Learning to TIG with a multi-process machine....

[Greg]

HF machines rock!

I'm pretty impressed with it so far! It wasn't cheap though, so my expectations are high.

If you have any questions let me know. I went through the learning curve myself over the last 2-3 years and am just now getting comfortable with aluminum

Will do, for now it's just putting in the time and getting my technique down. Looking forward to playing with aluminum myself.

That's the unit I have Greg. I've been welding Aluminum motorcycle and ATV parts for about a year with it. The on demand fan is nice too (so it's not always on or at the highest setting of loud).

I saw that the older version had a fan that ran constantly, like that this one runs only as needed... its massive, too.

My TIG learning process was to grind a box of 10 tungstens and when I dipped the last one I would wait until the next day to try again.
Less chance of hurling something across the shop.

Damn good idea, I'm going to order a set of 10 along with a proper grinder and get them all prepped and ready.

 

[Greg]

Went ahead and ordered a Eastwood TG1800 Tungsten grinder on Amazon, not bad for $95. Has to be a better option than using my hand held grinder, trying to get the proper taper on the tip.

 

[frieed]

Went ahead and ordered a Eastwood TG1800 Tungsten grinder on Amazon, not bad for $95. Has to be a better option than using my hand held grinder, trying to get the proper taper on the tip.

I've heard of people buying a flat diamond wheel from HF and mounting it on the side of a bench grinder wheel.

 

[Greg]

I've heard of people buying a flat diamond wheel from HF and mounting it on the side of a bench grinder wheel.

I looked into what would be the best option for grinding tips for me, don't have a bench grinder though. I did just see a video of a guy grinding his tungsten on a bench grinder with the tungsten chucked up into his drill, spinning it while he ground. Seemed like a decent idea, but obviously ONLY uses it for tungsten so the stone doesn't contaminate it.

 

[Gravy]

That's how I do my setup. I've got a cheap bench grinder with a stone for tungsten and a buffing wheel for polishing stuff on the other side.

 

[frieed]

@Greg , when you start into aluminum you'll have to adjust your technique to match since adding filler to the puddle makes it grow quite a bit in height. Some instructors recommend learning on Aluminum because after mastering that, steel is pretty easy.

I expected Al to be different but what surprised me was stainless. It doesn't conduct heat as fast as mild steel and the heat really builds up in the puddle. Once the puddle forms you need to back off on the current quite a bit.

Get some Aluminum or Silicon Bronze filler as well and play with brazing.

You can also get tool steel filler to let you put a hard edge on mild steel (or use old drill bits as filler. I bet I could use some of the random hex wrenches that have accumulated over the years as well).

Oh, also, I really like gas lenses to help reduce gas consumption.