sheepers Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Has anyone used or converted an old arc welder into a scratch start tig? a scratch start tig is the worst abomination on the face of the planet. the first thing you have to do before you start welding with one is fuck your electrode. i fucking hate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Yeah that does seem counter productive.... is that just a cheap tig design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Has anyone used or converted an old arc welder into a scratch start tig? a scratch start tig is the worst abomination on the face of the planet. the first thing you have to do before you start welding with one is fuck your electrode. i fucking hate them. Ive used them for so long now its what im used to. I recently used a HF start TIG and would certainly go this way if I was purchasing. Its seems to be a standard feature now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 None of the controls do anything.It just says 105 on the screen no matter how much I turn all the knobs/flick the switches. When I pull the trigger, the screen says 202 and the hf works, but no arc. The day after it went bung I came in in the morning and it worked again, so I went and chopped rust out of the bottom of a door, bent up a bit of steel and when I went to weld it ... nothing again. yeah I can understand how that would fuck you off. There is a guy local to me who just repairs welders. If it comes to that point I can get you his contact details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Has anyone used or converted an old arc welder into a scratch start tig? a scratch start tig is the worst abomination on the face of the planet. the first thing you have to do before you start welding with one is fuck your electrode. i fucking hate them. Ive used them for so long now its what im used to. I recently used a HF start TIG and would certainly go this way if I was purchasing. Its seems to be a standard feature now. The only reason I ask is because I already have a good arc welder, and it seems quite reasonable to buy a hand piece for it. From what I can gather they seem like the industry standard for boilermakers/pipe fitters working outside etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Has anyone used or converted an old arc welder into a scratch start tig? a scratch start tig is the worst abomination on the face of the planet. the first thing you have to do before you start welding with one is fuck your electrode. i fucking hate them. Ive used them for so long now its what im used to. I recently used a HF start TIG and would certainly go this way if I was purchasing. Its seems to be a standard feature now. The only reason I ask is because I already have a good arc welder, and it seems quite reasonable to buy a hand piece for it. From what I can gather they seem like the industry standard for boilermakers/pipe fitters working outside etc. Does it have a switch for TIG function? If it does you should go for it. Just remember earth lead to the positive on the machine and the torch to neg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Has anyone used or converted an old arc welder into a scratch start tig? a scratch start tig is the worst abomination on the face of the planet. the first thing you have to do before you start welding with one is fuck your electrode. i fucking hate them. a few tries and Iv had no further issues using one of the scratch start ones we have at work. just gotta be patient. the biggest bastard is the manual gas knob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoeddynz Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I too am looking to buy a ac/dc tig welder. I went to wilson bros over the road from work and pestered them for the best price they could do. They will sell me one of these blueweld protig 200 for $1555 inc gst. This is with a foot control included. Seems like a decent price for a local sale. 24month warranty and the blueweld importer is in Nelson. I don't know if it has pulse though. What is pulse and useful is pulse? repco sell them.. http://tradecatalogues.repco.co.nz/item.php?itemId=301885 Other ones I was keen on are the mitec items like Zac has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepers Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 pulse welding can be used for all sorts of things but in an automotive sence its best for welding very thin steel, like a repaired rusty section or something. its also very handy for repairing stainless trim. i've lost count of how many headlight retaining rings i've welded the locking tabs back onto for people. you won't use it 99% of the time and if you don't have it its not to much of a drama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubastreet Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I ended up replacing my chinese tig with a used 250A Lincoln inverter for $650. It's liftarc which is a bit of an ass, and I had to make up a box to control the gas so I don't waste it all, but it does a nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk1Mad Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Has anyone had any experience with these Eastwood welders? http://www.restosupplies.co.nz/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=198 They are a Chinese manufactured unit. Reviews also sound like its hit and miss whether the one you receive works straight out of the box, but once they are going the reviews are good. As they have a NZ importer I would be asking them to unpack and test it before sending to me. Seems like a good price for home use considering it comes with a reg and foot pedal at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I love how they show the duty cycle at 140A, not 200A... make sure it has overhead protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoeddynz Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I went along today to Opel industries, one block away from work, who are the importers for blueweld. Blueweld is the old name. Now called something else I can't remember. Anyway- they have sold loads and have a big display range from them up to cebora and Lincoln (oh the prices!!!!....) 24 month warranty. Friendly knowledgable staff. Suits me. Think I'll get one. The next model up with pulse was quite a lot extra. I will get a foot control though. I notice the 200 amp welders come with 15amp plugs. I can modify them to suit but I think will have to upgrade the circuit breaker to a 13amp jobbie. Who else has run a tig like these off a normal household plug? Any dramas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 From what I've read, it will run OK on lower settings but you might trip the breaker a bit on full grunt. I got told when I picked up my MIG the other day that it voids the warranty though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoeddynz Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 The fella at Opel said that many just swap or modify the plug to suit normal sockets. Hey are fine with that. It's the circuit breaker/house wiring that customers have to worry about. Quite excited but shitnloads of learning/ practice to do. I have not tig welded for about 18 years! And I was shit at it then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpr Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 from memory; for it to be legit, needs to have a 15amp power point, run in 2.5mm cable, and can only be one point on the circuit but yeh most people just swap the plug. if your power points are wired in 2.5mm cable will have a 20amp breaker on it anyway. so wont trip if its the only thing tuned on, on that circuit . just dont expect any sympathy if the 10amp power point melts off the wall (not likely) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ta63-1uzze Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 i got an mate in the electrical supply industry and also a good friend that is an electrician I got a new wall socket . Then had them make up an extension cable for the garage also 15amp each end. Join and wire 2 separate power circuits together so twice the power feed available and they are both on circuit breakers which have never gone of . It was cheap as to do, and when you look at how much we spend fitting out a home workshop and buying welders that cost a couple grand all the hand tools , forking out a few hundred bucks to not burn your house down sounds quite appealing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ta63-1uzze Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 The fella at Opel said that many just swap or modify the plug to suit normal sockets. Hey are fine with that. It's the circuit breaker/house wiring that customers have to worry about. Quite excited but shitnloads of learning/ practice to do. I have not tig welded for about 18 years! And I was shit at it then. i just got a very cheap deal tig 200 ac dc , its 2nd hand from and a weld nz brand , need to get gas for it and get some of cuts and start this thing up ! Just went and got some gas lens and tungsten rods today . I will be beginning to learn how to weld ” tig style “ soon so I know just how you feel, kind of daunting task but can’t wait to get stuck in . Check out http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/ Dude has answered all my questions in a few videos . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedy Al Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I have also been considering buying a tig. I guess from what I have heard, the hard part is learnign really howe to set it up for your application Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eke_zetec_RWD Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 The most common frustration I see Learners having is from lack of understanding about how heat affects different materials and situations. But I think that comes with experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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