New to the call of the tig so please help!!

[deano1]

Hi everyone,
Well i`ve been looking through the forum for a few days now and there`s some really interesting stuff on it, i`m glad to see this forum tolerates some basic questions from members, without the looking down and laughing that some other forums seem to thrive on, and as i`m full of basic questions i hope you more experienced guys can put up them. i`ve just bought a Maxtra wse200 tig ac dc welder of ebay, i know it`s not your kempi or your lincoln but money is tight and i`m still in kindergarden with the welding but hope to build a swinging arm for my bike some day which brings me on to some of my questions.
Can anyone tell me if they`ve ever used this welder or have i just bought a nice blue box thats fit for nothing? I will be hoping to weld box section 3 maybe 4 mm thick to make the swinging arm and i believe tha alloy to use is 7020 alloy i don`t know what rods to try eith this or even how to set up this welder or even if it eill do the job so please could some one read this and possibly pass on there experience and comments. Look forward to hearing from you all!

 

[madkayaker]

Hello and welcome. Most of the TIG welders are bit quirt today possibly due to the new year but they will be awake soon.

 

[snowcat]

welcome to the forum deano, know little about the welder, but can shed some light on the material 7020 is a high strength alloy and is recommended to be welded with a 5556 filler, Id be very dubious however about building something like a swing arm with no previous TIG experience and in all honesty would proberbly be something id walk away from without a full procedure..... because 7020 is heat treatable it can be prone to cracking, (liquidification)....

Id be very carefull with this, someone like Technical al, a forum member would be able to tell you the full sp on using such a material..... id go very carful tho....

 

[Paul.]

A few years ago I was asked to modify an swinging arm for some kind of motor bike, it was basically a cut and shut job so a major mod, the customer couldn't tell me what material it was other than to say "its ally innit" so I refused the job, he took it to anther company who took it on, but the arm cracked and luckily was spotted at an MOT so no harm done.
So to echo snowie's comment, be careful.

 

[deano1]

stubbern novice

Hi guys
Well you guys echod what my head was telling me but i`m gonna grab me some 7020 and a hand full of 5556 rods and try and try and try untill i get it right i`ll take a few snaps of how i progress, if at all, and let you know how i get on i know i should be taking your advise but i gotta try here`s to you boys, oh! and happy new year to all my new forum friends

 

[Wozzaaah]

Deano, sorry if this may sound a bit harsh but please take heed of what Snowcat and Tig Paul have said and also listen to your head. Between them they have many, many years of experience and they're both saying it's a risky procedure which neither of them would undertake. You're risking your (or someone else's) safety on what is essentially an experiment. What may appear to be a sound weld may be flawed so it really isn't worth the risk. If you really want it modified, take it to someone else with more experience .

 

[deano1]

I give in!!

Okay boys,
you got me convinced i promise no swinging arms i`ll just have to ask spondon engineering to make me one, i`ts gonna cost a grand mind you, but i suppose thats better than having one snap on me and it is going on a gsxr 1000k6 turbo so ye i guess your all just about right!! thanks guys.