New toy

[Rodger]

After hours of watching YouTube welding "porn", I got the courage to try making a puddle and playing with the Vulcan. It wasn't pretty at first, but it got better with practice. Got a lot of practice sharpening the tungsten as I kept dipping it into the puddle until I started to play with the amount of darkening of my helmet so I could see what the heck I was doing. Definitely an art and I have a long way to go, but I am keeping at it.

As far as comments on the Vulcan go, so far I have only tried TIG with it. It seems to work fine, but I have nothing to compare it to. The main thing I wish is that the TIG torch was connected through the internal gas solenoid that the MIG function uses. The TIG torch connects directly to the gas cylinder and so the gas flow needs to be turned on and off manually by opening a small thumb knob on the torch. This obviously wastes argon, but for as little welding as I do, I don't see it as a major problem. "Real" TIG units have a preflow and postflow and you can set the time of each so it is automatic. There were a couple of times when I was practicing and I lit the arc, but forgot to turn on the gas. Wow, what a difference that makes! Major sputtering and melting of the tip of the tungsten. Not fun.

 

[AKimball92]

After hours of watching YouTube welding "porn", I got the courage to try making a puddle and playing with the Vulcan. It wasn't pretty at first, but it got better with practice. Got a lot of practice sharpening the tungsten as I kept dipping it into the puddle until I started to play with the amount of darkening of my helmet so I could see what the heck I was doing. Definitely an art and I have a long way to go, but I am keeping at it.

what steel and rods are you starting with? any particular joints or simply beads on a flat piece of metal?

As far as comments on the Vulcan go, so far I have only tried TIG with it. It seems to work fine, but I have nothing to compare it to. The main thing I wish is that the TIG torch was connected through the internal gas solenoid that the MIG function uses. The TIG torch connects directly to the gas cylinder and so the gas flow needs to be turned on and off manually by opening a small thumb knob on the torch. This obviously wastes argon, but for as little welding as I do, I don't see it as a major problem. "Real" TIG units have a preflow and postflow and you can set the time of each so it is automatic. There were a couple of times when I was practicing and I lit the arc, but forgot to turn on the gas. Wow, what a difference that makes! Major sputtering and melting of the tip of the tungsten. Not fun.

are there aftermarket torches that have a multi-stage trigger or pedal? squeeze 10% and get flow, then farther to strike the arc? This is for everyone. I've not been able to afford a welder yet and was lucky enough to learn in facilities that had large Miller TIGs set up.

 

[darwoodious]

Andrew, if you just want to do TIG and you are OK with sticking to steel, ss, silicon-bronze (i.e., no aluminum) then maybe consider an AHP or Everlast 200A TIG setup. They're both reviewed quite highly on all the usual welding channels. These are "manual" meaning you set it up yourself which, after buying a Miller with built-in programs and supposedly "easier" to operate, I would opt for today. Once you learn all the TIG stuff you'll pick up tricks.

Of the two, I'd probably get the Everlast since it has memory and you can save some settings that are useful.

Of course, then you end up picking up a gas cylinder (around $150-$200), helmet (don't go cheap, spend $100), gloves ($20) and rod (steel: $20, ss: $40). But man is it a nice process.

If you're doing sheetmetal bodywork only, get a MIG.

 

[Rodger]

what steel and rods are you starting with? any particular joints or simply beads on a flat piece of metal?

I have only practiced on some of the same 304 stainless exhaust tubing that bought for my system. I just cut off a couple of 4 inch pieces that would be excess anyway and started with those. I first just tried making a puddle, then laying down some beads. Getting the amps and the gas flow right took some trial and error (lots of that). Then I tried tacking and butt welding the two tubes together. As TonyK said, the better the fitment and the smaller the gap, the easier it is to weld. I also worked on back purging those tubes to eliminate the sugaring that takes place inside if you just have normal air in there. The rod I have is 1/16th 308 stainless and I am using a 1/16th 2% thoriated tungsten.

are there aftermarket torches that have a multi-stage trigger or pedal? squeeze 10% and get flow, then farther to strike the arc? This is for everyone. I've not been able to afford a welder yet and was lucky enough to learn in facilities that had large Miller TIGs set up.

This I don't know. HF sells just one TIG torch that is designed to work with their Vulcan TIG units and the Omnipro 220.

 

[myronx19]

Nice rig! I used to have a nice Miller MIG, but sold it

I've since replaced it with something similar like yours, I just need a bottle and some gas and I'm good to go!

 

[AKimball92]

I have only practiced on some of the same 304 stainless exhaust tubing that bought for my system. I just cut off a couple of 4 inch pieces that would be excess anyway and started with those. I first just tried making a puddle, then laying down some beads. Getting the amps and the gas flow right took some trial and error (lots of that). Then I tried tacking and butt welding the two tubes together. As TonyK said, the better the fitment and the smaller the gap, the easier it is to weld. I also worked on back purging those tubes to eliminate the sugaring that takes place inside if you just have normal air in there. The rod I have is 1/16th 308 stainless and I am using a 1/16th 2% thoriated tungsten.

If I were you I would buy/find some normal steel and work on that. You might go through a lot of welding rod and more than your 4 inches of cut tubing before your welds become acceptible. TIG welding stainless might even be harder to master than aluminum. The coloration tells a lot about how much heat was applied and how much chromium (i believe) is left in the HAZ. Raw SS > Gold> Blue> Gray (Gray is bad). My welds in the end are

As for back purging, you can either dual regulator it and run minimal flow through the pipe or get a second tank. I had access to a second tank when making mine. If I were to use my own materials, I would probably go the regulator route as it might probably be cheaper and take up less room.

This I don't know. HF sells just one TIG torch that is designed to work with their Vulcan TIG units and the Omnipro 220.

Much of HF items are copied from other companies. I wonder if the torch connections are common to other companies.

 

[lookforjoe]

Much of HF items are copied from other companies. I wonder if the torch connections are common to other companies.

I don't think there are many styles of torch head. There are different sizes within types, though. The Eastwood TIG I have has the "WP -17" type & size. I don't ever use a pedal. I guess I could try, but I've used the trigger from the get-go, so it's what I'm comfortable with.