with this TIG unit. I'm thinking that TIG might be the way that I should consider going. It's neat, clean, and I was able to run a halfway decent bead for a few inches, so I'm thinking I might actually be able to learn this well enough to do a decent job with some practice.
Dave
Oh, one other thing. I was using one of the auto-darkening hoods. Gotta have one, that was fantastic!
Dave
Glad to hear you finally got a chance to use some top quality machines. The Lincoln Sqaurewave 175 Pro is the Tig welder I bought two years ago. My first project was a medium size cart (with wheels) to bolt the welder and bottle to with storage below for the ground clamp and foot pedal.
Tig is a real clean process and the beads look great when done propely. be warned though...your base metals to be welded must be very, very clean. Tig is very picky about having no contamination present of the arc becomes unstable and then you lose heat/penetration due to the contamination.
All mill scale must be ground clean and fit-ups should be very tight (no oils/paint, or rust either). It's also not a bad idea to chemically clean the surface before welding with a cleaner like acetone. I've not welded aluminum yet, but understand it's even more picky about spotless materials as the contamination melts at almost twice the temperature as the aluminum itself does.
The Lincoln Mig you tried is the competitor to the Miller 251 I just bought. If the Lincoln is anything like the Miller I have, you would also have a great machine there as well...both companies also offer a 200/210 amp version for smaller shops not requiring to weld 1/2" single pass.
Since these TIG units support a stick mode (which I'd assume is DC and the correct polarity), I wonder if you could simply fit a MIG reel gun to it, and also use it to MIG weld as well? Having a machine that can do both MIG and TIG would certainly soften the $1200-1400 price tag. Is this possible?
Dave
Hello Dave. When you T.I.G. weld you use constant current and when you M.I.G. weld you use constant voltage. Alot of "power sources" now day's have a knob that switches between CC & CV. with this capability you can start off with T.I.G. welding and later on when money permits purchase a stand alone wire feed unit that hooks up to your T.I.G. power source. This will eventually give you the capability to G.T.A.W., G.M.A.W., S.M.A.W. and F.C.A.W. If you ever need any more welding proccess than that you are in the wrong line of work. Also, high frequency is a nice option but it normaly jacks the price of your welder up. Unless you plan on welding aluminum I would recomend sticking to the "lift arc" feature and save a couple $.
This is just the opinion of a 15 year "Qualified" nobody welder who started out as a helper, with a borrowed welding manual and enough desire to steal the stinger on lunch break from his his journeyman. I sure am glad that no one tried to tell me that the only way to become a welder is thru instruction. Where there is a will there is a way.
P.S. Lincoln is good, But you can't beat the power of BLUE.
Dave,
If your goal is to demonstrate skill at welding, go with TIG. By all means it's a beautiful bead even in the eyes of inexperience. Under proper conditions it's superior, period... and versitile. If it had no disadvantages all else would be obsolete and fall into disuse, however, so alternatives do warrant consideration.
If you want to give MIG a fair shake, though, you owe it to yourself to explore it's true versatility. You have not seen the full potential of the process. Spray transfer is a whole different world which you have yet to experience.
If your supply house cannot show you how to get a single phase welder of 250A into genuine spray transfer find a house who knows the merchandise well enough to do so; if they can not admit to practical spray arc welds with 035 wire on 1/8" steel flat & vert down I would question their ability to give sound advice when you really need it.
Unfortunately, I doubt you will be able to find anyone willing to admit that it would be possible, let alone practical. Their excuses may be humorous if you know better, but they are an indication of how they will react to other questions or real problems you may encounter which they do not know enough about.
Finally, the spatter issue is, or should truely be, a non-issue. When I do encounter spatter, from any process, I can nearly always remove it cleanly with a cold chisel and a single sharp blow of my hammer. Clean-up should not take even as long as to weld. If you are trying to keep the bucks in your pocket, please realize this is trouble on your end relating to process control or techinque or both unless you exaggerate the effort required for clean up.
You seem to be working so hard at making an informed decision I hope this helps.
D
It's Friday again, and I'm going to another local welding supplier this afternoon to try two different TIG welders on steel and aluminum. In fact, I've cut some mild steel and aluminum to the shapes that'll allow me to try both these machines on both metals doing the same type of joints that I'm already familiar with from doing the table frames with the FCAW-SS welder. How's that for comparing apples to apples? <g>.
Anyway, I'm going to try the Lincoln Square Wave 175 Pro again on both steel and aluminum with a butt joint and a lap joint, and the ESAB Heliarc 161 AC/DC on both metals and joints as well. The ESAB looks really, really appealing since it's got balance control, it's much lighter, and it only draws 25-30 amps from the wall (ie. that's easier to accomodate in a small home workshop). The supplier arranged for the local ESAB rep to drop off a demo unit, and they even called me to tell me that it was there and waiting for me to show up today.
Ya know, I'm really pleasantly surprised that, even though I'm quite a newbie at this, these suppliers are being very helpful and showing a lot of seemingly genuine interest in helping me find the solution that will work best for me. It certainly makes the search easier and downright fun! Of course, this is a pretty expensive piece of equipment ($1500 +/-), so I'm personally expecting reasonably good customer service. I guess it's just a pleasant surprise when you really do get it...<g>.
Dave
I tried both of these machines Friday. I spent about an 1-1/2 hours working with both machines. I really like that ESAB, although the arc sure makes a strange sound when running in AC mode. The arc seemed to be a little harder to start on steel, but I think that it was just my impression because the collet on the torch was longer than on the Lincoln, so I think I just had a more difficult time seeing the tip of the tungsten with the ESAB. The ESAB seemed to perform better on aluminum, but again I think that's just because it had a longer collet and the pool was shielded better. (Sound right?)
Regardless, this has been a great learning experience. I can't wait to get hold of a machine to continue learning with at home...
Dave
Stick with the "Power of Blue". As a welding instructor with a community college I have tried several brands of machines in my program and find Miller to be easier to work with. My experience with ESAB is very disappointing as to service from their reps. Don't mean to put any one down but hate to see someone get a machine that simple repairs and parts can not be had. So much for my two cents. Good luck with your efforts.
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