weld grinding tips needed

[Shield Arc]

Do you know if that machine comes with any tungsten? I've got to the point now I use 2 % Ceriated, (orange) for everything.
WeldCraft WC332X7 Tungsten, 2% Ceriated, 3/32" x 7"

 

[joshuabardwell]

Got it done...ordered the Everlast 160sth with foot pedal from Mark, and he was very helpful.
Now let's see, when I get it, I plug it in, turn it all the way up, then connect the two leads right?

I'm so jealous! If I was to buy new today, I think that'd be the machine I'd get. For the time being, I continue to muddle along with my transformer-based brute.

 

[daugen]

thanks Josh. When it comes in I'll take pics. Need to remember what it looks like before I connect the two leads...:dance1:

I think I'll be making some ugly welds for sure to begin with, but as long as they are structurally sound, I'm pretty good with a grinder.
My BIL is saving up all his extra steel scraps for me.

And I'm not sure I'm going to tell my wife that the generator I planned on running this off has only a 30amp 240V outlet, no where near enough for the 37 amp
draw on full load. So....looks like I'm quietly going to be buying a larger gen, no power at my barn sheds, yet.
Here I was worried about a 500 dollar welder and a 50 amp gen will cost four times that much. Not my best bit of planning for sure.
It will be at least a year before power is brought to this barn, it's pretty remote, but it will come. Meanwhile I guess I'll have a nice portable gen, though I sure would have liked to
spend that money on something else.

 

[daugen]

Do you know if that machine comes with any tungsten? I've got to the point now I use 2 % Ceriated, (orange) for everything.
WeldCraft WC332X7 Tungsten, 2% Ceriated, 3/32" x 7"

Shield Arc, I just don't know, maybe one "trial" piece. I'll take a pic of what it arrives with. And then I'm going to ask for help with my accessory shopping list. Drew
btw, the foot pedal was only fifty bucks more with the purchase, apparently it wasn't bundled like the original AMazon ad, so I said yes, send it. Interesting that the original Amazon ad showing this model discounted
has totally disappeared....all list price now. Hmmmm. I paid about list price it seems, with what amounts to free shipping, which for a heavy object, is something.

 

[k0ua]

Hi Drew, I have been using the 2% Lanthanated tungsten's with good results. But whether you want to try the Ceriated or the Lanthanated, here is one place to get them. If I were you I would start with a pack of 1/16 size. As for stick electrodes you could start with some 7014 and 7018. 7014 is very easy to run, sometimes called drag rod, as you can just drag it along. Also called "idiot rod" and "bambi rod" 7018 requires just a little more thought, but not much. and gives really good results, and good strong welds. Just remember to flick or file off the "corn" that forms on the end of the rod before you attempt a restrike. I just use my thumb to break it off. Wait until it is cooled down a bit.

Tungsten Electrode Welding, Tungsten Weld Material | USAWeld.com

James K0UA

 

[joshuabardwell]

And I'm not sure I'm going to tell my wife that the generator I planned on running this off has only a 30amp 240V outlet, no where near enough for the 37 amp
draw on full load. So....looks like I'm quietly going to be buying a larger gen, no power at my barn sheds, yet.

Have you talked to Everlast about recommended generator specs to run the welder? A lot of times, there is more to the equation than raw amperage. And I'm not sure whether that is more or less true with an inverter welder. Hate to see you spend a lot of money and not get what you need.

Example: Lincoln recommends a 15,000 watt genny minimum to run their 50 amp transformer welder. That's an extra 12.5 amps. Also, the welder may be sensitive to the cleanness of the power.

 

[daugen]

thanks Josh. I dodged a major bullet today. The owner of the farm I take care of told me this morning that PECO was coming in within a month, running a 200 amp service to the
barn; actually they are running higher voltage up the hill, and into a transformer near the barn which steps down the juice. I don't think I'll run out of AC now...
What marvelous timing! Now I can afford the rods...

 

[BukitCase]

SA - "Do you know if that machine comes with any tungsten?" That model doesn't say, but ALL their other tig models I've been looking at do NOT come with tungstens. I'm considering their 200DX, trying to decide whether to bite the bullet and get the cooler and WP20 torch at the same time, or try the air cooled WP26 first. It's only money...

Daugen, you've probably already figured this out, but just in case - hopefully you're not planning on tig welding any aluminum? That's a DC only tig you're getting.

Good news on the power thing - if it was YOUR idea, I bet they'd want $3-4K from you.

All Everlast's machines spec "clean" power genny's or "the warranty may be void" - any of the mfg's I've checked out have similar lingo... Steve

Oh, forgot to mention this - so far, ALL Everlast's tigs I've checked out come with flow meter calibrated in LITERS PER MINUTE - so if your LWS says set it at 20, IGNORE them.

http://www.esabna.com/EUWeb/FM_handbook/577fm10_3.htm

(hopefully one LESS question you'll have about why your welds don't look right :=)

 

[daugen]

Bukit, no aluminum, we're good. thanks Drew

 

[Welshman]

Hmmmm. I paid about list price it seems, with what amounts to free shipping, which for a heavy object, is something.

You may be surprised (but not disappointed). I own the PA140, and it's not much bigger than a lunch box. but I want to emphasize I'm very happy with its performance.

 

[Shield Arc]

You guys remember just because you have a DC only Tig welder, doesn't mean you can not Tig weld aluminum. But you will need a bottle of at least 75% helium.
Here is a aluminum Tig weld I made using DCEN with 100% helium.

 

[Scooby074]

do I need to spend more than this? Is a hundred dollar helmet significantly better than this?
thanks

Wel-Bilt Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet | Welding Helmets| Northern Tool + Equipment


Yes, the Wel-Bilt Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet does meet ANSI Z87.1-2003 standards.

