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Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by Kelvin He does nice stuff! https://images.gunsinternational.com...43A91CEFB4.jpg He complains about my prices, and I complain about his. Really nice guy though. Taught me a bunch about smithing.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder...
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by shovelon Google Angelo Bee's work and you will see a few pieces that I welded on. He does nice stuff! https://images.gunsinternational.com...43A91CEFB4.jpg
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by Kelvin Neat. Thanks for the info. I imagine that kind of work puts a nice feather in your cap and pays well, too. ETA: How do you prevent the "wings" of the receiver from warping outward? Use real thin filler and a tiny tungsten and build it up slowly, tiny bead after tiny bead with lots of cooldown time in-between beads? Is not that much of a buildup. More like touch ups. Most receivers have lots of support inside. Yep small wire, I use mig wire for the most part.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by shovelon Yes. The inlays are removed and filled with soft steel. Most receivers are not hardened still so that they can be engraved, fitted, adjusted, and repaired. Angelo Bee does engraving only. He was trained in Belgium in the FN factory making Brownings. They taught he and his sister to engrave. Google Angelo Bee's work and you will see a few pieces that I welded on. Trick is to remove the copper coating on Tig rod so the bluing will take without discoloration. Angelo likes soft fillers so that he can push the metal around. Neat. Thanks for the info. I imagine that kind of work puts a nice feather in your cap and pays well, too. ETA: How do you prevent the "wings" of the receiver from warping outward? Use real thin filler and a tiny tungsten and build it up slowly, tiny bead after tiny bead with lots of cooldown time in-between beads?
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by Kelvin Wow, did you weld on that O/U receiver? That's something I wouldn't have the guts to do on a bet (even if I were qualified)! Yes. The inlays are removed and filled with soft steel. Most receivers are not hardened still so that they can be engraved, fitted, adjusted, and repaired. Angelo Bee does engraving only. He was trained in Belgium in the FN factory making Brownings. They taught he and his sister to engrave. Google Angelo Bee's work and you will see a few pieces that I welded on. Trick is to remove the copper coating on Tig rod so the bluing will take without discoloration. Angelo likes soft fillers so that he can push the metal around.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by shovelon I do a lot of restoration work for an engraver which means un-engraving and filling holes and dents. Lots of detail. Attachment 1725553 Wow, did you weld on that O/U receiver? That's something I wouldn't have the guts to do on a bet (even if I were qualified)!
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... for the money im doubting theres a better machine than htp221. had mine around 5 or 6yrs and not a ounce of trouble. not one glitch, not one sputter. works great every time. reliability is priceless to me. ive no time for cheap products that break down. most likely i followed the aircooled advice but about the 2nd day using it i ordered the water cooling parts and never looked back. in some corner of the garage those aircool parts are covered with cobwebs and 5yrs of dust
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by tapwelder I'd suspect, doing aluminum would not take long or much to desire a water cooler. I'd get 'em both at time of purchase if it was in the budget. I hear you, but I have a hypothesis that most hobbyists don't do enough aluminum to make it a concern. Plus the stuff the OP mentioned (general fabrication including things like sheet fabrication (usually 16 gauge) and I plan on getting into tubing as well (stainless exhaust, chrome moly tubing, etc.)) is all going to be relatively low amps.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... I'd suspect, doing aluminum would not take long or much to desire a water cooler. I'd get 'em both at time of purchase if it was in the budget.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by albrightree Odd way to describe input current. Attachment 1725502 What I found disappointing is that 3 phase doesn't seem to give it any more (output)amperage like the some other machines do. That is actually a good thing though. It means you can get full power using the more common Single Phase in home geerages.