Pinjas

I often heat aluminum with propane, I don't entirely know what you folks mean by 'not changing color'. When I heat up a piece it gets to a glowing red. I was using a piece of aluminum the other day to cut the housing around 2 gauge wire. It was glowing red, orange, and what I found to be really weird is sometimes when I use a new piece it sparks like a sparkler. It's fun to watch. I am not assuming fire doesn't get that hot, I am assuming that thanks to aluminum's extremely high thermal conductivity the heat will be absorbed and dissipated very quickly. Maybe I will just scrap the idea, the more I think about it the more I feel that it might need to be made out of even thicker than 1/4th inch aluminum. I just had an interesting idea. I am going to get a 1/4th inch place and hit it with some propane, if I can get serious warping going on or even melting, then I will know that it is a bad design.

Hello, I thought some here might be interested in something I am working on, it's still just the drawing phase but I have a few really interesting ideas that I haven't really seen else where, well maybe one of them I have. The general thought here is that instead of making a wood burning fireplace out of a mild steel, make it out of aluminum. Aluminum, in my mind, would expel heat -much- better than mild steal. Which is the general idea of a fire place. Some fire places put a metal chain over the door, that might put out heat well, but it still seems far less efficient than what I have in mind. The idea is to make everything about of 1/8 inch thick aluminum except the top which would be made out of 1/4 inch thick. Heat rises, I am sure much of the heat absorbed would be concentrated on the top, the extra thickness would avoid major warping and allow the fire place to excel in heat exhaust. I also believe that placing something of a compartment for water on the top would be wise, some people place a kettle, but kettles can be spilled and I don't love the idea of splashing boiling hot water upon my feet or pets. My last idea, and one that I think is fantastic, is adding a hole on the bottom of a fireplace making a sort of tube sticking downward. The tube's hole is covered with a removable lid of some sort. This can be used in one of two ways. The first way is to attach a hose to the tube that is connected to a suck vac. Once turned on and the tube opened you can clean out the fire place in a hurry with a little sweeping, even with just a bit of newspaper. The other method is a hose. Most basements have a nice big drain some place, just place the tube above the hole and fill the fire place with some water, open the tube and the cleaning can commence. The only part I am not completely certain about is the location of the smoke exit. Anyone think it matters if it is place on the top or rear? I imagine placing it at the rear might allow the heat more time to be exposed to the metal.

This brings me to a good point I imagine. I was thinking of buying a air tool that has multiple uses. Imagine it being able to spin the angle grinder, then you set it down on something and it works as a bench grinder, then it can be a drill and so on. Think it exists or is possible? The idea is that it would be cheaper to have one really nice tool that does most of what I need instead of 2-6 tools.

Yeah, I don't think it's that dirty. But having it as clean as it gets, hopefully, wouldn't hurt. We will see : D.

How would I clean an older TIG welder? - Page 2 - WeldingWeb

I got a miller 330 a/bp, sounds like the same thing as what dragon has. It weighs 1000 lbs and was a horrible trouble getting into my garage but it's there. It came with a foot pedal, water cooler, water cooled torch (wp-18), clamp or ground, plug and a small amount of consumables. I also paid a little extra for his runner wheels, I sure hope it never falls off of that thing, yikes. I haven't got it setup yet though, which is a bit of a bummer, it's a work in progress. I setup a sub panel in my garage, I ran 3 thwn-2 #2 gauge copper wire and 1 #6 gauge copper wire from the main panel to the sub. Right now I am trying to get a neutral lug nut adapter rated for 100 to 125 amps. The part seems to be tough to find, which is shocking because they sell QO breaker boxes at places like menards in large quantities. I feel pretty comfortable with running 70 amps to the sub box for now. In the worst case scenario, I will trip the breaker every once in a great while. I doubt it will happen though. What do you guys think? I have a 100 amp breaker and a 70 amp breaker, right now I have the 70 amp breaker in the sub panel and the 100 amp breaker to feed the sub. To me, this sounds logical and fine as the sub panel breaker would trip long before anything else would. Which would you put in the main? I don't know if I should start another thread for this idea else where or not but I am also working on making my own air compressor. I have read a few places about this and many suggest cleaning out TIG welders with compressed air. I plan to do that but I also plan to use a pressure washer, someone on another forum suggested the idea on the basis that he does that all the time. The inside of the TIG is covered in a sticky black soot. It was suggested that I spray it down with compressed air, then hose it out with a pressure washer, add some degreaser and then pressure wash again. After the pressure washing is done, hit it some more with some compressed air and then for good measure, leave it for a day with a few box fans on it to dry. This sounds like a fairly good idea to me. It was recommended that caution be used on much of the inside of the TIG, using too much pressure from the pressure washer could really mess things up, so I plan on using a gentle touch. As any welder would agree, grinders are an essential tool on a welders belt. Personally, I think I would prefer to use air tools, at least for the hand grinder. There are several tools that use air rather than electricity. The positive in my mind is longevity. Electric run tools often burn out and break after a few months of use. I have no personal experience but I imagine that any air tool will outlast electric tools almost 100% of the time. The problem I come onto is that store bought air compressors usually don't have the CFM output I need, in fact, that most need, at least at the prices I'd like to pay : D. Any thoughts on how I should go about building a nice air compressor, I imagine 5-15 CFM being good for just about anyone. I am sure a small to large propane tank would be good, electric motor, I am not sure about the compressor and all that though.

Hah, I can't agree more, it feels good to hear the thread of thought go through others minds that is crossing my own. If I do indeed get a giant welder, I assume that I wouldn't push her to her limits. Right now I think the best plan is to keep it under 50 amps no matter what. Some folks were telling me that the high frequency interference could be trouble, but I haven't heard of that from anyone else. I doubt it's anything to worry about.