We do not have a "cheater lens available for the Wel-Bilt Welding Helmet. ???????

Northern Industrial Welders Large View Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet | Welding Helmets| Northern Tool + Equipment
something tells me wide screen is better...do most welders get a large screen helmet sooner or later?
thanks

Ive used the helmet in your first link a couple times before albeit the Princess Auto version. My buddy had one. I got flashed every time. Not the traditional flash either because I didnt notice it, but ended up with that old Sand in the eyes feeling!!! There is something about them that gets me. Not sure what. Darkening time too slow (regardless of what the published specs say they do)? Not sure. But enough to make me not trust those chinese helmets anymore

Currently I have a Miller Big Window Elite. Love it. Although realistically I only use it as an AD 20% of the time. The rest of the time I use it like an old school fixed lens and just nod to flip the lens down. If you arent out of position, like laying on your back, a old school helmet with GOOD headgear might be a better purchase.

On the Tombstone or Thunderbolt ACDC units... they are absolutely (yeah, there is probably a single one out there that isnt ) bulletproof. Ive been in many barns where there are old thunderbolts probably 30 years old, in unconditioned, dirt floor barns that just keep going and going.

And, lets say for a minute that one did die, they are really simple inside. They are very common, lots of parts availability. And any local welding supply can service them if you have to go that route. No shipping. No unservicable chinese PC boards.

Why do they come up for sale? Just like anything, people get tired of looking at it if they arent using it. Estate sales and the like.

Easy to test, just bring a couple rods incase they're arent any there and have at it. If the seller wont let you try it, Id pass.

EDIT: I see you got the everlast. Good luck with your purchase !

 

[daugen]

EDIT: I see you got the everlast. Good luck with your purchase !

Thanks Scooby. Not in yet, like a kid waiting for delivery at the moment. Have the helmet and gloves,
and likely to get a five or ten pound fire extinguisher. I'm assuming ABC ? Ever any reason to want a pressurized water,
like in lighting up farm combustibles? Once a fireman, always a worrier...

And I got some inexpensive clamps, though I already have a lot of steel C clamps.
And lastly, a cute little thwacker that chips off what needs to get chipped off, with a nice
wood stove style metal handle on it. I have the grinders and flap wheels, etc, but I do wonder about
spark shields/barriers, blankets, etc etc etc. I guess you never need the safety stuff unless you really really
need it...

I appreciate the feedback on protecting one's eyes. If I feel any discomfort at all with this 110 dollar helmet, I won't hesitate to spend more
to save my aging eyeballs. I think this helmet was rated to react in one twenty five thousands of a second. Seems fast, but I'm sure what is more relevant is the quality of the reaction. The intellectual challenge for me now, since I don't have my welder yet..., is being able to see what I'm doing. It's so bright the lens has to be dark, really dark, so the videos I've seen remind me of groping around in a dark burning house, which unfortunately in SCBA I had more experience than I wanted.

Is there a perfect "darkness", or is that open to opinion or simply each to his own eyeball?

 

[IslandTractor]

You guys remember just because you have a DC only Tig welder, doesn't mean you can not Tig weld aluminum. But you will need a bottle of at least 75% helium.
Here is a aluminum Tig weld I made using DCEN with 100% helium.

You need everything Shield Arc lists AND his experience to make DC TIG Al welds! There are YouTube videos of people making DC aluminum welds but there is a good reason that all the welding companies specify AC TIG for aluminum.

 

[Shield Arc]

I didn't really think it was all that hard. Two things that I learned, there is a very, very small window where the arc will start, even with high frequency start. And if you weld 1/8-inch aluminum at say 130-amps on AC, with DC and 100% helium, you can just about cut your amps in half! DC and 100% helium welds hot!

 

[joshuabardwell]

I appreciate the feedback on protecting one's eyes. If I feel any discomfort at all with this 110 dollar helmet, I won't hesitate to spend more to save my aging eyeballs.

I would speculate that the issue with the other helmet was not reaction time, but reflection up under the hood. You can get enough reflections--off your shirt, off white walls, and so forth--that you get arc eye even though you have never actually flashed yourself. Bear in mind that arc eye is caused by UV radiation, and all (most?) welding hoods have a permanent, clear, UV/IR-blocking coating on the lens. That's why the reaction time of the lens should be moot when it comes to getting arc eye. The low-quality auto-dark lenses may let you get flashed (seeing spots) from time to time, or they may have a worse view of the puddle when they're dark, but my impression is that all lenses should be more or less equal when it comes to UV/IR protection.

Is there a perfect "darkness", or is that open to opinion or simply each to his own eyeball?

The optimum shade depends on the process and amperage you're using. TIG, with its smaller arc, is going to use lower settings than SMAW, for example, and higher-amperage will require more darkness than lower amperage. All that being said, there is some variation for individuals' eyes and the charts are just a starting point. In general, you want the lens as light as possible so you can see the work piece and see the puddle as clearly as possible. But you don't want to be seeing spots!

 

[joshuabardwell]

I didn't really think it was all that hard.

I know you try to be a humble person, SA, but I think we all have to acknowledge that "not that hard" for you is probably not the same as "not that hard" for most of us.

 

[Shield Arc]

You guys give me waaaaaay too much credit. I'm not all that good, honestly.
But thank you, all the same!

 

[joshuabardwell]

You guys give me waaaaaay too much credit. I'm not all that good, honestly.
But thank you, all the same!

Prove it! Let's see your junk welds!

 

[IslandTractor]

Prove it! Let's see your junk welds!

He left all those welds behind in bridges!