Any advice/comments welcomed

[Jim Davey]

Lower frequency will make focusing the arc even tougher on a fillet weld which was what the OP said he was struggling with. Highish amps to start, bit of neg balance and up the freq. will all help to get the arc to go right where you want to to quickly without the arc wander you get with big tungstens and low freq.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Sorry was referring to OPs picture, which looked like it was a butt joint. Fillet weld would be easier with higher frequency, but still no real problem if you dont have that option.

 

[Jim Davey]

Nope, you just need to stomp the pedal, be a bit brave and crack on with adding filler at a rate of knots if you don't have the luxury of advanced controls.

 

[Richard.]

Sorry was referring to OPs picture, which looked like it was a butt joint. Fillet weld would be easier with higher frequency, but still no real problem if you dont have that option.

This is true. Fillets are taken on with fixed hz transformers to great success and the dependence is a lot more on tungsten prep and balance to maintain that prep without balling too much so I agree it's not "needed". That said though if the op has 250hz to use he may aswell make life easier with those fillet joints and crank it up to focus that arc into the corner and keep it from bouncing off the plate walls. Fillet joints always demand more current especially in aluminium. As jim said you've got to be brave with the pedal and not mess about tickling it because you'll have the arc all over the place and you'll heat it through but not generate a pool to swallow your rod. Then you'll end up melting the rod across the arc creating all sorts of mess. Don't be shy get that current on get things flowing then control it as the heat builds up as you get close to the end.

 

[K18 NOB]

Hello again guys,

Not had any chance to play with the TIG again until today as ive been trying to finish other projects and build myself a new welding bench.

Managed to get 20mins between waiting to apply coats of paint to a BBQ so got her set up and had another go. Due to the time constraints i decided to keep it simple and take Richards advice of running some shorter beads and focusing on getting the pedal control and technique right rather than worrying about feeding the filler wire (still dont think ill ever get that right ). One thing im pleased about is that i managed to do all of this without dipping the tungsten in the work piece or making contact with the filler rod. That alone was a huge achievement for me at this early stage.

On the 1st test piece when i started the 12th bead i decided instead of resting my forearm on the bench that id rest my elbow on the arm of the chair and control the torch more rather than rely on the bench.....in my eyes it seems to have worked better which i wasnt expecting.

Anyway, overall for a 4th attempt at TIG i have a huge smile across my face and i welcome comments again. I included a picture of the tungsten after running all 3 test pieces in case it doesn't look right to you guys who know how it should look after running this ammount of beads......seems fine to me but then my knowledge is less than limited at the moment.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Mate of mine makes top class bike fuel tanks, which are all made with transformer machines, that are all 30 years old or more. He doesnt have any issues not having all the bells and whistles on a modern inverter, which are maybe there to hook gullible buyers, rather

Hello again guys,

Not had any chance to play with the TIG again until today as ive been trying to finish other projects and build myself a new welding bench.

Managed to get 20mins between waiting to apply coats of paint to a BBQ so got her set up and had another go. Due to the time constraints i decided to keep it simple and take Richards advice of running some shorter beads and focusing on getting the pedal control and technique right rather than worrying about feeding the filler wire (still dont think ill ever get that right ). One thing im pleased about is that i managed to do all of this without dipping the tungsten in the work piece or making contact with the filler rod. That alone was a huge achievement for me at this early stage.

On the 1st test piece when i started the 12th bead i decided instead of resting my forearm on the bench that id rest my elbow on the arm of the chair and control the torch more rather than rely on the bench.....in my eyes it seems to have worked better which i wasnt expecting.

Anyway, overall for a 4th attempt at TIG i have a huge smile across my face and i welcome comments again. I included a picture of the tungsten after running all 3 test pieces in case it doesn't look right to you guys who know how it should look after running this ammount of beads......seems fine to me but then my knowledge is less than limited at the moment.

Very good effort........can you gas weld at all? If not what you have achieved is even more impressive. When I started Tig welding I could already gas weld, and was a long term Mig monkey, which made things much easier.......

 

[K18 NOB]

Mate of mine makes top class bike fuel tanks, which are all made with transformer machines, that are all 30 years old or more. He doesnt have any issues not having all the bells and whistles on a modern inverter, which are maybe there to hook gullible buyers, rather



Very good effort........can you gas weld at all? If not what you have achieved is even more impressive. When I started Tig welding I could already gas weld, and was a long term Mig monkey, which made things much easier.......

Cheers Chris,

My welding experience only dates back around 2 years. The first 18months of which was spent with a very basic sealy gassless MIG. I then upgraded that around 6 months ago to a used CEM 140a Dual Mig and have been doing a lot more MIG welding. Other than that im a complete virgin

 

[Jim Davey]

Is that Terry Chris?

