Arc welder with tig attachment
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Arc welder with tig attachment Hey guys. This has been running through my mind a bit. I have a Lincoln IdealArc 250 welder. You can purchase a tig attachment for this welder. Has anybody done a conversion like this? DOes it work good or would I be better off getting a true tig welder?
Are you talking about a high freq. arc start module, or tig control? I have one for my two miller arc welders. Really have yet to use it in the field yet. For most basic jobs the add on will work fairly well for small jobs. You are more than likely going to be limited to an air cooled torch though. What year is your welder? The older ideal arcs are great machines. That was before Lincoln switched most all their windings from copper to aluminum.
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http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...eet.asp?p=2000
That would be their recommendation. What do you think. Also, will have to have a look at the year of the welder. Not sure what year it is
That would be their recommendation. What do you think. Also, will have to have a look at the year of the welder. Not sure what year it is
I was wondering if you meant one of the nicer ones and you did. Those units are usually intended for field use doing pipe work in plants and code nuclear work. For the price I would get a seperate tig. It will not cost much more to get a lightly used 250 amp model. Thats my opinion. What do you use the arc for, and where is it kept? Meaning do you have any needs for mobility of the arc or the tig?
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I really dont use the arc welder. If it is used it is for truck frames and such. Rare. I have a Lincoln mig welder also that i use alot but would like a tig for trying some aluminum welding. Starting out small and working at it.
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From: Illinois, RT 66 dragway area
A buddy had a snap on welder and he got the Tig added a couple of years later. He ended up getting a new tig only, he didn't like the conversion. That was a Snap-on, so maybe your's will work out better. Good luck.
My dad's is the red buzz box every farmer has with a tig torch.
All it is is a tank with a regulator then the hose to the torch. There is a copper plate that comes out of the hose for the electricty and we just clamp the positve lead from the stick welder to that. Use the same ground.
Set the welder to DC (-) and you have a cheap tig.
It doesnt have high frequecny start or even amperage control while welding.
If you are a decent welder, you just scratch start like a stick welder and control your speed/filler to account for the metal heating up as you weld.
Sometimes you have to stop and let it cool since you cant ease off towards the end then start up again halfway through the bead.
There is a little **** on the torch to turn the gas on and off, kind of sucks when you use a good tig tha auto starts the gas then you go to this one and start welding without turnin it on, but you learn fast.
All it is is a tank with a regulator then the hose to the torch. There is a copper plate that comes out of the hose for the electricty and we just clamp the positve lead from the stick welder to that. Use the same ground.
Set the welder to DC (-) and you have a cheap tig.
It doesnt have high frequecny start or even amperage control while welding.
If you are a decent welder, you just scratch start like a stick welder and control your speed/filler to account for the metal heating up as you weld.
Sometimes you have to stop and let it cool since you cant ease off towards the end then start up again halfway through the bead.
There is a little **** on the torch to turn the gas on and off, kind of sucks when you use a good tig tha auto starts the gas then you go to this one and start welding without turnin it on, but you learn fast.
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You can only use those add-ons if welding mild, or stainless steel. The add-on's, or portable setups don't have high frequency arc starting capabilities, which you need for aluminum. With a portable set-up, you must scratch start your arc, which is a BITCH, even for an expierenced welder. You can't scratch start aluminum because you contaminate the tungsten right from the start, not good! Hope this helps!
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Brett Foote Not true, you just need a high freq. arc start/stabilizer. I have the miller HF-251 for my truck mounted welder. Although for what you end up paying, you are better off just getting a tig in the end.
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You can do aluminum/magnesium with a simple scratch start DC setup like that without a high frequency (arc starter/stabilizer) box if you add some He to your shielding gas.
For a long time I just used a 130A alternator, 5hp motor, a battery charger and wire wound rheostat for a tig welder… just hooked up a weldcraft 17 series torch with a built in gas valve to the negative side and did the scratch start thing. The advantage with using an alternator over a big transformer (buz box…) is that the rectifier diodes in the alternator do not filter out all the AC and that actually works as a bit of an arc stabilizer, it also makes a cool, high pitched whine when you have an arc going and everything is right…
For a long time I just used a 130A alternator, 5hp motor, a battery charger and wire wound rheostat for a tig welder… just hooked up a weldcraft 17 series torch with a built in gas valve to the negative side and did the scratch start thing. The advantage with using an alternator over a big transformer (buz box…) is that the rectifier diodes in the alternator do not filter out all the AC and that actually works as a bit of an arc stabilizer, it also makes a cool, high pitched whine when you have an arc going and everything is right…
You are no doubt right, but WHY? Just get the right setup and dont try and ***** foot around with a setup that is almost right. I dont get why guys get on here and throw around all these variables, like just add helium. I dont mean to be mean about it, but for alot of these beginners, easier and more straight forward to the only way to go. 3/32" 100% tungsten, 200 amp tig with high freq, and straight argon. There is what you beginner guys need to get going on aluminum.
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Why? Because it cost me $2x to buy a torch on ebay + consumables and I was TIG welding (the rest of the parts I had laying around or built, with the exception of the alternator, but the guy at the JY was in a hurry to get out and just waved me out of the yard without paying for it). Add in some tinkering to replace the rheostat with a modified sewing machine pedal and I had a functional TIG with foot pedal control and even gas control so I didn’t have to use the gas valve on the torch (N2O solenoid, relay and capacitor to give me a post gassing triggered off the foot pedal).
Now I have a synchrowave, which is a somewhat less hassle, but weighs 10x as much and probably takes up that much more room, cost me $$$ more and doesn’t have _that_ much more capability WRT DC welding. I’m not saying that the synchrowave doesn’t do the job better without nearly the hassle (the reason that I got it was that I wanted to spend more time tinkering with the cars then tinkering with the stuff that I need to tinker with the cars), but most of the difference wasn’t functional, but appearances and speed.
WRT to welding aluminum/mag with He and DCEN… in some cases that is the only acceptable way to weld it. AC + HF + Ar, simplifies things and in a production shop would save money in the long run, so it has become the standard, but it is still not considered the highest quality way of getting the job done.
Now I have a synchrowave, which is a somewhat less hassle, but weighs 10x as much and probably takes up that much more room, cost me $$$ more and doesn’t have _that_ much more capability WRT DC welding. I’m not saying that the synchrowave doesn’t do the job better without nearly the hassle (the reason that I got it was that I wanted to spend more time tinkering with the cars then tinkering with the stuff that I need to tinker with the cars), but most of the difference wasn’t functional, but appearances and speed.
WRT to welding aluminum/mag with He and DCEN… in some cases that is the only acceptable way to weld it. AC + HF + Ar, simplifies things and in a production shop would save money in the long run, so it has become the standard, but it is still not considered the highest quality way of getting the job done.