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by WeldCrazyDude Thanks for all the feedback guys! As I stated, this is for hobbyist/home use and shelling out $6k for something I plan to use on projects for fun is hard to justify. That being said, I try to only buy the best quality tools as I almost always end up being disappointed in budget/lower quality tools. Most people on here seem to be recommending a machine with more than 210 amps but the miller 210dx says it's capable of welding 1/4" aluminum. I don't know that I'll ever be welding AL thicker than 1/4" thus I was thinking I didn't need the higher amps. In case I'm missing something, what do you guys do from a hobbyist perspective that requires you to weld thicker than 1/4" aluminum? I also like the advantage of running the miller dynasty 210 dx on 110v or 220v vs. the 280 dx only being capable of 220v. $8,500 on the Miller 280dx would be almost too much to swallow but I'll do it if it makes sense. Glad to hear about the HTP options (not sure how confident I am in everlast) I'm just curious how they truly stack up to the miller dynastys. I've never tig welded before but I know I'll eventually put any machine I buy through it's paces as I typically weld 3-4 days a week (even as a hobbyist). Do they HTPs offer the same level of quality machine? Same weld arc quality? Etc. To be honest I'm leaning towards miller purely based on reputation as I know they make good quality machines and I don't know enough yet to get into details of different settings/capabilities of one vs another. Thanks! https://store.cyberweld.com/midy280dxcow1.html You will find plenty of great feedback from others not only here but on other forums as well. Miller is the "gold standard" but HTP is a better value for the money IMO. You can come on down and try out my HTP TIGs, just bring your own scrap and pay for an argon refill.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by Louie1961 You can't go wrong with the HTP or the Miller unit. I just happen to like the Lincoln unit a little better. As a hobbyist I would start out air cooled, and not pay for the water cooler, running gear, etc. Those can always be added later. When ThermalArc stopped building their tigs in Japan and the 400GTSW went bye-bye, I had my eyes on the Aspect375. The specs were good and the 5 year warranty upgrade really make my ROI soar. My dealer assured me they would back the warranty when I toasted them. But then my Miller guy made me an offer on Dynastys I could not refuse. Go for the Aspect! I like the HTP as well, but I just can't get used to the Euro panels. Not sure I can dial them down for micro work like my Dynastys. I do a lot of restoration work for an engraver which means un-engraving and filling holes and dents. Lots of detail. Attachment 1725553
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... You can't go wrong with the HTP or the Miller unit. I just happen to like the Lincoln unit a little better. As a hobbyist I would start out air cooled, and not pay for the water cooler, running gear, etc. Those can always be added later.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by WeldCrazyDude Thanks for all the feedback guys! As I stated, this is for hobbyist/home use and shelling out $6k for something I plan to use on projects for fun is hard to justify. That being said, I try to only buy the best quality tools as I almost always end up being disappointed in budget/lower quality tools. Most people on here seem to be recommending a machine with more than 210 amps but the miller 210dx says it's capable of welding 1/4" aluminum. I don't know that I'll ever be welding AL thicker than 1/4" thus I was thinking I didn't need the higher amps. In case I'm missing something, what do you guys do from a hobbyist perspective that requires you to weld thicker than 1/4" aluminum? I also like the advantage of running the miller dynasty 210 dx on 110v or 220v vs. the 280 dx only being capable of 220v. $8,500 on the Miller 280dx would be almost too much to swallow but I'll do it if it makes sense. Glad to hear about the HTP options (not sure how confident I am in everlast) I'm just curious how they truly stack up to the miller dynastys. I've never tig welded before but I know I'll eventually put any machine I buy through it's paces as I typically weld 3-4 days a week (even as a hobbyist). Do they HTPs offer the same level of quality machine? Same weld arc quality? Etc. To be honest I'm leaning towards miller purely based on reputation as I know they make good quality machines and I don't know enough yet to get into details of different settings/capabilities of one vs another. Thanks! https://store.cyberweld.com/midy280dxcow1.html Absolutely yes the Dynasty210DX can weld 1/4" alum in small cross sections, and that is with 100% argon and ER4943 wire. If you have thicker cross sections or even block thicknesses welding with ER5356 then preheat and use an Argon/Helium mix. I have done it many time with my Dynasty200DX. I shocked my regional Miller rep when I welded 1/2" plates with my 200DX on 115 volts/15 volt input. He said it could not be done but I did(with ER4943 and pure helium with a root pass on DCEN they cover weave with AC in the advanced waveform still running pure Helium. Nice arc start on DC or AC even with pure welding grade helium.) Now to be honest you need some mad skills and experience to make the Dynasty put out full potential, but on 230 volts alum welding is easy. The downfall is the aircooled torch that I use a WeldTec Rocker torch with on max amps. All of the steel work really could be done on 115volts and 20 amp circuit. I welded for years in my garage on a 115 volt/15 amp circuit. You can even weld almost all sheet thickness alum on 115 volts. I did and still do on site welding.