General welding questions that dont fit in TIG, MIG, Stick, or Certification etc.
Aaron W
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BugHunter wrote:
Aaron W wrote:Not to shill too hard for Miller, :mrgreen: but it is literally two welders in one, you can switch from MIG to either TIG or stick instantly just, put down one and pick up the other and it will go right to the last setting for that process. I can't think of a situation where I would really need to jump back and forth between MIG and TIG or stick, but you could.
Perhaps not so much in the hobbyist world, but often you'll tack with a MIG and then TIG the weld, or the reverse, or tack with the TIG then Stick weld, or who knows. Whatever process gets the job done I guess.

On my Miller I can switch from AC to DC with the press of one button, and all the settings for that weld type are just as they were left. I find it very nice when for instance, I use AC for a relatively specific use, but then DC is used for all sorts of maintenance stuff where the settings are all over the place. I don't need to mess with the AC settings when I put it back.

It's a really nice feature.
Ok, then I guess it does make some sense. When I was shopping for mine the 220 was the only multi-process that offered that feature. Over the past year several more MP welders have come on the market, so don't know if others have added that.
Nethergate
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It’s been a while since I’ve updated, I’ve made a welding cart to hold my welder and put a set of drawers under it for welding consumables, I’ve tried the tig out on mild steel and I love it. At first I couldn’t figure out why I was blowing through tungstons but it was because I had the torch on the positive, I swapped it over and it was fantastic.

I’ve bought a magnetic drill and I’ve collected steel to make a fixture table. I found a utube video of a neat table which I’m going to try and make, I’ll make a thread for the table when I start.

Im tempted to buy a plasma cutter, but I’ll be asking a tonne of questions before I do that. Got to start saving again first.

Between consumables, regulator, argon etc the mig cost me about $2000aud but defiantly love it.

Thanks for all the advice along the way


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DavidR8
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Nethergate wrote:It’s been a while since I’ve updated, I’ve made a welding cart to hold my welder and put a set of drawers under it for welding consumables, I’ve tried the tig out on mild steel and I love it. At first I couldn’t figure out why I was blowing through tungstons but it was because I had the torch on the positive, I swapped it over and it was fantastic.

I’ve bought a magnetic drill and I’ve collected steel to make a fixture table. I found a utube video of a neat table which I’m going to try and make, I’ll make a thread for the table when I start.

Im tempted to buy a plasma cutter, but I’ll be asking a tonne of questions before I do that. Got to start saving again first.

Between consumables, regulator, argon etc the mig cost me about $2000aud but defiantly love it.

Thanks for all the advice along the way


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Pics of the cart would be great!


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David
Millermatic 130
Primeweld 225
Nethergate
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I’ve only got one where my shed is a mess. So be gentle. I’ll have to build a shelf for the peddle, it’s a lot more bulky than I expected and it didn’t arrive until I finished.

Image


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Nethergate
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I’m going to add chain links either side of the welder so I can strap it down so when I’m going all terrain it doesn’t flop around and going to box around the bottle so it can’t slide out, apart from that the wheels and axle was off an old p handled trolly, the sheet metal I had laying around from my trailer build and i bought the 40x40x1.5 for about $20 so it worked out really cheap. I didn’t want to use my argon without the cart because I didn’t want the bottle to fall over and smash my regulator.

I’m pretty happy with it but now I’ve got the tig Up and running I might make a new one. The yellow toolbox cost me $100 as well. I had to rip the lock for the drawers out because the lid won’t open all the way (drawers were an after thought) and the drawers won’t unlock until the lid is 100% open.

I didn’t have the magnetic squares which would of made life easier and my cuts had a lot of gaps because I 45degree cut everything with a grinder. Now I’ve put a disc in my mitre saw it’s going to be so much better.


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Last edited by Nethergate on Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nethergate
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Nethergate
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So I’ve got some feedback, I’ve used my welder a heap, I love tig but I’m still learning heaps, I started aluminium tig last night, had to play with the settings and finally with turning up the frequency I had some luck.

I hate the arc welder that’s built into it, I think it it might be the electrode holder that’s the problem coz if the rod sticks it will arc in the electrode holder handle.

It’s really stubborn to strike an arc, which is a pain in the arse when tacking. I much prefer my old transformer arc welder when it comes to arc. But I do love tig.


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Nethergate
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More feedback, finally got around to swapping out the electrode holder and it’s totally fixed, heaps easier to strike an arc, I have a feeling the original holder was clamping on the flux. Not sure but it’s defiantly fixed, I ended up pulling the holder off my old cig transformer welder.


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tweake
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8-) :D
tweak it until it breaks
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