My first tig welding project(s)

[V-10 Killer]

Alright koditten, I promised I'd post them so you could get a chuckle out of it so here it is
I finally got a chance to go out and try out my new Everlast PowerPro205 tig welder over the last few days. I picked it up a few months ago, but overtime has been doing a great job of keeping me out of the shop. I followed Jody's advice and started with a scrap piece of aluminum, and welded bead after bead until I got a basic feel for it. After a few rounded corners, I got some beads that looked like this.

Sooted spots were either me hitting the tungsten with the filler rod, or dipping while trying to glance over at my current amps (looking for a baseline for 2T/4T settings). Overall, I don't think it was too bad lol.

Then I decided my first project was going to be a lightweight top for my Workmate 550 that I could use for welding projects. The mounts were shot on the removable HDF boards anyway. I got a piece of 30"x30"x1/4" aluminum plate and some 1"x1"x1/8" tubing and came up with this layout.

I know the bolts to hold the top down wouldn't hold well in just 1/8" of aluminum, so i added inserts, plug welded them, and drilled/tapped them.

Then I started welding the frame. I didn't have much for "stack of dimes" here, I was more concerned about not blowing through lol

Then I used a couple of 1" stitch welds to get the top anchored. This took some trial to find just enough heat for joining 1/4" to 1/8" without blowing the thinner away. And I'm glad I ordered a few tig fingers, that plate got HOT!

The top did bow a little, but not as bad as it looks. That 2-piece center section distorted when joining it so I turned it sideways. It just makes the opening look worse. Once I get some more argon, I'll clamp it and add a few stitch welds in the middle too.

Anyway, here's the finished top. I have it spun around so I have a little more overhang so I can get closer.

I had just a little argon left over after that fiasco, so I decided to make this too. I'd like to add some gussets but I ran completely out before I could finish.

Good thing I got around to this one, or I might not have noticed my extinguisher needs recharged.

Next up is an aluminum cart for hauling the family paddleboat down to the lake when we're up at the cabin. I'm going to do it so I can break it down and store it with minimal space used.
But before that, I'd better get Christmas shopping done before I tell the wife I need another argon tank refill

 

[Ben Iv]

Not too bad for your first time, I learned on steel and then when I got to aluminum i found it a bit easier so long as everything is super clean. Which everlast machine is that and how do you like it? I have heard mixed reviews about them. I am tring to decide if i want a better quality older transformer machine or a lower quality inverter for about the same price.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Thanks. Other than stick welding and brazing in high school 20 years ago, and a few minutes of mig 10 years ago, this is my first real welding project. I'll be doing a box grader project soon too, so I'll get some experience with mild steel, but as fast as I went through that argon bottle, hopefully that one goes together quicker lol.
So far I'm happy with the Everlast unit. I haven't tried out the plasma cutter or stick functions yet, but I will soon enough. I know I initially looked at the Hobart and Miller entry level Tig units, but it seemed like an aweful lot to spend on something I'd only use a few times a year. This one is definately "good enough" to be better than my skills

 

[V-10 Killer]

Hahaha, I learned something very valuable about my welding stuff recently. I couldn't figure out why I went through an 80cf and a 125cf bottle just doing practice beads and a couple of little projects. Apparenty I forgot to notice the regulator that comes with my welder measures in Litres/minute instead of CFH like I thought. I was targeting 17 CFH but I guess I was flowing around 36 after the unit conversion
I guess it really does pay to read the owners manuals thoroughly lol

 

[kazlx]

I was going to ask how big of a bottle you were using. You would have to either be welding a ton or have a tiny bottle to go through it in a day. Even though you realized you had it set high, I would still check for leaks or make sure the machine is shutting off the gas flow. That is an awful lot of gas. For smaller stuff you can use a smaller cup and lower the flow a bit. Looks good though to start. You have a regulator or a flow meter?

 

[V-10 Killer]

I was going to ask how big of a bottle you were using. You would have to either be welding a ton or have a tiny bottle to go through it in a day. Even though you realized you had it set high, I would still check for leaks or make sure the machine is shutting off the gas flow. That is an awful lot of gas. For smaller stuff you can use a smaller cup and lower the flow a bit. Looks good though to start. You have a regulator or a flow meter?