 

[Chris Stevens]

Very good effort then. Tig is so much nicer than being a Mig monkey................lol

 

[Chris Stevens]

Is that Terry Chris?

Not Terry, although he also doesnt like inverters much. Have to go and see him tomorrow, as he went to a jumble in Italy couple of weeks ago, and often picks up interesting bits.

 

[Richard.]

which are maybe there to hook gullible buyers, rather

Are you saying that frequency control is a gimmick designed to hook gullible buyers into buying a machine?
******* ********
Just because a feature isn't needed doesn't mean it isn't very useful. Chris I welded for quite some time A few years back performing all sorts of joints on aluminium with an old murex transformer. Just because I was able to use it for all my needs doesn't mean it could not be vastly improved with more adjustment on things. Your living in the past mate and although I agree some of these inverter additions are gimmicky like kemppi's micro tac thingy but adjustable frequency ain't one of them.

 

[HughF]

I ran an aero wave when I was at my sheet metal shop, only one in the place... Having 475hz was a godsend on some joints that you just couldn't do on a 50hz machine... Frequency control and balance, the 2 features I would struggle to live without on an AC tig box...

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Mate of mine makes top class bike fuel tanks, which are all made with transformer machines, that are all 30 years old or more. He doesnt have any issues not having all the bells and whistles on a modern inverter, which are maybe there to hook gullible buyers, rather
.

Bit of a daft statement isn't it? I can and have used fixed freq transformers to good effect, however having the option of different settings makes for an altogether more pleasing day in the bay as far as I'm concerned. Why make the job harder than it already is?

It's like saying I should be knocking rabbits off with a cricket bat because a rifle is a gimmick. Well no, it's just that we've technologically evolved past chasing things down and to make life easier

 

[Chris Stevens]

Are you saying that frequency control is a gimmick designed to hook gullible buyers into buying a machine?
******* ********.
Just because a feature isn't needed doesn't mean it isn't very useful. Chris I welded for quite some time A few years back performing all sorts of joints on aluminium with an old murex transformer. Just because I was able to use it for all my needs doesn't mean it could not be vastly improved with more adjustment on things. Your living in the past mate and although I agree some of these inverter additions are gimmicky like kemppi's micro tac thingy but adjustable frequency ain't one of them.

Not at all, frequency change is useful, but many of the other features arent of any real use whatsoever, and are purely marketing gimmicks. Looking forward to getting the Hitachi back though (which doesnt have frequency change), and will be interesting to compare it to a present day machine.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Bit of a daft statement isn't it? I can and have used fixed freq transformers to good effect, however having the option of different settings makes for an altogether more pleasing day in the bay as far as I'm concerned. Why make the job harder than it already is?

It's like saying I should be knocking rabbits off with a cricket bat because a rifle is a gimmick. Well no, it's just that we've technologically evolved past chasing things down and to make life easier

The guy who makes tanks has made thousands over the years, and even though he has a Kemppi inverter prefers to use his old Millers. If it works for him, thats the only thing that really matters really I guess?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

The guy who makes tanks has made thousands over the years, and even though he has a Kemppi inverter prefers to use his old Millers. If it works for him, thats the only thing that really matters really I guess?

Yes but just because he's happy to work them doesn't mean that more user friendly machines are a gimmick does it? I personally think there is a big place in the workshop for machines with a decent range of settings, it makes life a lot easier for one.

@Appyasme1 will tell you just how old my old machine was, and also that we used to prefer them to the brand new all singing all dancing esabs we got supplied to replace them

 

[HughF]

Syncrowave 300 has a superb AC arc, truly superb. I did my best work with them, remember the job well...

 

[Richard.]

Transformers are lovely it cannot be denied. They all have pluses and minus and adjustable frequency is a BIG plus on the inverter front. While I do agree a lot of the features piled into my Mls are a waste of panel space the essential ones and the luxury ones are all there too.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Yes but just because he's happy to work them doesn't mean that more user friendly machines are a gimmick does it? I personally think there is a big place in the workshop for machines with a decent range of settings, it makes life a lot easier for one.

@Appyasme1 will tell you just how old my old machine was, and also that we used to prefer them to the brand new all singing all dancing esabs we got supplied to replace them

Not sure that things like Micro Tac and other features along the same lines are genuinely useful? Its marketing pure and simple, and cant see how this type of thing can be seen as anything but?

 

[Richard.]

Not sure that things like Micro Tac and other features along the same lines are genuinely useful? Its marketing pure and simple, and cant see how this type of thing can be seen as anything but?

It's an opinion. Yes all new features are used to advertise and there is nothing wrong with that. I too don't find micro tac a feature Id want to use but someone may love it. Going way off topic here but no two welders (blokes that weld not machine) are the same so different features appeal to different people. Can we agree on that.