New Everlast 160STH unpacked

[k0ua]

Drew, think about the insulating the "ground" or "work" clamp thing..when you clamp it onto the workpiece or work-table.. the whole thing is energized with that polarity.. What good would come of insulating the work clamp when your whole table is energized?

James K0UA

 

[daugen]

Jim, understood. But with small stuff, doesn't the clamp get in the way?
Just seems like a gotcha sticking up, like the positive terminal on a battery not having a
plastic cover. I'm overthinking this...

 

[k0ua]

Jim, understood. But with small stuff, doesn't the clamp get in the way?
Just seems like a gotcha sticking up, like the positive terminal on a battery not having a
plastic cover. I'm overthinking this...

You see on small stuff you clamp onto your table with the "work clamp" and use some other kind of small clamp, like a pair of needle nosed vise grips to clamp down the little workpiece. to keep the work clamp out of the way.

James K0UA

 

[k0ua]

One other thing, you are in more danger of being "flashed" than shocked but laying down your stinger with a partial rod still in it.. one thing you can do is get in the habit of dropping the rod out before you inspect your work, or have some safe place to set the rod and stinger before you raise your helmet. Just think thru every action and you will not "flash yourself" or burn yourself or electrocute yourself.. Welding has some risks. So does operating a tractor, hand-loading ammunition, or getting out of bed, but with proper application of "common sense" you can mitigate a bunch of them.

 

[daugen]

You see on small stuff you clamp onto your table with the "work clamp" and use some other kind of small clamp, like a pair of needle nosed vise grips to clamp down the little workpiece. to keep the work clamp out of the way.

James K0UA

Ok, I'm with you. That means the work table has to provide a ground, to earth? does it need a metal top? Or just some form of grounding rod?

What if I'm out there with two wooden sawhorses and a plywood top, all wood, no ground. I understand the circuit needs to be completed, but does it need to go to ground? I'm thinking not, and am probably mixing up ground and negative.

Appreciate the basics here.

 

[k0ua]

Ok, I'm with you. That means the work table has to provide a ground, to earth? does it need a metal top? Or just some form of grounding rod?

What if I'm out there with two wooden sawhorses and a plywood top, all wood, no ground. I understand the circuit needs to be completed, but does it need to go to ground? I'm thinking not, and am probably mixing up ground and negative.

Appreciate the basics here.

The metal table top does not have to touch the earth. It is just the other half of the circuit. In the case of the DC welding it is one polarity. In the case of AC welding it is one phase. If you are welding on a piece of plywood, on the wooden sawhorses you will need to clamp the "work" clamp onto the workpiece or have a small metal table on top of the piece of plywood to clamp to and then clamp your small workpiece to the metal table.. A circuit must be completed.. but it does not have to touch the earth... Keep in mind you are liable to scorch your plywood..It may not catch on fire, but it darn sure is going to have some black marks!

James K0UA

 

[IslandTractor]

The metal table top does not have to touch the earth. It is just the other half of the circuit. In the case of the DC welding it is one polarity. In the case of AC welding it is one phase. If you are welding on a piece of plywood, on the wooden sawhorses you will need to clamp the "work" clamp onto the workpiece or have a small metal table on top of the piece of plywood to clamp to and then clamp your small workpiece to the metal table.. A circuit must be completed.. but it does not have to touch the earth... Keep in mind you are liable to scorch your plywood..It may not catch on fire, but it darn sure is going to have some black marks!

James K0UA

I use a 1 foot square sheet of 14 gauge directly under the weld if I am using a non traditional welding table. HF sells a magnetic grounding point that can be easily positioned out of the way on the metal sheet. You wouldn't want to do a lot of welding like that over wood but it works fine for quick welds such as when tacking.

 

[k0ua]

I use a 1 foot square sheet of 14 gauge directly under the weld if I am using a non traditional welding table. HF sells a magnetic grounding point that can be easily positioned out of the way on the metal sheet. You wouldn't want to do a lot of welding like that over wood but it works fine for quick welds such as when tacking.

I use an old piece of I beam about a foot square for the smaller welding jobs.. It is sort of a little table, and offers a good place to clamp onto, has some weight, and offers a smooth surface on top to put small parts on. Works for me:thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[CNC Dan]

I understand the circuit needs to be completed, but does it need to go to ground? I'm thinking not, and am probably mixing up ground and negative.

Yep. Thats why most welder info. now says "work clamp" and not "ground clamp".

 

[tjflicek]

That machine has basically identical specs to my Miller Maxstar 150STH. Given that at discount the Miller with remote goes for about $1800, I'd say you got yourself a bargain. Just add a remote (necessary for TIG), a tank of argon, and make up a pigtail to allow you to choose either 110 or 220v and you are all set.

150amps at 220V is good for basically anything you would do with a 1/8" rod and the 90A at 110v is adequate for most 3/32" rods. (except 6010 which doesn't do well with small inverter welders)

I have to strongly disagree with your saying small inverters don't do well with 6010. I have a Thermal Arc Pewee 130 amp 110/220 as one of the welders in my shop and if you set the hot start correctly and know what your doing you will have no problem. Granted when plugged into 110 the most it can handle is 1/8" but on 220 it runs 5/32" just fine. Maybe a Miller isn,t the same but they are a good machine with a good reputation and I just can't see them marketing a small inverter that wasn,t able to handle 6010.
I taught pipe welding at a local trade school for the pipe trades for 22 years of night school and when I started they had a mix of any machine they could get donated by manufacturers Lincoln, Miller, Hobart, Airco,etc. transformers and generators. When I retired from there they had 35 welding booths set up with 200 amp Thermal Arc Inverters and 90% of the rod used was the old 6010 red rod, not the 5p+++.the other 10% a mix of 7018 and 8018. Just my 2 cents.