Welding

Hi there, seeking advice:-

My hobby of engineering, I make small scale steam engines where I usually use silver solder or bronze weld which I can do by propane torches, but I also make 'wrought iron' (MS) decorative work, repair all sorts of broken bits of steel and sometimes aluminium.
I use a 130 amp Arc welder and a MIG with gas, but both are bulky bits of kit. On occasion, I also use a spot welder. I do have use of Oxy Acetylene , but the gas is far too expensive.

Is TIG a way forward and what sort of spec would I need to cover say metals of 0.5mm - 5.0mm. and what gas would I have to use, and is it expensive. Are there TIG/Arc (Stick) welders.?

I normally work on single phase, but do have a 3 phase supply

BobH

Edited By Speedy Builder5 on 03/01/2015 09:34:16

I've only started dabbling at stick welding so cannot make any comments about how good any piece of kit is in practical use. But I do know that there are tig welders that can stick weld and arc welder additions that can allow a version of tig welding and the inverter ar welders are supposedly much lighter weight.

No connection with the following but look up http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/ for an idea of whats about.

Hello Bob,

My experience of watching TIG welding industrially is now 50 years out of date and as that also involved welding exotic metals in a vacuum it is not readily transferrable to your needs. The welds though were quite superb..

I suggest you look up TIG welding in Wikipedia where there is much more up to date information; but on the face of it your present MIG welding with argon shielding gas is probably the most useful option available to you.

Sorry I can't be of more help

Brian

Worth having a look at Doubleboosts, youtube videos on teh R-Tech tig as it explains what does what. There are several parts. Excuse the language!!

Hi Bob, yes there are TIG/ARC welders, often referred as inverters. The large majority are DC and are not for welding aluminium, but you can get them which will do aluminium, but are quite a bit more expensive. I've no connection with this company, but have a look at this **LINK** and there are many more companies that sell them. You will still need the appropriate gas (argon/argoshield ect)

Regards Nick.

For TIG welding you need pure argon (or Helium), unlike MIG (technically MAG) welding of steel which uses argon with some CO2. So if you have TIG and MIG, you will most likely need 2 cylinders, assuming your MIG is currently used for steels..

If you get a DC-only TIG machine, you aren't going to be able to weld aluminium or copper easily.Apparently it can be done but isn't recommended.

Murray

I have a 200 amp AC CD Tig set it came with a stick torch, I use pure argon for welding everything inc Stainless, Ali, Titanium, Tig brazing steel and copper, also welding steel, the best analogy is its similar but not the same as gas welding, although I still use gas for welding Aluminium some of the seams on motorcycle tanks, I have a small MIG that I bought new, its been used once I think to tack up a job, I do prefer the tig but its slower that MIG, like any welding it takes practice but I find it relaxing weird ehh.......

Shaun

Hi Involute, what sort of thickness steel would you max out on with 200 amp Ac (I appreciate with multi run this could be quite thick). Also, is gas consumption much the same as TIG ?

HI all, and the best of New years….

I'm in the same boat as Mr Speedy……but it'll have to wait can't justify £2,000 for a good AC DC unit...

a foot pedal control is an absolute must…..?

are there any recomended machines…at a lower cost….really don't want Asian…..I know you get what you payfor - sometimes…...

as 4 gases I use hobby gas Supplies, no contract …not cheap but more acceptable than the likes of BOC...

Clogs

As you already have stick and MIG I assume TIG is for other types of welding.

TIG gas can work out a lot. There are lots of different deals and it is quite an effort of research to work out what would be most cost effective for the amount of TIG you are going to do. I guessed it was going to cost me up to £30 an hour if I didn't use it much (10L rent free bottles). So it is going to cost quite a bit to get good at TIG.

Cheap auto darkening helmets may not work with low power TIG.

TIG has to be clean and controlled. You need good vision and good access. That often rules it out for me.

To really expand your current capability, you should consider AC TIG. Personally, I'd be quite tempted by the cheap Asian ebay deals. They have been known to work and you can by the kit for less than it costs to rent for a week. Throw it away if it breaks and get another.

If you don't want to weld Aly then a good DC inverter TIG with High Frequency start will also be really good stick welders and easy to move around.

My current 200amp AC/DC unit cost less than £500 is single phase, came with a pedal which I don't! use, I prefer to use the slope up slope down function as a sort of manual pulse, between two preset values, it came with a not too bad Tig torch, it has adjustable auto Pulse, high frequency start, cleaning bias adjust and all manner of other settings, and you can carry it in one hand, I bought it after I borrowed a Chinese tig set from a mate whilst my much larger and far more expensive American machine was away getting repaired, to be honest I had my doubts when I first borrowed it, however I find it easier to use and it makes me a better welder, the only thing it may be less good at is duty cycle, but up until now its not been a problem, by the way I sold the American one and got enough cash to buy the new one, with enough change to buy another two, the only changes I've made to the new machine is replace the Tig torch, with a flexi head one, and fit a good quality gas lens, as it came the torch although good was unusable due to no lens and wrong cup fitted, My auto head set cost £150 10 years ago, I've been told you can get better ones for less now, I would say they are an essential item for Tig, As with a lot of things welding is a skill the more you do it the better you get, my advice would be to go on a welding course, that way your using there gas, I pay £50 cash for a refill of my full size Argon bottle, I have welded 10mm aluminium with my new welder, and repaired 22guage titanium exhaust headers, without any problems, but the wheel on the leky meter nearly takes off with 10mm ali........

Shaun

I put some pictures of Inconel welds, done with the new machine in my new bike album.

Edited By Involute Curve on 03/01/2015 18:11:29

Edited By Involute Curve on 03/01/2015 18:36:37

TIG is the way forward if you NEED to TIG weld - sounds a bit obvious but there are always other options, most of which you seem to have already. Its great for ali and thin steel, and for copper boilers. 200A would cover your requirements for steel and thin copper, and cheap Chinese/Asian sets are very good value for money but they are only DC. An AC/DC set is very expensive at this amp range. Gas is also expensive!