Welders

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Tom,

Why did you have to seek out someone with a TIG for the lock holes when they could have easily been welded using forge, oxy-fuel, carbon-arc, MIG or stick with little to no warpage?
Mark

Right now in my life I just don't have the time to master that skill set, ability and desire are very different things.

:wink:

 

[M. De Land]

TIG weld is the preferred method for inclusion free hole fill in my opinion and I've filled a good many with a MIG. Much less chance of under cut and slag inclusions with TIG and the right rod . MD

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

If I were in posession of a quality tig unit I would have put in the time to weld up my own, again in my nsho tig is the best option for firearms and other precision welding applications.

 

[FL-Flinter]

TIG weld is the preferred method for inclusion free hole fill in my opinion and I've filled a good many with a MIG. Much less chance of under cut and slag inclusions with TIG and the right rod . MD

Which again points out that results are dependent on the operator, not the tool. An unskilled operator is just as likely to bugger-up a job with a GTAW (TIG) as they with any other process.

 

[Robby]

Yeah, but the learning curve with a TIG is way faster than any other method.
Robby

 

[FL-Flinter]

Yeah, but the learning curve with a TIG is way faster than any other method.
Robby

Don't bet on that because testing reveals the ugly truth. It's far easier to contaminate a weldment with TIG than stick/MIG.

 

[Robby]

Why did I know that was coming?! :grin: Not betting anything!
Robby

 

[M. De Land]

Yup, tis true ! TIG welds have to be very clean or the weld won't be either. But when all is right nothing comes close to the quality of a TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) weld.

 

[FL-Flinter]

Yup, tis true ! TIG welds have to be very clean or the weld won't be either. But when all is right nothing comes close to the quality of a TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) weld.

And no matter how clean everything is, tilt that GTAW torch a bit and let it suck some atmosphere in, overheat/overcurrent the tungsten or run into a bit-o-crud in the work and the clean things is all over. Hit some crud with SMAW or FCAW and just float it up and out with the slag, with care & practice the same can be accomplished with oxy-fuel & CAW but it ain't nowhere near as easy when you have the slag working in your favor. That's why I prefer doing as much as possible in V-up and OH, gravity is my friend. :wink:

 

[FL-Flinter]

Why did I know that was coming?! :grin: Not betting anything!
Robby

Well I was gonna make you buy lunch but just grab some roadkill on the way over and I'll fire up the grill. :v

 

[Robby]

Big ole Oceola Tom would be nice! :grin:
Robby

 

[M. De Land]

A couple of tricks I picked up along the way for TIG welding. One is to moat up small parts keeping them berried in inert gas and the other in regards to welding up holes is the drill out any threads to major diameter and block the bottom closed if not a blind hole. Threads hold all sorts of contaminates that are very hard to clear out completely.
The trouble I have when using a MIG for small blind holes is getting the wire to the bottom and middle without contact on the side wall leaving a void underneath. I've tried filling the hole with gas, inserting and extending the wire to the bottom and then triggering but so far no soap on that method. With the TIG I peddle up AMPs and circle the hole top until the puddle forms up and touch the preheated rod to it. Sucks it right to the bottom filling it up,back off on the AMPs so no undercutting occurs breaking the arc and leave the gas on till the puddle solidifies.
I'm really not a very good TIG welder but I have a friend that makes his living welding and the things he can weld are impossible to me at my skill level. And the neat part was he used my equipment to do so showing me that the tools I had were just fine. Mike D.

 

[FL-Flinter]

Big ole Oceola Tom would be nice! :grin:
Robby

I like gator and I ain't gonna run no one off that shows up with a mess of frogs but I have a weakness for grilled turkey. :thumbsup:

 

[FL-Flinter]

Mike,
GMAW-P (pulsed MIG) and 85/15 Ar/CO2 will spoil ya right quick like, fast & hot with almost no distortion even on real light work. But, if all you have is a short-circuit power source use the smallest solid wire it'll handle (0.023"/0.030") and 75/25 gas mix. Set the voltage 1.75-2.25 volts higher than optimum and creep the wire speed up a little at a time just until it'll run without popping. Start and keep the arc real tight, if it's not giving a good smooth fill, jack the voltage up another 0.5v and reset the wire speed again. If you have a small machine (

 

[M. De Land]

All I have is a Hobart Handler which is actually a perlin welder I'm told. 110 and only three AMP settings although it does have a variable speed wire feed. 25/75 gas bottle
The TIG is a better unit, a Miller Econotig and argon bottle. MD

 

[FL-Flinter]

Hobart is Miller and unless things have recently changed, 250A & smaller solid-state machines are built in the Hobart plant, everything else is built in the Miller plant.

Use the chart on the machine and put the settings for next level up. IE: If you're using 0.023" wire put the settings for 0.030" then adjust the wire speed the same way, starting with it popping just bring it up until it stops popping and not dropping globs. Of course this work-around isn't the most ideal thing but it suffices for this kind of work.

 

[gland]

This is for every one here.
This thread got me to thinkin about times past (Before Hurricane Ike took my shop from me), when I had stick welder. I am not going to need a heavy duty welder any more, but mig and tig have always intrigued me, so I started looking at rigs recommended here. What I found was this Fabricator 181i. Its made/marketed by Victor, has only been out a few years, but has very good reviews. Bottom line, after watching this Youtube, I sprung for one. Be sure to use the link to e-bay at end of post, or you won’t get A L L the parts. This one has everything but the foot feed peddle. Here’s the link to the youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUCoAJVDWqI
Here is where to get it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermal-Ar...30830095685?pt=BI_Welders&hash=item1e7614d545
:thumbsup:
Your on your own, but I liked what I saw. :shocked2:

 

[M. De Land]

I'll try it and see what happens. I was getting some undercutting when I released the trigger so thought my voltage was to high but it was still popping. Never tried with more amps. Mike D.

 

[FL-Flinter]

Mike, on a CV (GMAW) machine the voltage remains constant and the amperage varies according to the wire diameter & feed rate. If you follow my suggestion on bumping up the voltage, the wire speed is being increased to compensate which in turn causes the wire to be way over-driven by the amperage. Essentially what's happening is you're tricking the machine into running the wire in a spatter-spray transfer condition, a short section of wire is being atomized by the excessive current and the short arc length makes it a usable deposit as opposed to undesirable spatter. You won't find that in a textbook but it's one of the "get by with what ya got" things I teach.
Mark

 

[FL-Flinter]

IMHO if one is going to invest in one item, I'd strongly suggest putting the money towards a good Harris oxy-fuel kit because it's the most versatile being able to cut, weld, braze, solder, heat-treat/temper, carburize, forge, ect.