Considering a TIG purchase - syncrowave 200?

[GHarman]

Howdy all, Those of you whom are contemplating a welding power supply need to consider equipment that can be serviced locally or be able to service it yourself. This stuff does break down. If you use it hard you have to fix it more often. Entropy Works. I will not bad-mouth anyones choice of welders. Try to get your equipment supplier to let you try your choice of welder before you purchase it. Dont skimp on accessories. Some other tips: 1. When grinding tungsten-grind parallel to the axis of the tungsten. (Please use a dust mask) No spiral grinding! Reduces any arc wander tendency (DC). 2. Do NOT use scotch brite to clean aluminum welding rod. Use clean, Stainless Steel Wool (Best). 3. Use Stainless Steel brushes for your aluminum base metal. Aluminum melts at 1200 degrees F. Plus/minus depending on the alloy. Aluminum oxide melts at 3700 degrees F. plus/minus. You need to remove most of the oxide. The AC and High FREQ will break up the rest. 3. Run your liquid coolant plumbing so that the coolant cools the torch FIRST and returns down the power cable. Reversed, the coolant is preheated by the powercable and does not cause enough of a temperature drop at the high heat source. (The torch head) Incorrectly routed coolant may overheat and turn to steam- bursting a coolant line and causing the WELDOR serious injury or electrocution, in higher amp output applications. AC welding provides more heat buildup in the torch head than DCEN polarity. Hope this is helpful. GregH.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Thanks Greg. I pulled the trigger tonight and ended up going with a Thermal Arc 185 ACDC Tig machine. Did a ton of research on the net and talked with several people that have used both that welder, the Miller syncrowaves & dynasty, and Lincoln's. They all had great stuff to say about the TA machine. The Miller dynasty has more adjustability (and 15 more amps) but the TA looks to be a vastly superior machine to the Miller Syncrowave 200 that I was contemplating. A couple guys had sold their syncrowave 200's after using a TA. Now to learn how to use the thing.

 

[GHarman]

Steve, Good for you! I hope your machine gives you many years of reliable performance. There is nothing like making a puddle of molten metal do what YOU want it to=). If you need help ask away. If I cant answer your question , I know there are other qualified people out there that will be able to give you the info needed. GregH

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Lookie what all came in today! Some of these eBay sellers amaze me. I received all this stuff 31 hours after I ordered it (at 3 am). If any of you guys are looking for welding supplies, etc check out eBay seller weldingsuppliesatioc . I've ordered from them before and got the same service from them then and when I had a bad regulator they replaced it promptly. They are a welding supply company in Indiana (Indiana Oxygen) and carry Miller, Lincoln, Victor, Thermal Arc, etc, etc. Can't wait to dig in! Just waiting for an instructional video and a couple Miller books before I fire it up.

 

[GiesJ]

You rockin the cup yet or what?

Pictures!

 

[GHarman]

Even a Hornell Speedglas hood. We are on the same wavelength here! You'll be walkin the cup before you know it!! Just dont walk it on aluminum=). Have fun! GregH.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

The Hornell is to replace the $50 HF auto darkening helmet I've been using for a couple years with my MIG. Read the manual and it said it was not recommended for TIG and several people on one of the welding forums said they got flashed using it on TIG. Figured if I was going to buy a new helmet I might as well buy a good one. It's a 9002X. I talked with a friend of mine tonight that TIG welds regularly and he's going to come by next week and get me started. Then it'll be a bunch of practice.

 

[GiesJ]

let's see if this works:

 

[rubberneck]

I bought a jackson nex gen from those same guys and was amazed how fast it showed up. Glad to hear you had a good result with the welder, steve. i have been eyeballing a dynasty300dx from those guys, but was a little worried about such a big purchase. they have awesome feedback, so if bite, i will definitely get it from them. phil

 

[GHarman]

Steve, I've had my Speedglas hood for about 5 years. It has been used indoors and outdoors on some very precarious and precision jobs. I was working off a scaffold one day, outside- up about 3 stories and had just completed an x-ray required weld and a puff of wind came along and blew the hood off of my head. It hit a hard surface after falling 30'. I climbed down, retrieved it, checked it out, and went back to welding! Good equipment! Your hood is very adaptable for light conditions. Make sure you have it adjusted correctly or you will also see bright lights- Filtered at a lower rating. I believe the minimum filter is #4 when the hood is in the on position. GregH.

 

[Beast2B]

glad to find this thread! i'm right in the middle of a class at the junior college for an intro to welding. stick, mig, tig, we get a taste of all of it! trying to get as much info as i can as i get closer to buying a machine. not looking to certify, just hobby stuff and some fab projects with my sandrail and Jeep.

as always, thanks for all of the info from those in the know!

 

[catoiler]

Wow that is a little booger!Wished I had gotten a smaller one. The miller mig and lincoln tig take up a lot of space in the shop. That looks about the same size as my esab plaz cutter. A lot of times we don't take into thought the size of things and that is a big deal. You will have fun now!!

 

[GiesJ]

So Steve, how's the welder treating you?

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I've been studying up until today. My friend that was going to come by and teach me wasn't able to make it last week. I got in a video that I rented off the net from Weld Pro and I also got my Miller training materials so I went through those and just went out and struck an arc for the first time with it - letting things cool off for a few and going to read up on a couple things then I'll go back out there. The first picture here is the first weld I laid down - I started with just the torch playing with the weld pool and then I started adding some filler rod on the second half. I touched the filler rod to the tungsten about halfway through which is where all the black stuff is I think. Just for kicks I went ahead and kept going knowing that it wouldn't be pretty but would work on my hand eye coordination while I already had a messed up tungsten. The second picture is the 2nd weld I laid down with another tungsten (have to resharpen the first). Man there's a TON of control with this thing!! I have to practice feeding the filler rod through my fingers as it gets used up and I'm leaving a crater on the end (that's one of the things I'm about to read up on).

