Looking for a Tig welder...

[Qualitywires.com]

I am looking for a tig welder to do some custom work on my Viper...any good idea what to get? I am NOT looking to spend a ton of $$ since this is going to be done primarly for me and not doing it for everyday use.

Can someone also explain how a Tig welder works? I am familiar with it, but want to get a detailed explanation on it...thanks!

 

[RandyS]

Lincoln has a small unit, 175 amps, but you are going to spend around $1500 for small ones. Tig welding is a lot like gas welding, torch in one hand, filler rod in the other. Heat controlled by your foot. One advantage is no splater. Very clean and smooth weld and with some experience you can weld some very thin material. What kind of custom work are you planing to do? A MIG unit might help, torch and filler rod in one hand.

A little basic, hope it helps

Randy

 

[Trbulnc]

AB,

We met in Frankfort back in the summer. Call Tom @ welder's supply in Louisville. I do a ton of business with these guys. He will give you the best price of anyone around. Tell him you know Stephen from Topy Corp. He can also give you any advice you need. 502-637-4771

 

[FE 065]

I am looking for a tig welder to do some custom work on my Viper...any good idea what to get? I am NOT looking to spend a ton of $$ since this is going to be done primarly for me and not doing it for everyday use.

Can someone also explain how a Tig welder works? I am familiar with it, but want to get a detailed explanation on it...thanks!

If you're that in the dark about Tig welding, you'd be better of hiring someone to do it.

 

[JDR]

ab,

I picked up one of these a few years ago, and love it:
Miller TIG welder

It'll work on thick (1/4"+, no problem), and it'll go down to quite thin (sheet metal). (I've even fusion welded razor blades with it, just for fun).

It's great on aluminum, copper, and stainless (for my salt-water boat).

MIG is much cheaper, and easier to use, but not as clean, and does a very poor job at aluminum (compared to TIG). What are you planning to weld anyway?

Also... if you're getting into fabrication... look into one of these:
Plasma Cutter (Thermadyne)

...and, take an evening class at a welding school for a semester (a couple hours a week for a few months, many Junior Colleges give them too), and only get a pro-welder when needed...

 

[Qualitywires.com]

I am looking for a tig welder to do some custom work on my Viper...any good idea what to get? I am NOT looking to spend a ton of $$ since this is going to be done primarly for me and not doing it for everyday use.

Can someone also explain how a Tig welder works? I am familiar with it, but want to get a detailed explanation on it...thanks!

If you're that in the dark about Tig welding, you'd be better of hiring someone to do it.

Is this a side comment from the peanut gallery? I do know a little about it and just trying to get information on what others know. I know how to Mig weld and now want to jump into tig weld. I am not one that always has to go get someone else to do it as most of you should know by now. Gimme me a break!

Yes, I do buy my welding supplies from Louisville Welding supply store. They are a bit on the expensive side on the welding equipment vs what I can get on the net.

 

[Qualitywires.com]

ab,

I picked up one of these a few years ago, and love it:
Miller TIG welder

It'll work on thick (1/4"+, no problem), and it'll go down to quite thin (sheet metal). (I've even fusion welded razor blades with it, just for fun).

It's great on aluminum, copper, and stainless (for my salt-water boat).

MIG is much cheaper, and easier to use, but not as clean, and does a very poor job at aluminum (compared to TIG). What are you planning to weld anyway?

Also... if you're getting into fabrication... look into one of these:
Plasma Cutter (Thermadyne)

...and, take an evening class at a welding school for a semester (a couple hours a week for a few months, many Junior Colleges give them too), and only get a pro-welder when needed...

I have looked at Lincoln and Miller. I think Miller is the way to go. I also want to get a plasma cutter also. They are not that expensive. I just want a complete shop in my garage if there is such a thing.

As far as what I plan on doing with it, it could be anything from repair to just stuff around the house. I just want to have it for when ever I need it so I don't have to spend the time to "send it off".

I will be taking some courses on the Tig welding here at Jefferson County Schools. I think it cost like $150 for a week's class. Not bad.

 

[DynoDaddy]

Hey ab I have a TIG unit at my house there in north KY. What you need is a miller ac/dc arc welder to use as the power supply that has the 14pin(or 19pin??) connection that will work with the HF251. Depending on the amperage they range from 900$ new to 2500$-like the one I have.
I also have a spool gun for MIG as well. (500$)

Then get a Miller HF 251 arc starter ($750 new on ebay or 899 from your local store) You will not find a used HF251 as they do not exist. Seems that everyone keeps them and never sells them. You will need a cooler (350$) tig torch, foot pedal ($500) rod, and tungston. After that you will need a bottle of argon and regulators(400$) TIG is very expensive to get setup.

