First beads on a PowerArc 140ST

[Kendall]

The big band saws are slower but it's nice to lock your piece down in the vice and lower the arm and let it do it's thing. They automatically shut off when they are done and you can go do what ever else you need to do while it's cutting. I usually start the cut and go prep everything else for welding like grinding etc.

[youngnstudly]

At work we had access to the plumbing shop, which had a big band saw that was vertical with the automatic feed and shut off, plus it water cooled. We were able to use it like you describe using the one you have (the saw cuts while you are free to do other things).

The big band saw on the HVAC side was also vertical, however it was a "no frills" woodshop type saw that was stationary. No auto feed or any way to clamp work pieces. A simple milled slot on the table (for a miter gauge) was all it had, and that was the saw I was referring to being slow at cutting. I guess most metal cutting saws are typically equipped with auto feed and clamping capabilities, but for some reason this one wasn't (or it was actually a metal blade installed on a wood cutting band saw?). All I know is that it was slower than molasses when cutting even thin metal and there was no way to increase RPMs!

[MuttonHawg]

Today, the postman brought the last parts (correct-sized collets) I needed to start playing with the TIG functionality on my new toy. As expected, it turns out I do need some practice reliably lift-starting the arc, and I did forget to open the knob on the torch to start the gas a few times, but I am already pretty good at contaminating the tungsten by dipping it in the puddle or tapping it with the filler rod (I just have a knack for it - what can I say? )!

I did manage to do a few decent beads (some with and some without filler), and played around for about an hour tonight. I'll experiment a little more with different stickout, argon flow rates, cup sizes and other stuff this week, and hopefully I'll have enough time to build a little cart for my welder and pancake compressor before the wintertime contest ends next week. TIG is what I really wanted to do - I love how precise and clean it is compared to stick welding. Each has its place, I know, but this is definitely the skill set I was looking to learn when I got into this!

[youngnstudly]

Keep it up and soon you'll be just as good at sharpening tungsten as you are at contaminating tungsten! Everyone who TIG welds eventually learns to sharpen tungsten correctly and efficiently after enough contaminations! Don't get too frustrated as we all had to learn at one time or another.

It's too bad you couldn't step up into the next model of TIG welder in order to gain the gas solenoid and high frequency features. It's really a lot easier to learn TIG with those features IMO, but you can still learn with what you have. If you don't expect perfect welds, and you are able to learn the basics, you'll be pleasantly surprised when you do get another welder with more features! It's like night and day!

Just make sure you get really tight fit ups with your welding cart and you'll be fine. For light duty stuff, you don't need the most perfect welds, as long as the penetration is good and the amps are close. Slightly lower amps will allow you to work slower to perfect your dipping and bead appearance so you don't have to rush like a mad man. Good luck and have fun! Post pics if you get the chance.

[MuttonHawg]

I was thinking exactly that - now nice it would be to be learning with a gas solenoid and HF start, plus how nice it would be to have pulse capability to keep the overall heat down for a given weld (got a few near-burn-throughs). But my plan was to start with something basic and inexpensive, then graduate to something nicer later. When finances allow, I would LOVE to get a PP256, but didn't want to jump right in to the deep end to start!

I certainly don't expect perfect welds, but I've already been pleasantly been surprised with a few nice uniform beads, even though I still can't do it repeatably. More practice time! With a little luck, I'll get the tubing for my cart on Friday, then I can build it up over the weekend. And, of course, I'll try to cherry pick photos of the least-bad of my welds

[DVA]

OK - I've been practicing a bit, and my results (to my eyes) definitely look to be a bit regular. The ripples are more consistent, probably down to my learning how to hold a more consistent arc length.

3/32" Lincoln E6011, 65-70 amps. Base metal is a section of 6" square pipe, 1/4" wall, a bit rusty from sitting in the backyard for years, but wire brushed to remove the major rust.
Attachment 9259

I heard some talk about stick like tig, I think this is the closest I have seen to the stack of dimes look while stick welding.

[MuttonHawg]

Thanks. As it turns out, my welds aren't anywhere near that uniform on the first welded joints I tried. Stringer beads help with, but don't fully prepare you for real actual welds. I should probably do it right and actually spend the time preparing and practicing real test joints (like the demos on WT&T), rather than just jump into building stuff, but oh well - maybe after I have a better work area than a couple wood blocks in my garage.