 

[HoleshotHolset]

NICE!



I used to own a Syncrowave 180SD (digital) 'runner'. The first time I picked up a TIG torch was the day I bought it. It was a fantastic machine and I learned a LOT in the ~2 year span I owned it.



In its price range, you won't find a finer machine than the old 180 and the new 200. At EAA AirVenture 2006 (Oshkosh, WI) - I stopped by the Miller booth and shot the breeze with some folks.



I had an opportunity to sit down at the table with a Syncrowave 200 behind me. It laid down some REALLY sweet beads under my novice guidance. That afternoon marked the first time I've ever been able to successfully weld aluminum... everything before that looked like a puddle of goo.



I'll have to take a picture of the coupons I made at Oshkosh that I keep here at work on my desk. (pay no attention to the end of the weldment where I burned through! haha) I keep stuff like that here as a constant reminder that I need to do more welding!!! The material was 1/8" aluminum and I did an outside corner fusion weldment using no filler rod... the beads could be more uniform and I could go longer between starting and stopping, but I'm still a novice.



Now I don't mean to knock the Syncrowave 200, but I'm going with a Miller Dynasty for my next machine. Why? I want to try an inverter based welder - they're not limited by the line frequency of the commercial power like a transformer based welder is (Sync. 200 can do 60Hz pulse welding - same as the line frequency... ). The newer Dynasty units can do 5000Hz+ pulse welding. The purists and professionals don't need pulse, but I feel it will help me become a better welder and can be a bit more forgiving with some materials especially thin stuff.



Also at Oshkosh, I watched one of Miller's employees lay some aluminum beads with the shortest arc length I've EVER seen... on an inside 90° corner! To call him a professional would be the understatement of the century.



Matt



On edit: I see that you bought a Thermal Arc box... very cool!

 

[GHarman]

Steve, Good job. one of the ways to keep the filler rod away from the tungsten is to feed it through your fingers with enough pressure that you can feel the bottom of your puddle. The rod tip never appears above the puddle, it is always in the puddle until you are ready to slope-out your amperage (back off the foot pedal). As you back off on the amperage, do it slowly to avoid the crater. You can add a dab of rod if you detect a crater forming. If you do, cook it in with a slight increase in amperage. You will see it wet and then flow. Those craters also have cracks. 4043 rod helps to eliminate crater cracking where it is compatable with the base metal. It does not anodize well, where an anodize finish is required. 5356,is the rod for this, but it likes to crater-crack if you go to fast. Nice pictures. I dont know how to post photos. GregH.

 

[rbattelle]

Looks great Steve!



Ryan

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Ok gang, how about vertical welds? I'll be welding frames that are made out of 1/8" 6061 3/4x3/4 angle - the frame is approximately 3 ft x 6 ft so standing it up on end isn't really an option. I've made a mitre box so that I can make 45 degree cuts. Here are my questions:



Do I need to have the groove open on the corners or will a closed groove work? It would be easiest to do a closed groove because I wouldn't have to do any more prep after cutting the 45's.



I'm currently using 3/32 tungsten (1. 5% lanthanated), 3/32 4043 filler rod, 25 cfh, #5 cup. I was using a #6 cup earlier today and was able to get good beads, the #5 cup I'm having a tough time with but I'm going to have to weld inside the 90 degree corner which will be real tight so I was trying to make the #5 work. Running the machine on A/C with the HF set at 110hz, 70% EN balance, 120A peak. Ideas?



What torch angle, filler angle, and technique should I be using? My manual recommends vertical up and building shelfs with the filler but doesn't say anything about torch angle, etc. I was angling it up so that it was at about a 70 degree angle to the work piece (pointing up) and was having trouble with the filler sagging down and contaminating the tungsten.



One other thing - when you use a tungsten on aluminum should it only be used for aluminum after that? Should it be reground before using it on a different material? Or is that only a concern if the tungsten was contaminated?



I put it away for the night and will jump back on it tomorrow.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

What do you guys use to sharpen your tungstens? The Miller manual suggests either borazon or diamond grinding wheels - not easy to find. I have a standard fine wheel on the 6" bench grinder I bought just for the purpose of sharpening the tungstens (hasn't ever been used on anything else) and they chew right through the stone - they do get sharpened but I won't get too many uses out of a stone it doesn't look like.

 

[GHarman]

Steve, Good questions. 1. I use a dedicated Green wheel for grinding tungstens. It is very soft. 2. Clean your joint thoroughly including the edge (with a clean file). Butt them tight. Dont be in a hurry with your torch. You can achieve 100% penetration. Practice on your technique in all the positions that you will encounter. 3. One thing you might add is a little Helium into your cover gas. ( Requires a brass wye with valves, another hose and flow meter and a bottle of helium. ). Helium increases the ionization potential of your cover gas resulting in more heat transferred into your base metal. 4. Keep your tungsten to work distance consistantly close to your weld joint. Clearing the puddle and the filler rod. Angle 90 degrees to slightly uphill with the torch. Roll the torch in your hand to get the correct angle. That angle is determined by the puddle. ( remember, you also have a foot control). Running beads on plate is different than doing 100% penetration joints. Cut some coupons and develope your technique in all positions. Watch your distortion with the 45 Degree angles. You can walk your effective 90 degree fit-up open or closed by the direction you weld. Tack everything together, use braces, then weld. You can regrind your tungsten. 2% ceriated will work better on steel and stainless. 2% Thoriated works best on steel and stainless. (ionizing radiation from the grinding fines and breathing this crap is the issue here. ) Please use a mask when grinding. You will thank me when you are 60 years old! Greg H.