Now, as must of you will gather from this post, I am a little new to welding and I am after some advice.
I want to start TIG welding but I have so many questions before I launch into this and find I've bought the wrong thing. Primarily it is for Aluminum and Steel but I also want to to the odd bit of copper sheet. For this reason, I believe I am in need of an AC/DC welder?
I don't want to go cheap nor do I want to re-mortgage (apart from this, I don't think you can buy cheap AC TIG welders????) so I was thinking of a R-Tech TIG161.
Is there anyone here who uses R-Tech welders - are they any good? Reliable? Is the TIG161 good?
I'm looking at the TIG161 as, according to their website, can be run from a 13A plug and can weld up to 5mm material. Firstly I'd ask what material is that? Is there a reference table someone can point me in the direction of which indicates the amount of current required to weld a particular thickness of material. I'd assume this 5mm is at the max welder output of 160A and I also assume this is within the capabilities of a 13A plug?
I understand for certain welding you reverse the polarity of the torch, is this possible with the TIG161?
Finally, I think, is there a reference which details the tungsten electrode size for particular materials, currents for thickness of material, collet size etc etc? I suppose a generic TIG welding guide which you've found useful yourselves or does all of this depend specifically on the welder itself?
Thanks for your help
I want to start TIG welding but I have so many questions before I launch into this and find I've bought the wrong thing. Primarily it is for Aluminum and Steel but I also want to to the odd bit of copper sheet. For this reason, I believe I am in need of an AC/DC welder?
I don't want to go cheap nor do I want to re-mortgage (apart from this, I don't think you can buy cheap AC TIG welders????) so I was thinking of a R-Tech TIG161.
Is there anyone here who uses R-Tech welders - are they any good? Reliable? Is the TIG161 good?
I'm looking at the TIG161 as, according to their website, can be run from a 13A plug and can weld up to 5mm material. Firstly I'd ask what material is that? Is there a reference table someone can point me in the direction of which indicates the amount of current required to weld a particular thickness of material. I'd assume this 5mm is at the max welder output of 160A and I also assume this is within the capabilities of a 13A plug?
I understand for certain welding you reverse the polarity of the torch, is this possible with the TIG161?
Finally, I think, is there a reference which details the tungsten electrode size for particular materials, currents for thickness of material, collet size etc etc? I suppose a generic TIG welding guide which you've found useful yourselves or does all of this depend specifically on the welder itself?
Thanks for your help