I'd heard of "MIG like TIG", but never "stick like TIG". Frankly, I'm just glad my first attempts at TIG didn't look like "TIG like stick"!

[manning]

All of the stainless pipe in our dairy was welded without HF welders. Lift arc for everything. Correct technique takes practice (like everything with tig). Give the machine a chance, but work within its capabilities. Don't expect to work too thin or too thick.

[MuttonHawg]

Oh, I'm not badmouthing this machine at all! I love it, and I like the chance to learn on a basic (but still very capable) welder. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but still does a great job. Or, to put it another way, the welder is certainly not the reason my welds aren't fantastic - my lack of skill is the real reason!

I absolutely think that for me, the 140ST was the right choice to start with. For a little over $250, I can learn to stick and TIG weld, and make stuff for my garage. Yes, I still drool over fancier hardware, but for now, I'm stoked. Just bought the material for a little compressor/welder cart today, and hopefully I'll get to building it (or at least starting it) this weekend - all with lift TIG

[MuttonHawg]

So I got some steel - square tubing and some sheet to make a simple shelf (overkill for what it is, but an excuse to make some real-world TIG welds). 1" square tubing, 13ga, and 13ga sheet, using amperage between 65A and 80A (slowly increased amperage as I got more confident). I realized after they cut the order that it's FAR heavier-duty material than I need (18ga would've been more appropriate), but oh well. The thicker wall means I'm less likely to burn through it.

I built a rectangle out of the tubing, then set the sheet inside the frame and welded that flush with the top. Or, at least I tried to. I need to get something better for fixturing - my garage floor certainly isn't perfectly flat, and I'm assuming that not having the pieces clamped down is allowing a little more movement due to heating/cooling stresses. I'm wishing I had something like one of those BuildPro tables, but that'll have to wait for awhile.

I welded in 3-4" sections around the perimeter of the shelf, always working right to left and it's pretty obvious where the tie-ins are. I definitely got better as I went along - the ripples are more even toward the left end of each edge. I'll practice working with the torch in the other hand and moving the other direction on the next shelf.

Darn - the photo uploader isn't working for me today. So I guess I'll just ask this question - I had a little trouble feeding in the filler rod smoothly - it was tricky to hit close enough to the arc so it would melt and flow, without hitting the tungsten. Any suggestions? And does clamping the work down help resist the warping? Or do I need to get more clever about the sequence of the welds I make to try to get the warpage to cancel out better?

[youngnstudly]

Try welding smaller sections than your 3-4" sections at a time. Stitch welds would be necessary if you have a lot of welding to do, or if the sheet has nothing to stiffen it (which helps prevent warping). If you're right handed, you should be going from right to left (sounds like you are), but it certainly can't hurt to practice left-handed welding for fun or "kicks". I would wait to get good with your dominant hand first before throwing another "stick in the spokes."

Clamping down your work pieces is a great habit to get into, especially when working on larger projects. Nothing worse than fitting everything up and rotating or flipping your item to weld the bottom side, only to find that things shifted around on you and got welded in the wrong position!

Pics for the filler rod question would help (a visual of what your bead looks like). You obviously can't produce a bead that is narrower than the diameter of your filler rod, so try to get just enough heat (amps) to make that puddle slightly wider than your filler rod's diameter. That will be a rough starting point than you can dial in as you go (for more penetration, for example).

If the puddle gets too wide while welding, increase your travel speed or simply turn the amps down a little. If you have to sit and "dilly dally" for the puddle to form, turn the heat up slightly. With lift arc, you will probably want things slightly cold as the piece will heat up towards the end of the weld. When doing 1" or 1-1/2" welds at a time, things won't heat up as much (which will give you more control), thus allowing you to run higher amps.

I was browsing Jody's site the other night to watch a video on his welding stool fabrication, and I found myself 10 pages in with my face glued to the screen 20 minutes later. Here is one of the pages I remembered stumbling onto that I thought explained things clearly for any beginners who are trying to learn TIG welding (maybe it will help you?):

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...ding-tips.html