This may have already been discussed but i was wondering if anyone on this board has built their own tig welder. I am thinking about it because i only weld on the weekends and dont have 800 dollars or more to spend on another welder. Anything will be helpful.
Thanks,
HW
I believe Mike W built an AC/DC Tig with a Linde arc welder, a used HF unit and a homemade SCR control/foot pedal. I think he also built a MIG welder from an old battery charger.
There is also one over at turbomustangs that used an alternator.
What type of welder do you have and what are you trying to TIG?
I am tig welding using an AC stick welder, some rectifiers, and an Airco HF unit. I'm just putting the finishing touches on the current controller board tonight. I am using Mike W's circuit and the foot controller in my previous post.
I've been welding mild steel and stainless and I am happy with the results. I have a 125 amp air cooled torch, and this is more than adequate for welding .100 and less tubing that I am playing around with. Found it doesn't take much current at all to weld 1/16 stainless. Can't wait to try thin aluminum.
Originally posted by david_r
What type of welder do you have and what are you trying to TIG?
I have a weld back 100 and im running flux cored with that and i also have a lincoln 135 for mig. I want to be able to weld stainless and aluminium.
thanks for the help
Stick and tig welders both use a constant current power supply. Mig and wire feed welders use a constant voltage power supply. Apparently this is necessary. If both ur welders are wire feed models, they won't be easily adaptable to tig. Find yourself a good heavy duty Ac/DC stick machine. It will be very usefull on its own,and be adaptable to tig.
I'm told, AC plus high frequency is what is used on aluminum (or was, before inverter supplies became available). You need DC for work with steel. To acheive that you need to assemble a bridge rectifier of sufficient capacity to handle the welding current.
this is really simple and easy to understand, EXCEPT the HF part, what exactly does the HF do in TIG welding,
only know how to stick and MIG weld, which is very interesting since in my trade TIG is more usefull ( machinist )
so if I get a AC DC welder, I wouldnt need a bridge to create my DC.
Or well > let me re word that, If I wanted to weld steel I would need to use a bridge t create my DC from AC, then steel and alu would be possible, if no bridge just AC, then no steel?
Confused...........Would be nice to have a cheap stick tig setup!
VooDooMan,
Like Mike W and Timinmb I too mad a "cheap" tig welder out of a craftsman AC/DC stick welder. The HF (which stands for high frequency)(sorry if you already knew that) helps in starting and running welds on aluminum and other exotic metals. Although it makes starting the arc easier, it is not manditory for steal, stainless, and other metals. When I first started with my setup, I just used a scratch start like stick welding. After some practice I believe it is easier than trying to strike an arc on stick. To get started you need of course a welder AC/DC would be best (in my eyes anyways), a torch with a valve on the handle, tungsten (2% thoriated for steel and stainless. Pure tungsten for Aluminum.), a bottle of argon, a flow meter/regulator, and some filler rod. I believe that the welder needs to be setup on DCEN (DC Electrode Negative). I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong. Good Luck! Keep us informed with your progress.
hey ohm, thank you for the reply..................Yea it sounds **** fun and easy, and I LOVE IT
I am trying to figure out which project is going to give me a good bang for my buck, I mean the motor and alternator idea for stick and tig ( change polarities right ? ) Sounds good, but then the ac/dc welder sounds great too........................I have to see how much I want to invest - I will probably need a HF unit any way, I want to do alu
I am trying to figure out what other 12V sources I can use for the alternator motor welder.
Can I attach a HF unit on the alternator welder - or only the ac/dc box?
I am also thinking of which one will give more amps output, I would like some thing like 1/4" steel and slightly smaller aluminum, so 150amps around there?
great site!
OK so im in the same boat. i have a Lincoln AC225-C arc welder small short box not tall...it only welds AC...so I have seen all the posting about Tig welding with an altenator and a small two stroke motor and altenator..but doesn't this produce AC? again asking around because i just want to weld steel, everyone tells me you'll need DC.
What I am reading is that a HF unit is used to ionize the air around the weld and the tungsten so that when you go to weld you dont need to acutally touch the welded material, it creates a spark just above and away you go welding ( used on metals that are exotic ) less contamination this way ( aluminum ),
Its not NEEDED but nice to have!
AC I believe is used for aluminum and such metals, and DC is used for steel and such metals, so yea you would need to bridge that AC into DC, and away you go, I am jealous of you, I want a **** AC machine LOL
I really wonder what exactly is inside of that DC cheater............A huge heat sink 4 diodes a fan, what exactly are you paying for thats 100$? ha!
What I am confused about is why or how would you use DC for stick welding, I am no stick welder, that is why I ask....................Hum I hope I am of some help!
Mike, I wouldnt even need to............I got surplus comming out of my bum - Its not worth paying for electrical stuff these days, just so much of them, watch for current handling though, and maybe a heat sink too!
Hum...................Mike, how effective is your arc machine with HF unit for TIG welding?
what about arc stabalizers, ever use it in your machines?
again asking around because i just want to weld steel, everyone tells me you'll need DC.
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