Rate my welds

[Paul.]

Hi Paul, I set the dial to about 130A then blast the pedal at the start and back off a bit once the pool starts.
What do you think of the other runs, am I on the right track?
That mess has nothing to do with arcing btw

Been out for a couple of pints so missed a few posts, but yes your on the right track, I wouldn't blast the pedal too hard at the start of the run use the hf to give you a guiding light while you get the arc established, then power up, then at the finish of the run ease off gently to slope down and fill the crater.
Would never have guessed at water contamination through the torch though!

 

[Wozzaaah]

One problem is that I'm practising stood up and it's not very comfortable using a pedal. I'll have to sort out a small table and a seat so I can concentrate on getting my technique right. My beads vary quite a bit in width as you can see due to me not being able to relax properly.

 

[Paul.]

One problem is that I'm practising stood up and it's not very comfortable using a pedal. I'll have to sort out a small table and a seat so I can concentrate on getting my technique right. My beads vary quite a bit in width as you can see due to me not being able to relax properly.

being comfortable is everything, standing on one leg operating a pedal with the other not recommended, I use the torch switch if working in awkward positions,
Most tig sets have a latching (4T) mode, its worth getting used to using it.

 

[runnach]

being relaxed and comfortable is important at the learning stage Woz, you are certainly improving ma man.

I would never have guessed water was the culprit for the messy pic, your lucky you did not receive a severe ZAP

 

[Wozzaaah]

Thanks Runnach, a bit of an improvement since the original post eh? It was only a few spits of water and steam but enough to make a mess of the run.

Paul, my old Miller doesn't have a latching switch, the torch doesn't have a switch at all. I suppose there would be no reason why I couldn't get a Hubbel plug and fit it to a torch switch and use it in place of the foot pedal. The pedal has two cables, one for the contactor and one for the current control so I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work except I'd lose the ability to slope up/down.

 

[Paul.]

Does it have a selector switch to change between remote and local current control ,if not you would have still have to depress the pedal, I'm sure Ive used a dialarc in the past but cant remember the control options, I reckon that machine could be 30 years old, one company I managed had several millers, very reliable tools, used to make aluminum roof racks for GPO vans (that dates It) 60 a day no cnc & all manually welded by tig.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Yes it has two switches on the front panel, one for local/remote contactor control and one for local/remote amperage control. The foot pedal connects via a 3 pin Hubbel plug to the amperage socket and a 2 pin Hubbel to the contactor socket.
I reckon it's probably early 80's.

 

[shenion]

You could rig a pushbutton switch to the contactor. It is not a lot of current on the Dialarcs but it is 120VAC.

You could always steal the hubbel plug off the footpedal. I need to find some cheap, they come up on ebay but ****-poor descriptions. There were a lot of different size Hubbel plugs.

My footpedal came with a female plug, still looking for the male to fit the airco. For now have two pieces of copper jammed in the plug to make it male

I have an old barstool I sit against for TIG. Makes it easier to control the pedal.