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Thanks for all the feedback guys! As I stated, this is for hobbyist/home use and shelling out $6k for something I plan to use on projects for fun is hard to justify. That being said, I try to only buy the best quality tools as I almost always end up being disappointed in budget/lower quality tools. Most people on here seem to be recommending a machine with more than 210 amps but the miller 210dx says it's capable of welding 1/4" aluminum. I don't know that I'll ever be welding AL thicker than 1/4" thus I was thinking I didn't need the higher amps. In case I'm missing something, what do you guys do from a hobbyist perspective that requires you to weld thicker than 1/4" aluminum? I also like the advantage of running the miller dynasty 210 dx on 110v or 220v vs. the 280 dx only being capable of 220v. $8,500 on the Miller 280dx would be almost too much to swallow but I'll do it if it makes sense. Glad to hear about the HTP options (not sure how confident I am in everlast) I'm just curious how they truly stack up to the miller dynastys. I've never tig welded before but I know I'll eventually put any machine I buy through it's paces as I typically weld 3-4 days a week (even as a hobbyist). Do they HTPs offer the same level of quality machine? Same weld arc quality? Etc. To be honest I'm leaning towards miller purely based on reputation as I know they make good quality machines and I don't know enough yet to get into details of different settings/capabilities of one vs another. Thanks! https://store.cyberweld.com/midy280dxcow1.html
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by Louie1961 I wouldn't take an everlast even if it was free. Take that as you will. Everlast sent a tig to Weld-O-Rama. Wes and I were welding with it and it died. End of story.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Odd way to describe input current. Attachment 1725502 What I found disappointing is that 3 phase doesn't seem to give it any more (output)amperage like the some other machines do.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... I wouldn't take an everlast even if it was free. Take that as you will.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... I have ran both a dynasty 350 and a 280dx professionally. As a hobbyist not sure the cost of the dynasty is worth it. I have a everlast 255ext at home and it's not quite a dynasty but it's a good machine. I wouldn't do it any different if I were to do it again. I also wouldn't buy less than 250 amps for any aluminum work. Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by tapwelder That Htp package seem hard to beat given the amperage. 40%duty cycle at 300 amps isn't pretty nice. If you have 3-phase 240V (or put it on a 20HP 240V phase converter), duty cycle shoots up to 80% @ 300A. Not to shabby.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by albrightree Wow, only 11 amp draw at 208 Volt ! 19 amps using 3-phase input power. NPUT CURRENT 120/208/230/400/460/1/50/60: 34/33/31/18/16A 208/230/400/460/3/50/60: 19/17/10/9A
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by albrightree Wow, only 11 amp draw at 208 Volt ! That's not at maximum output though....
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... To be honest I hadn't seen the Miller you mention, but I still would get the Lincoln just because I am so in love with the front panel and they way the display and sequencer is set up. Seems easier to figure out than the Dynasty. Plus when I was looking at the at this versus the dynasty 210 DX CPS (closest equivalent features) the Lincoln is $946 cheaper, while delivering 20 more top end amps (just the cost of the power supplies without running gear, cooler, etc.)
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by Louie1961 If I was to buy a new TIG, right now I think it would be this one: https://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.c...welder-k4340-1 Just curious, What makes this your choice compared to the Miller $5,987.00 with wireless Foot pedal. Comparable set up for the Lincoln: $5,799.00 wired Foot pedal.
Re: Looking For a Tig Welder... Originally Posted by Louie1961 If I was to buy a new TIG, right now I think it would be this one: https://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.c...welder-k4340-1 That is not a bad price especially if you can still upgrade to the 5 year warranty.
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