Thank you for the response, I appreciate it. I have another question. How did you setup your wiring for your TIG's? I have been doing some research and I am finding some frustrations. It seems I have a 100 amp main breaker, I can't run another 100 amp breaker from that, so I need to upgrade the main breaker to 200 amps, then run a line from a 100 amp breaker (the old one) to the plug. Does this all sound logical? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I don't really want to spend 3000 for this when it seems like pretty simple stuff.

Hah, hmm sounds good, you have responded to my questions more than once and you've always sounded spot on. It seems likely that I am going to purchase this miller 330. I better get an electrician too while I am at it. A few have mentioned that this TIG requires a dedicated 100 amp breaker to it, a real juice sucker.

I have been wondering about sharpening electrodes, it seemed like something important whenever mentioned. Dynaflux Quality Welding Products this looks like a good idea, do you agree? Thanks for the explanation for square wave. The miller 300 a/bp seems to come with everything I would need, although I don't know if it has casters. I think I might go take a look at it this weekend. Do you think I should just get that TIG or try and get something for a similar price that has square wave?

Hello, I have read a fair number of posts on this forum and there seems to be more than a few individuals who have a large amount of TIG/welding knowledge. It seems there is a tremendous price difference between TIG's that have square wave and those that don't. At least the way I seem to understand it. It sounds like square wave is just an evolution of the AC idea. Please correct me if I am wrong. Is this feature essential and amazing for welding? I am looking to welding aluminum at the moment. I am trying to find a sort of list of TIG's that have square wave, on my own research I have found that the lincoln square wave has it and the esab 252 and 352 have it. Miller seems to use something different or at least calls it something different. I am in need of some knowledge. Someone has offered me a Miller 330 a/bp, it is old and extremely heavy, it doesn't have anything 'advanced' outside of AC. This TIG is 900 dollars, which is within my 1,500 or so price limit. Should I get this TIG? Or should I try and find something within my price limit that will have square wave or maybe something better than the miller 330? Thanks a bunch!

I live around st. paul, Minnesota. I have definitely been scouring ebay. As mentioned, what you want has to be close enough to pick up, shipping 500 pounds or more to your door step can be a pretty hefty expense. I have been thinking more on it and the idea of getting an older TIG an adding to it sounds like a fantastic route. Many folks say their older TIG's are huge beasts that will last seemingly forever. I did a bit of quick searching online for machinery auctions. I don't really know how this is found. Maybe you know of a large listing BIGGUNDOCTOR? I found a listing on craigslist about an hour away http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/tls/1313384958.html that has the same welder you do, but it's much more than 250. Think haggling with him could work? : D Thanks for all the responses guys.

Hah, yeah, I have definitely looked into the miller diversion series. They look real nice and the brand seems very reliable. My greatest concern is that 'bang for your buck' aspect. I see the high frequency box as well, it is an interesting idea, though I don't think it is worth as much as they want. I recently found a video of a guy who was essentially emulating pulse with the foot pedal. This has really blown my mind in terms of TIG welding. I am trying to keep this all very simple and easy for myself and sometimes all of the knobs and switches on TIG's seem like a maze. At the moment I am considering a very different route. I have found that vehicle alternators put out 100% duty cycle 3 phase current, all they need to do this is an electric motor that can turn a belt at 6000 or so RPM's. This isn't my own original idea, all I thought was to google "how to make a tig welder". Because really, all welding is is generating heat to melt stuff. I know that is an over simplification, no need to bark that one to me. I am still doing a lot of the research on the topic but if anyone is interested a few sources are High-Frequency Start Box www.pulse-jets.com • View topic - Homemade TIG Welder I am still open to the idea of purchasing a large, older, used TIG device and adding on a high frequency box and doing the rest with a torch and a foot pedal, but learning this idea sounds like a very close match. Right now though, the idea sounds most appealing to purchase the larger older TIG.

Hey, I have been shopping for a while for TIG's. On the advice of a few on this forum, the best choice for welding aluminum are TIG's. Luckily there is a great amount of knowledge on TIG's and I think I have a decent understanding of the device and ideas around it. What I seem to need is a TIG that can do AC (alternating current) at HF (high frequency) with at least around 200 amps allowing my duty cycle to be acceptable for what I am going to be doing. Here comes the sort of sticky part, I am on a budget. I have around 1,500 to spend. I have been scowering craigslist, ebay, and the rest of the web but I haven't had any luck. I am hoping for a guiding light towards something that matches my criteria. I have seen the chinese TIG's, I am an American and I believe in freedom. I don't support slavery so I am not interested in TIG's sold by companies like everlast. Thank you!

MIG Welding - The DIY Guide I found this website and it seems to have a fair bit of helpful information. Any websites on mig welding would be very appreciated. Essentially what I am looking for is someone to hold my hand like a 5 year old and point out for me what is good, what is bad and what I need to accomplish my deeds. I am trying to weld together, as cheaply as possible, pieces of 16 gauge aluminum together, maybe a bit thicker at times. There seems to be three brands of migs I am considering at the moment. Lincoln, Miller and Hobart I think it is, there are a few others I am open to I think but I certainly don't want to buy some piece of junk, unless you folks advice otherwise : P. There are sooo many choices and I know sooo little about it, it seems they always involve 'arcing' for the creation of the heat, some use gas, some don't. I feel that based on the opinion of more than a few that the best route is using some sort of gas like pure argon with a non-flux sort of wire. That should give the best weld I assume. Any hints or a solid point in the right direction, even a few links to well priced products would be -greatly- appreciated. I live in Wisconsin by st. paul.