Welding with this sort of setup takes a little time getting used to. it is not as smooth as a TOTALLY dedicated TIG machine (6500$) but works very well. Alum is the toughest metal to run IMO due to the cleanliness, and weld characteristincs of the metal. SS happens to be the easiest.

Keep in mind you can get a far cheaper TIG machine that will weld various steels, but once you go with an AC machine that welds alum it gets a lot more expensive. What is the point of having a TIG if it cannot weld alum though?

if you are needing some alum welding done my brother would weld up some pipes for a very reasonable fee. Work has slowed down for him and he is looking for some odd jobs to do on the weekend.

All in all he has about 300 hours of alum Tig time under his belt. He has welded multiple items on thin alum that I have put 50 psi on and passed a leak down test on. 20 psi intercooler piping will be an easy job.

I will be comming back through L-Ville next weekend from OKC. IF you have your pipes cut and marked I can pick them up if you would like. He could probably have them welded in a couple of days. PM me and let me know.

BTW did you ever find your PSI problem?

 

[Qualitywires.com]

It's not that I need anything to weld right now, it's just for future use and know how.

My PSI loss was due to the config of the paxton belt system. I think I have it solved now. Haven't been ablt to test it out yet due to rain. I will be heading back to the dyno to buld on top of my 740 RWHP with about 7 more PSI.

 

[Vic]

I got a small Lincoln MIG wire-feed welder for occasional use, it came to just a bit over $500 after taxes, if I remember right. Our company has big units for the certified welders in the field crews, but I just wanted a small one I could plug into 115vac.

The only drawback was when I was caught far out of town, and tried to weld some 5/8 steel plate. Even with the heat turned up all the way, the mass of metal was "sucking" the heat right out of the puddle, which made it hard to keep a consistent bead. But unless you are gonna weld something really thick like that, those little MIG units are fine for general welding on steel. Good enough for a Viper frame.

Does your model year have the crumple holes in the front frame rails? Some road racers weld a stiffening piece of L-angle there, to make the frame more rigid.

 

[Camfab]

Hi, hopefully I can actually answer the question you actually asked.
Here it goes; "TIG" welding stands for Tungsten Inert Gas it is a welding process which creates the heat for welding through a non-consumable electrode(Tungsten). The arc area is protected from contamination by air, from a stream of inert gas (typicaly Argon or Helium), which basically creates an mini-atmosphere around the weld area. The welding process can use welding rod as a source of filler metal as in gas welding, or no rod (fusion). As stated by others there is no weld spatter since no metal passes through the arc stream as in MIG or stick welding. It is usable in all positions of welding ie: horizontal, vertical, overhead etc, and has virtually no clean up necessary. A dedicated TIG welding unit with all capabilities will be a AC-DC unit. This is broken into three areas; AC, DCSP(Eectrode Negative Staight Polarity), DCRP(Electrode Positive Reverse Polarity). Most all Aluminum and Magnesium is welded with AC. Most all metals use DCSP. What this all means is that electron flow is either from the tungsten on the torch to the metal (DCSP) or the electrons are flowing from the work to the Tungsten (DCRP). As is probably obvious is that AC means the current changes direction back and forth. Electron flow reverses itself 120 times a second with a 60 hertz power supply. The reason Tungsten is used in the torch is because its an excellent emitter of electrons and most importantly it has a melting point of 6170 F which means your work is going to melt before it does. Early TIG machines as well as many inexpensive or non AC machines used what is called a "scratch start", this means that the actual welding process begins as the torch tip (Tungsten) touches the work surface and begins the arc process. The advantages to this are obvious if cost and a slight potential of impurities are not important. Of course no AC welding can be done with this process. Stainless sheetmetal fabricators would typically use this set up off-site because size and mobility are key factors. A common shop size TIG welder will have whats called a "high frequency unit", the unit is a spark gap generator which creates the initial spark to create the welding arc. Typically the units have a switch which allows the high frequency unit to work momentarilly for arc start up with DC applications, or continuos with the use of the AC weld setting. The reason you need continous high frequency with AC is because the AC wave goes to zero volts 120 times a second. The arc would just shut itself off. The torch in your hand is cooled by means of air (smaller units) or liquid (larger units).

Hope that answers your question. If you'd like to know my opinion on what unit to buy or anything else just ask. I like yourself am a DIY. I started welding because everyone said you Could'nt fit 2" tuned length headers with a 12 quart race pan and all the accessories in my IROC back in 1990. So I made them myself.

 

[Qualitywires.com]

Cam,

Thanks for the informative post! I like you already since you are a DYI!!