I'll check for leaks again now that I have a fresh bottle. Although if the machine wasn't fully closing the gas flow solenoid, I'd think I'd see the flow register on the ball float meter. I probably wouldn't hear it since I've been wearing earplugs most of the time, but only when I have the unit turned on. The unit came with a single pressure gauge regulator and ball float flowmeter. I'm eventually going to upgrade anyway because I want to be able to back purge SS exhaust pipe when I start welding it.

 

[koditten]

Paul, ya got any of that stock for the fire extinguisher? I need 2 of those brackets. My extinguisher bottles have been carted around so much they are starting to look like class A units. You know, the red paint has been wore away so they are looking like chrome cans. I wish I could give advice, as you know, I'm mig only.

Kirk

 

[koditten]

Does your camera have the macro setting. you know the little flower setting. That setting helps with closeups.

Other than that you aren't gonna get any static from me. I know the hour you work.

KO

 

[V-10 Killer]

I could throw a few together for you Kirk, I'll catch you soon and get a few measurements
Yeah, that camera does some really high rez shots, I normally take the raw photo, reduce it to 25% of it's original size, and that's what I post. I was fighting with the camera trying to focus on the floor on the corner weld shots above. I'll get 'er figured out before I start the paddleboat cart here soon.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looks great. Your welds are looking pretty good, consistancy is something that just takes time/practice.

On your outside corner joints you can turn your amperage down quite a bit compared to an inside corner so don't feel like once your current is set you have to keep it there for the entire project. Amperage demands will be different for various welding configurations.

Once you master aluminum the carbon steels will be much easier to tackle.

P.S., what brand/model of drill press is that you have?

I am looking to upgrade my Wilton 15", 1/2 hp, 12 speed floor model right now. A friend wants to buy it as I am looking at a 20" Jet 1 1/2 hp floor model.

Mike.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Thanks, I appreciate that

The drill press in the pic is a Porter Cable model from Lowes.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_78742-46069...s&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=drill+press&facetInfo=

 

[theknurl]

TIG welding advice;
>buy a used, big transformer machine.......your grandkids will get to use it (LA CL had the full set up less bottle for $800.....thats for a machine that has a 60% duty cycle @375Amps
>use a water cooled torch, with 25' leads, 12.5' ***** .....city water works, so does a fish pond pump in a 5 gal bucket
>use 2% tungsten
>use Alumina cups..... ceramic ones break if you look at them
>gas lenses are for people with gas, and extra money
>shorten the pre and afterflow times and check for leaks(V-10 Killer) i'm at 10-12CFH and welding 8/5 and you used more gas than i do in months, in a day
>don't put your ground clamp on a painted surface, make sure you have a good ground BEFORE you use high frequency (V-10 Killer) wait 'till you don't have a good ground.....instant wart on your little finger
>cleanliness is way over rated (get some 'Aluma Etch' though)
>hold your tungstens in a pin vise to grind them
>when welding, ignore the setting on the machine.....is it working? i don't have a digital readout, just 5 ranges and 0-100% of the ranges, the pedal does the rest
>if you have a real machine/pedal you won't need to play with the settings (zmotorsports)
>i rarely preheat......i switch to mostly helium ~95%/5% you have to leave a little argon in there.....you need a tank of helium, a 2nd flow meter, an oxygen 'y', some hoses and a sintered line filter....down stream from the 'y' as a mixer....my trick
>get big tanks, mine are 'T's 330cuft, at one time i had 19 tanks never paid for one yet.....i have a letter from the VP of Union Carbide (Linde) saying my Dad didn't have to pay demurrage..... since '32
>use a porting tool (die grinder) with a 0.006" SS wire brush in it to clean the big crud off
>look for a 'rolled drawing file' for blueprints, mine is 15"x15"x37" with 36 holes.....just perfect for welding rod.....store Mg rod in sealed PVC pipe
>change the water and gas fittings where they come out of the machine to 90deg ones mounted vertically.....the hoses last longer, and don't stick out

 

[nismomans13]

I have relitivly the same tubing at my shop that i'm building a chop saw stand at. Don't worry about blowing through it, at least not on the fillet welds. I weld that material at 180ish amps and have never had issues with it wanting to blow through one me.

I find it works to take a dry run on the joints to make sure you won't get bound up in the process of start to finish. This way, when you manage to puddle the alum, you can just dab and go and get a nice stack look.

