Brazing is adhesion not fusion.

If you want to get rid of smoke but have less gas issues then set up the fan to blow away. So it’s sucking the fumes away not pushing them.

Air tank or hydraulic?

At that $1200 mark you will probably get a machine that’s solid on DC. But you might not get a good machine if you want AC&DC for aluminum at that price range. If you want to do aluminum I’d recommend a machine capable of at least 200 amps.

3 phase or single phase?

I will reinsert the point that any machine below 500 amps will be intermittent use for air arc. If you want to use it seriously for that then you need to bump up above 400.

By the time you buy new hoses and rebuild the regulator’s you can buy a new torch set. It won’t be cheaper because your set need a lot of attention. But I personally don’t always take the cheap route.

One thing to watch out for is if the machine is colder than the dew point of the area you move it to will potentially cause condensation to collect on the inside/ circuit boards. Not good. I’ve had this happen when you bring a machine into a warm building after it’s beed stored outside in a cold tru...

Looks good.

You can get steel wheels meant to go on a cart from most hardware stores. Mount them upside down and you get rollers on the cheap.

I know they exist but the ones I’ve seen are usually big. Like chuck up 48” pipe big.

It might be fine but it would depend on part thickness weld size and joint configuration.

I use those divots as a reason to have two vices. I named my two vices. Rum and Beer.

Fit up can make a big difference. Bead height, do they allow grinding between passes? If so fix the high spots before the next pass.

I would be most concerned about matching the chrome molly to the steel for picking a filler.

Check your plug connections. A bad connection at the plug can make it draw high amps. Might be more serious than that but I would start there.

Are you grinding out a grove, or just grinding it flat?

I think 500 amp machines are a good starting point for common steady use of an air arc.

Welcome.

I have the option to use all three of those processes, but I use Tig 75 % of the time and stick 20% of the time. You can do the math on the Mig.

Burning into one side over the other is most likely rod angle. Possible it might be bad rod but that is low on the list. Try adjust the height of your test plates. It probably has to do with range of motion of your body, I’m guessing it always goes wonky at about the same height.

Each supplier has there own rules. Most I have dealt with will trade your tank for a full one from them. They will usually also charge you a small recertification fee the first time you trade it in. Then they will charge there normal rate as long as you trade it with them.

Welcome. Just to be clear. By the time you invest in equipment and materials to learn the skills to complete a project like this you will likely have $3k into your trailer or more. As long as your open eyed about what your getting into you will be fine.

Fwiw, Airgas visit in Erie, PA on 5/27. $19.50 for ~120cf oxygen refill, $36.63 for a ~120 cf 75/25 Ar/CO2 refill, $8.50 hazmat shipping, $6 to the guv’ner and $40 to recert an O2 tank last hydro'd in ‘76. I am stunned that they can sand blast, paint and hydro-test a bottle for $40. Is this their p...

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