northwest
Searching for the Holy Grail.........
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- 5,458
- Location
- Manchester UK
So, as some of you know, I bought a Parweld 202 Pulse Tig from Tom at Welding Supplies Direct. The purchase was without drama and I received everything (except gas) to get me started. Today I used the set for the first time and in order to try to get the most out of it I took it over to my friends fabrication shop and set myself up at their Tig bench (I also hooked up to their bottle of Argon:-)).
Most everything I propose to do with this setup will involve thin/delicate material, so I set myself up accordingly. I cut a few bits of 1.5mm Mild Steel plate and some 1mm Titanium sheet (I know!). I had some 1.6mm titanium rods and I liberated some 1mm mild steel rods. I used 1.6mm Thorated Tungsten's a No6 Gas Lens and a number 17 torch.
I have never Tig welded before (okay - I had a go with a pretty basic set for a couple of hours week before last) and this was the first time I had switched the set on. I have gas welded, brazed and Silver Soldered, I have also used a stick welder but that was thirty years ago. We actually referred to the Parweld Manual I printed a couple of sheets from their website and used their basic settings - it was really very close so a good starting point. My two pals weld day in day out and have done for over thirty five years, so it was never going to be a failure but they were quite surprised as to how comfortable and easy the set was to use.. When we switched over to the pulse mode and tweaked the settings it was decided that it was cheating!
The plus points:-
Easy to set up
Easy to use
Very portable
A manual, written in English, that makes sense and actually gets you started welding.
The bad points:-
Can't think of any.
I did have the helmet flash up on me a couple of times but this has nothing at all to do with the welding set and is something I will deal with - it could be my technique or it could be it is not sensitive enough.
My other real revelation was that everything I have read, both here on this forum and in instruction manuals with regard to sharpening Tungstens just did not work for me. I found that sharpening the Tungsten to a long sharp point it lasted much longer before I contaminated it and I found I could control the arc that much better.
This first pic s me just welding a lap joint without filler stick, just to see how I was controlling the Arc.
This second Pic was Jeff having a go with the basic settings straight out of the manual. On both occasions, this is 1.5mm mild steel.
This was my first attempt at Titanium, 1mm thick sheet and 1.6mm filler rod. The Weld on the right.
The same Titanium, but now with the pulse weld feature enabled. The weld on the left.
Would I recommend this welding set? yes absolutely, do I think it was value for money? yes I do.
However, I don't know any different, I have nothing to compare it against. One of my pals though, he is going to buy one after today and he knows plenty about welding, in his words "You could weld all day with this". He knows what he is doing.
I would welcome any constructive criticism of my technique, God only knows, I will take all the help I can at this stage! :-)
G.
Most everything I propose to do with this setup will involve thin/delicate material, so I set myself up accordingly. I cut a few bits of 1.5mm Mild Steel plate and some 1mm Titanium sheet (I know!). I had some 1.6mm titanium rods and I liberated some 1mm mild steel rods. I used 1.6mm Thorated Tungsten's a No6 Gas Lens and a number 17 torch.
I have never Tig welded before (okay - I had a go with a pretty basic set for a couple of hours week before last) and this was the first time I had switched the set on. I have gas welded, brazed and Silver Soldered, I have also used a stick welder but that was thirty years ago. We actually referred to the Parweld Manual I printed a couple of sheets from their website and used their basic settings - it was really very close so a good starting point. My two pals weld day in day out and have done for over thirty five years, so it was never going to be a failure but they were quite surprised as to how comfortable and easy the set was to use.. When we switched over to the pulse mode and tweaked the settings it was decided that it was cheating!
The plus points:-
Easy to set up
Easy to use
Very portable
A manual, written in English, that makes sense and actually gets you started welding.
The bad points:-
Can't think of any.
I did have the helmet flash up on me a couple of times but this has nothing at all to do with the welding set and is something I will deal with - it could be my technique or it could be it is not sensitive enough.
My other real revelation was that everything I have read, both here on this forum and in instruction manuals with regard to sharpening Tungstens just did not work for me. I found that sharpening the Tungsten to a long sharp point it lasted much longer before I contaminated it and I found I could control the arc that much better.
This first pic s me just welding a lap joint without filler stick, just to see how I was controlling the Arc.
This second Pic was Jeff having a go with the basic settings straight out of the manual. On both occasions, this is 1.5mm mild steel.
This was my first attempt at Titanium, 1mm thick sheet and 1.6mm filler rod. The Weld on the right.
The same Titanium, but now with the pulse weld feature enabled. The weld on the left.
Would I recommend this welding set? yes absolutely, do I think it was value for money? yes I do.
However, I don't know any different, I have nothing to compare it against. One of my pals though, he is going to buy one after today and he knows plenty about welding, in his words "You could weld all day with this". He knows what he is doing.
I would welcome any constructive criticism of my technique, God only knows, I will take all the help I can at this stage! :-)
G.