Anything welding

So, I said fuck it.

Ordered the Primeweld 225X TIG welder. I'm enjoying it so much at school, it was apparent that it's the right welder for me.

Has high-frequency, does both AC/DC, parts interchange with other brands, and has a host of options to help weld things like aluminum better.

Can't wait

I guess my excuse can be - if I need to MIG, I'll do it at work and if I need to TIG, I'll do it at home.

 

Good call.

Next excuse will be, I already have a TIG machine, may as well invest in a good dedicated MIG setup as well.

 

Oh I already know what I want for a MIG setup; I want a transformer based Miller



That's the machine I use at work.

 

I use my panel vise-grips to ground to larger things. Clamp the ground to the vise grips themselves and you’re good to go!

 

My harbor freight folding welding table came in yesterday, put it together this afternoon, and I am impressed! This is surprisingly sturdy for how little it cost.

Newbie question on it though: what do I need to do/should I do to protect the surface? I'm guessing all the spatters going to stick to it, yeah? Should I be spraying it with that no stick spatter stuff first? Say screw it and just wire wheel it off?

 

I find very little if any spatter attached to my steel table.

I don't put anything on mine. If I do it was accidental motor oil spill.

 

You can also use a flat scraper to get spatter off. Most of the BBs aren’t fully fused to the surface and you can quickly knock them off with something with a sharp edge.

 

Perfect, thanks! I figured I was overthinking it but wanted to verify. Appreciate the help

 

I don't put anything on the top, most stuff comes right off with a wire wheel

Mine has also been sitting outside for the better part of 6 months and isn't rusting or anything. The yellow zinc top holds up well and whatever the frame is coated in is holding up well too

 

Anyone have opinions on the Lincoln tig200?

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en/products/k5126-1

A used one is for here locally and I’m thinking it might complement my 110v mig well. Stick for heavy or weird stuff, ac tig for all the misc aluminum projects I keep dreaming up.

 

Specs look promising, and it's nice to see that it has frequency control and more.

How much is it going for?

I just ordered a TIG welder earlier.

 

$2000, comes with cart, filler rod, 25ft ground and tig cups


It’s also been on Craig’s for a month so who knows if it’s actually still available

 

Got the holes drilled, welding completed and butcher block mounted. It test fit good, so need to stain the block and paint the legs. Also waiting on some tubing caps/plugs for the feet. Happy with the way that it turned out.

 

I usually try and wear PPE and make sure to keep safety first. That said, I've been lacking a bit on the welding/grinding perspective.

Is it better to go full face shield and respirator or just sealed goggles/glasses with respirator?

Also, what respirator do you recommend that is a good for welding (obviously under a hood). I saw some links below, but was curious if there are other options.

 

If I’m gonna be grinding in a position that causes sparks to come back at my face then I don a face shield simply because I don’t want to be smacked in the face with sparks. If I’m not doing that then goggles suffice.

 

Have a rusty piece of metal drilled out of your eye and you’ll wear a face shield for a while after ha.

 

Being in a shop at school with 8+ students that grind in the most awkward position, causing bits and pieces flying in every direction, makes me wear glasses 24/7.

Being in a small shop at work where grinders are used without guards (except my personal one that I use), those glasses come in handy there too.

I've got Z87.1+ rated safety glasses (with gasket) that I wear all the time, even when I'm welding.

There are few times where grinding causes the sparks to hit a wall and fly back in my direction; both glasses and a welding hood on grind mode alleviate that.

 

I've had that happen before and lemme tell you, it's NOT fun. I was even wearing glasses and a shield. Now I always wear goggles during any cutting and grinding becaues fuck that, it was so painful.

 

The worst part was that I didn't even realize I had metal in my eye. It wasn't until later that evening when I was sitting on the couch that it felt like someone was cutting onions nearby. I thought it was arc eye and did nothing for four days. That fourth day I was like "no way this is arc eye, it should be better by now." Went to the eye doctor and she was like "Yeah you've got metal in your eye and it's starting to rust."

They free-hand picked the metal off of my eye and then had to scrape the rust off with a drill. I felt great until later that afternoon and the pain started to set in, exactly like doc warned me was going to happen. The next day I was fine. It's amazing how fast the eye heals.

 

I started using one of the miller LPR100 half mask underhood respirators and I was surprised how big of a difference it made. It's the kinda thing where you know the welding shit cloud is there, but you don't realize how much junk you're breathing until you wear the respirator. I find it to be fairly comfortable, not too sweaty, and much more enjoyable to slurp the clean air