Hard to tell from the pics but what you should be doing it holding the torch on the flat joints moving from one side to another to get the metal hot, eventually the puddle will form and join the two pieces together and you can start your first dip right there and move right along.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Thanks guys, I'll be doing 4 more stitch welds on the center support on that top, and starting my next project after the new year (I'll just add the pics for that here too). I'll put that info to good use.

Also, theknurl, in reference to not clamping my ground to a painted surface, I have been clamping directly to the aluminum. I just had it moved in the pic above so I could rotate the piece for the picture.
I did check with Airgas locally, and I can't buy pre-mixed helium/argon unless I get huge bottles. If I keep doing a lot of it, I'll get a second bottle and splitter assembly.
I doubt the wife's gonna let me get a second welder when I haven't even scratched the paint on the first one yet, so a transformer units gonna have to wait.

Hopefully once I can work on top of the table instead of working on the table, I'll get some more practice.

 

[Bobhdus]

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing!

 

[R.Anderson]

Looks good, keep practicing you will get those nice looking over rated stack of dimes bead look.
I have the same machine Everlast PowerPro 205 and I like it so far. The TIG torch, pedal, SMAW electrode holder, and plasma cutting torch it came with is poor quality. I upgraded to two WeldCraft wp-17 flexhead torchs with 25' gas cooled cable one with a switch and working on a remote amp control for it. I also bought a SSC Controls TIG welding foot pedal, which Everlast sells. Found that out by contacting SSC, they told me to buy their pedal through Everlast. I have used there pedals before and love em they make em for every top brand welder out there blue, red, yellow, and green.

The gas inlet on the PP205 for TIG and plasma are the same. The hardware that comes with it is not very practical, to run the plasma cutter it needs the regulator/filter supplied but you cant TIG with it. Don't run the argon through the regulator/filter. The drain valve on the bottom of it is pressure sealed and the argon pressure from the regulator/flow meter is to low to seal it during operation. So buy couple of valves, ******* a tee and some quick disconnects wal-la problem solved.

Gas mix with helium is going to cost more than argon, using the welder several times a year wont justify the cost plus the hassle in transporting the larger bottles.

Your 30"x30" 1/4" is going to work nice for your future small welding projects the aluminum will conduct the heat from welding, but that can be a con as well, some materials it will require higher amps to get your puddle.

Transformer based welders are ok and may last longer but your not going to find the frequency and pulse control ranges like you would on inverter based machines. I'll take a inverter based machine over a transformer based machine any day. Easier to move, use, adjust, and takes up way less space.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Thanks for the insight, It's good to hear how other people are getting along with the PP205. I've been looking at getting a smaller torch. Still undecided (in huge part due to lack of experience with different brands) on which one as of yet. I'll probably be air cooled, as I'm still in sticker shock over the cost of coolers for TIG torches in general.

And nice cart you have there. I see the same northern tool wheels I just ordered for a project on it What unit do you have there beside your Everlast?

 

[WILD-BILL]

I Was in sticker shock on the coolers too but after I burned up a power lead on my WP 20 I kinda needed one.

So, I made my own.

I posted it here.........

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175817

I also got the SSC pedal for my 225 LX for Christmas but I'm out of argon so I have yet to be able to use it but I have played with it a little and it feels 1000% better then the factory pedal.

I can't wait to plug it in and start using it.

 

[V-10 Killer]

I got a few days off and got to go out and play in the garage some more. Here's some more stuff I welded starting with my paddleboat trailer. I wound up doing less welding than I originally planned, but the trade-off is it's tools free and easily portable/storable.

Got some aluminum hex stock and had a local shop turn one end of it down for me. Grabbed the wheels from Northern Tool.

Next, I added eye bolts and guide rods. I drilled half way with a 3/8 bit and the rest of the way with 5/16 to create a shelf. They get held in place with just spring pins.

For the front beam, I just plug welded some 3/4" round stock in place so I had something to tap.

Since the wall thickness was only 1/8" on the rectangle stock, I welded on another 1" band to add some strength back to the tongue.

Here's a little better shot of the weld.

And here's what it looks like fully assembled.

And this is how much space it takes up when not in use.

I would have grabbed a pic with the paddleboat on it, but I'd have to move every heavy item in my garage now to get it out lol. But here it is anyway.

Before I called it quits for the day, I retired my old Wal-mart tool chest and moved everything to a new Craftsman box. I welded up a shelf for the Argon bottle.

