Anything welding

at least the lady will know I wasn't bullshitting when I tell her I was having machine problems this morning.


Gonna have to save up for a new machine tho after this job

 

6:30p.m. tried to burn a few rods and the machine keeps dying.. Fuck this thing. Just gonna buy a new one and call it done.

 

@achirdo I need some reviews on your Ranger 250! You've been welding with it for a while and I need some advice.

 

Lincoln held up to there reputation with my machine. Welds good, great generator output, never given me a single problem. Fires up the first time every time. That being said I'd get the 305 if I were to do it again. I've never once used AC on it. I thought I would use it for TIG aluminum but I never have. Spool gun works just fine for that. The 305 I hear will have a better arc. Similar to am SA-200 from what I hear. And you can adjust the arc force. I also like the digital display, I never know exactly what amps I'm running.

Although the only downside to the 305 is that it has a lot more electronics to go bad. The 250 and 225 don't. If you are trying to do this on the cheap the Ranger 225 would be a great choice.

 

I was debating it. Was mainly interested in the panel adhesive for the simplicity and strength from what I have read in other forums. Plus my wire welder is a HF flux core. I ordered some cleco pins for building it, and I'll do some stitch welds then join them.
I'm jealous of you folks with all the nice setups. I'd kill for a plasma cutter for this project.
I'll get pictures if it as I go along. Just pulled the fenders and drained the coolant tonight, my back was toast after that.

 

Have you used it for gouging yet?

 

I have not. One thing I don't have on my truck is Air.

 

Dang. I would think gouging would be a pretty common thing in the field. I actually enjoy gouging a lot when it comes to thicker materials. Seems to work quick and accurate. Then again that's all I did at my last job so I guess it could be one of those things you enjoy once you get good at it.

 

Got my TIG welder the other day. Been trying to understand/learn the settings, to include proper use of the pulse and AC balance.

My first few beads on aluminum getting some adjustments dialed in and a few beads adding filler wire.

DSC00013 by Jonathan K, on Flickr

Obviously still have lots of practice to do, but I tried messing with joints. It seems like the arc will favor one plate or the other, so one begins to melt away while the other seems virtually untouched. I can't seem to get it to focus on the joint itself.

Any idea on what I need to adjust in order to keep the arc from wandering? More electrode stick out? More argon? Higher/lower frequency? More/less amps? Change in pulse rate?
Thanks

 

Try placing your filler rod on the joint then initiate the arc on the rod.

John

 

How is your tungsten grind? @45acp you could just need to fine tune your grind. Also what Tungsten are you using?

 

I'm running 3/32 ceriated with a ball tip the width of the electrode, and ~1/8"-3/16" stick out from a #7 cup. Approximately 17cfh argon flow. 1/8" 6061 t6 plate.

 

6061 is a bitch to weld, likes to crack. Get the blue tungsten, I think lanthanated. Works way better on ac. I also usually don't do a ball, either grind it flat or with a slight round.

 

Lanthana is (1%) is black.

 

2% blue.

 

I switched to 1/16" 2% Lanthanated (Only other one I had), messed with the controls some more and it improved quite a bit. Not ideal yet, as it still tends to suck the puddle to one side or the other. It bridges the gap and I can fill most of the T joint, but with no real uniformity. I ran a second pass with pulse and no filler and it seemed to even out the puddle. Almost makes it look like I was being consistent.

DSC00014 by Jonathan K, on Flickr

I cut a cross-section of the T joint and didn't see any signs of a gap.

 

Does anybody know the best place to get a JD2 model 32 bender from? Maybe somewhere with free shipping.

 

I'd go with a bigger tungsten, 3/32 should be good for 1/8 and 1/8 for 3/16 and 1/4. Even with tig I find joints to be weak so bevel everything.

 

Looks better than mine, I had a few days at the end of semester last semester to play with TIG a little bit and it's fun, makes me want to get a TIG machine after we build the shop.

Good to know, our welding book and instructor never mentioned a 2% lanthana filler rod.