Making a small chain

[BukitCase]

James, you're definitely ahead of me on the tig stuff - I've had the actual machine Mark used to make these vid's ever since he finished them, STILL haven't had time to even power it up. Did get it set up on a cart with bottle, better lead storage, etc -

Here are the vids Mark did with my machine, I figure if I get 10% as good at it I'll be happy
They're in order, parts 1,2,3 (stick), and tutorial - part 2 has quite a bit of good tig info.

Everlast Power i-TIG 200t Part 1: Introduction to the 200 amp DC Pulse Inverter Welder - YouTube

Everlast Power i-TIG 200t Part 2: TIG Welding Demonstration - YouTube

Everlast Power i TIG 200 Part 3: Stick Welding Demonstration - YouTube

Everlast Tutorial: How to setup the Digital Power i-TIG 200t TIG/Stick Inverter Welder - YouTube

I better get back at it - got a couple rippers on my Gannon box blade that I need to hardface, weather's finally dry, and there's about 40-50 more yards of dirt to move (and about 30 yards of rock to put down) so I can start the shop expansion in the spring... Steve

 

[k0ua]

James, you're definitely ahead of me on the tig stuff - I've had the actual machine Mark used to make these vid's ever since he finished them, STILL haven't had time to even power it up. Did get it set up on a cart with bottle, better lead storage, etc -

Here are the vids Mark did with my machine, I figure if I get 10% as good at it I'll be happy
They're in order, parts 1,2,3 (stick), and tutorial - part 2 has quite a bit of good tig info.

Everlast Power i-TIG 200t Part 1: Introduction to the 200 amp DC Pulse Inverter Welder - YouTube

Everlast Power i-TIG 200t Part 2: TIG Welding Demonstration - YouTube

Everlast Power i TIG 200 Part 3: Stick Welding Demonstration - YouTube

Everlast Tutorial: How to setup the Digital Power i-TIG 200t TIG/Stick Inverter Welder - YouTube

I better get back at it - got a couple rippers on my Gannon box blade that I need to hardface, weather's finally dry, and there's about 40-50 more yards of dirt to move (and about 30 yards of rock to put down) so I can start the shop expansion in the spring... Steve

Oh, wow, your TIG rig is 10 times more sophisticated than what I am using, I am just using my PA160 Stick rig. Scratch start and a manual gas valve.. No HF start, no way to taper off, no foot pedal. TIG at it's crudest!. But you can weld with it, and yes you can weld little chain with it, You just have to be quick and careful! Good luck with your Tig-ging.. it is sure worthwhile to learn.

James K0UA

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, all I really wanted was a tig, don't plan on doing aluminum any fancier than my 30A spool gun can do, so saved about half by not getting AC tig.

I was talking to Mark about the Power iTig200 (predecessor to mine) when he asked if I'd be interested in a deal on a demo machine - when I saw all the improvements I went for it. I figure the stick side is "free", but will be useful since I can run it out in the field on a genny (I have an 8 kw, which will NOT run my old transformer workhorse) - since one of my thousand-odd projects involves welded H braces and about 3/4 mile of new field fencing, it seemed like a good plan.

This new rig is so light, if it were smaller you could almost put it in your pocket ('course, the argon bottle might get a bit heavy :laughing:

Here's a shot after I put bigger solid tires and locking casters on the Amazon "hot max" cart, along with garden hose hangers both sides and some DIY hold-down straps... Steve

 

[k0ua]

Yeah, all I really wanted was a tig, don't plan on doing aluminum any fancier than my 30A spool gun can do, so saved about half by not getting AC tig.

I was talking to Mark about the Power iTig200 (predecessor to mine) when he asked if I'd be interested in a deal on a demo machine - when I saw all the improvements I went for it. I figure the stick side is "free", but will be useful since I can run it out in the field on a genny (I have an 8 kw, which will NOT run my old transformer workhorse) - since one of my thousand-odd projects involves welded H braces and about 3/4 mile of new field fencing, it seemed like a good plan.

This new rig is so light, if it were smaller you could almost put it in your pocket ('course, the argon bottle might get a bit heavy :laughing:

Here's a shot after I put bigger solid tires and locking casters on the Amazon "hot max" cart, along with garden hose hangers both sides and some DIY hold-down straps... Steve

Looks good. Once you get some TIG experience I believe you will really like it. I use it for anything too small or not suitable for stick. I don't have an 115 volt MIG, and I don't seem to need one, the TIG works for light duty things. I know the MIG would a lot faster for some things, but I am not that big of a hurry to repair something or fab up some little thing. And TIG will let you repair little things and work with copper and brass. I recently made some copper Crush washers with the TIG out of #10 wire,. TIG is good for all sorts of things.

 

[DXN1EL]

You guys make me wanna get a TIG rig for my PA-300 so bad.

I need to get an argon cylinder, and I was wondering how many CF (cubic feet) are needed for one minute? or is that also adjustable?

 

[BukitCase]

Last time I ran tig was 1977, making prototypes for wear test fixtures for Memorex video QA lab - and that was only once in a while. Should be interesting :licking:

Bought my old 250 amp ac/dc stick machine in '73, still going strong - kept trying to find small enough rods to do sheet metal, but every time I looked at the results I said, "Oh, Sheet"... Guess that was success, in a way

Finally bought a MM211 a year ago, thought I'd use the dual voltage - never ran it on 120, started using wire for almost everything, wanted more power and a longer torch than the 10' the 211 is limited to - finally saw a 252 on CL, complete with 30A spool gun, 2 large bottles, double running gear - guy paid over $4k for the whole setup 4 years ago WITHOUT the bottles, ran about 4-5 pounds off a 33 pound spool of .035 in that time, and the spool gun had never had a tip screwed into it. $2600, one of the bottles was full of argon and the other had about half C25 left. Sold the 211 to a bud with a medium (150) tank and the spoolmate 100 for a good price.

I've since finished off the 33 lb spool and bought a 44 pounder, built a set of brush forks, a 6'x8'x2' deep brush bucket, added 7 receiver hitches and a chunk of 10" channel to the FEL bucket (reasons for all of 'em) and getting ready to start hydraulic mods for grapple, articulated arm and flow control for my Samurai sickle bar cutter - decided my wire machine may end up being harder to "pry out of my cold, dead fingers" than those "other things"...

I think I may have added more weight to my FEL bucket than some smaller CUTs can pick up :laughing:

Oops, guess I got carried away - sorry for the side track, guess I may have been "jerkin' yer chain" (so to speak )
I'll probably start a thread before long with pix of all the stuff I've been referring to, then it'll be YOUR turn to go all "off topic" on me (only fair) ... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

DXN1EL, here's the easy way to figure it

Miller - TIG Welding Calculator

typically, depending on cup size, etc, you'd run somewhere between 12 to 16 Cu. Ft. per HOUR, so a 80 CuFt tank would last a little over 5 hours of weld time.

The above calculator will show you how it varies with type of joint, thickness, etc... Steve

 

[deereman75]

I will have to try that! Real cool project! Once I get this saw off my bench, I will have to get the tig back out.

Nice work!