I would worry about the tig arc boost voltage, killing the mig welder.
Even if the power output from the mig was not being used, the high voltage might feed down the wire and try to get to earth through the migs transformer and diodes.

 

I was thinking along these lines too when I saw the thread about the sppol gun/TIG someone has. Thinking why put the spool in your hand an not at the machine. Running the wire feed liner in the same cable jacket as the TIG torch. Wouldn't add much to the torch handle. Have a thumb wheel on the torch or in your other hand to adjust feed speed. Or a second foot pedal.

 

Thinking why put the spool in your hand an not at the machine.

Because for aluminum wire, trying to push it down the cable is like trying to push a chain up a hill.

For steel or SS wire, the cold feeders, like Desertrider posted should work fine, and basically do what you are trying to achieve. For aluminum, the burden of the spool is a necessary evil.

 

This has been done, very successfully. Go to this site and have a look. Reply with your thoughts on it, please.

http://www.weldreality.com/TIP-TIGWelding.htm

Bgbkwndo.

 

Yes, a mig feeder could be used as a cold (no arc power) wire feeder for tig. The cold wire feeders that Arc Zone and CK Worldwide sell for tig welding are not much different than a regular bench-top remote control feeder for use with a seperate mig power supply.

http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1354&zenid=ra1bhuredu00ecqvdlm9po7u71

 

My first wire feed TIG was a Cobramatic push pull wire feeder with a 27 frame, water cooled TIG torch attached along the barrel. Worked great as the push-pull feeder handled aluminum wire well and the torch was mounted with hose clamps around the TIG torch handle and the Cobramatic torch body. All it took to mount the TIG torch was a strip of aluminum bent at 30-40 degrees and two hose clamps- try it!

I used gas in both the TIG cup and the MIG cup until I realized I could drop the MIG cup and use the contact tip by itself. The TIG gas coverage was enough and this rig welded lots of tanks and hull seams before being replaced by the OTC gun I now use.

RIP: Daihen has discontinued the product:realmad:
[I called OTC a few days ago to get another gun and found its no longer made- argggh! I'll have to make one from a Cobramatic- again! My first one was in the summer of 1978 and I used it on skiff ends, air tests, tanks and bracket welding.

A Push [Only] type steel MIG torch probably won't give enough steady feed to make it worth the time. But the push-pull MK Cobramatic worked fine, and they now have wire speed pots on the handles so you can control the filler. Or, if your push-pull doesn't have a handle mounted wire speed pot; just run a small three wire extension cord from the control cabinet and run your own- it works well.

Wire feed TIG won't solve every problem but its like MIG compared to stick for 90-95% of all aluminum welds in my work. It won't get into the back of every handrail joint on a boat if the risers are raked, but other than that, wire feed TIG is the more productive. About the same ratio of stick to MIG in steel- enough faster to reserve stick welding for special (rare) cases.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

 

Don't the commercial cold feed setups retract & delay the wire though so it simulates a real manual feed tig setup? ie Push wire in, pull back, pause, push in etc

Do you have any photos of some welds you have done with your setup Kevin, also some photos of the setup in general.

Thanks

 

We have a 3000.00 cold wire tig setup at work to tac parts together with. Its the biggest peice of crap we have ever bought. Nothing we build is exactly the same so if you get it setup to make one tac it doesn't make the next one the same.

 

Tigwldr, what brand and model is the cold wire feeder? Is it a Diahen USA (OTC) TIG Boy gun 300 amp water cooled model?

If so... (not sure of other types) I'd surely make an offer, [immediate bank transfer of funds, UPS/FedEX/courier PickUp and pay crating charges) to the company if they wanted to 'get rid of it ??? [one man's trash; another man's treasure]

Com_VC, I've posted elsewhere on the site some weld images and images of the torch I'm using. I don't have any photos from the '70's when I built the first "tig gun" with a Cobramatic wire feed.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

 

Using a MIG feeder for TIG wire feeding sounds like a good idea. One thing to consider is the wire feed speed, since MIG feeders are geared to run somewhere from 100 to 500 inches per minute (ipm), TIG wire feeding is commonly done at around 20 to 30 ipm, so you'd have see how well the MIG feeder operated at the very low end.