Next up will be the box grader I'm making out of mild steel

 

[kazlx]

Now you are just gonna start looking around for things that need welding

 

[DucRunner]

Looks like your having fun with your new skill set.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Yeah, I'm enjoying it
I'll probably run out of either projects, or room to store them soon enough.

I usually divvy my time pretty equally between working on the racecar, playing with the quad, shooting/reloading, woodworking, and now this. So I might not become the worlds best welder, but I sure plan on having fun sucking at it

 

[R.Anderson]

Looks good, looking at the pictures of your welds you have a little too much heat, you want shinny beads but you are darn close.

 

[R.Anderson]

Thanks for the insight, It's good to hear how other people are getting along with the PP205. I've been looking at getting a smaller torch. Still undecided (in huge part due to lack of experience with different brands) on which one as of yet. I'll probably be air cooled, as I'm still in sticker shock over the cost of coolers for TIG torches in general.

And nice cart you have there. I see the same northern tool wheels I just ordered for a project on it What unit do you have there beside your Everlast?

Thanks, those are harbor freight wheels actually but Im guessing the same people make em in china.
Thats my MIG unit, Miller Passport Plus with that I can MIG stainless, steel and aluminum (needs the spool gun for aluminum, and I rather TIG aluminum much better looking beads).

 

[cyamaha2007]

Now that you can tig weld you need to build a turbo kit for the trans am and get it off the bottle it time she needs to grow up. Just kidding but really.... that would be a great fab project. Keep up the good work.

Chuck

 

[V-10 Killer]

That's actually the reason I picked up a tig in the first place lol.
I'm just getting the finances in order for a year or so before taking another 10k plunge with that money pit. If I could have everything I'd spent on that car back, I could probably buy a 2 or 3 year old viper now

 

[V-10 Killer]

Got a few more projects going.
Here's a filler rod holder I just put together. 1"x1-1/2" aluminum tubing.

I also started on that box grader. I learned a hard lesson on this one. I grabbed too big of a filler rod for the application, and fought with the puddle the whole time. Now I'm just gonna burn up the last of that rod size on this project and never do it again lol.

I figured I'd used this trailer tongue jack instead of having to buy a linear actuator.

This finally gave me the chance to try out the plasma cutter. It cuts great, but I need to find a better guide so I can cut straight. I did make sure to clean the zinc coating off the hinge (because I know someone would mention it ).

I need to get back to the steel yard and grab 1 more piece before I can finish it, but here it is.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Finished up this project. Here's a few final pics. I made sure the shelf in the back is big enough to hold a few 8" cement blocks.

A little more practice, then I'm on to try my first serious project. A air-to-water intercooler water/ice tank. I'm planning on using 3003 aluminum 0.090" thick.

 

[theknurl]

store your rod horizontal.......

the little pieces get lost otherwise

 

[budss396]

been thinking about buying one of those welders.
FYI try to reduce the frequency of your square wave there is a good video at welding tips and tricks

 

[sunsation288]

Thanks for sharing ...nice idea
subscribe

 

[V-10 Killer]

I finally uploaded some pics off my phone, and had one of me finally putting that paddleboat trailer to good use. At first I was a little worried about the possibility of the aluminum axle spindles bending, but they held up great so far.

It works pretty well, saves me the trouble of carrying it a quarter mile up a steep grade every time I go to the cabin

Now I need to get back to looking for my next project. Always trying to remember that I have to take up space storing whatever I build.

 

[fflintstone]

Cabin!! You never told me you have a cabin!!!!

Well I am living in my cabin but that's beside the point.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Cabin!! You never told me you have a cabin!!!!

I said the cabin, not my cabin
It belongs to the in-laws, they just let us use it in the summer.

 

[koditten]

Maybe you were confused. I have a cabin.

Kirk

 

[4v shane]

How much did that welder set you back?

 

[V-10 Killer]

I got the welder and the helmet to me for $1600

 

[lametec]

I was fighting with the camera trying to focus on the floor on the corner weld shots above.

You don't have to point the camera at the object you're taking a picture of to focus. Just pick something else that's about the same distance from the camera, hold the shutter button down half way to focus (and keep holding it once focused), then move the camera back to what you're taking a picture of and press the shutter button all the way to take the picture.

This doesn't work if your camera is set to full time AF. So if it is, turn it off.