bert/tig kit

[Bert]

the 3 Amigos

Archaic, Grumpy and Sundown
thanks to all...
Sundown, little relief there on the anodizing, thanks
Grumpy, thanks for the info and tips
Archaic, I'll check their prices against IOC.thanks

[Archaic]

Lanthanated Question

Grumpy or anyone else reading this thread. Question about Lanthanated tungsten electrodes. Have you tried 1.5% Lanthanated and 2% Lanthanated? Can you tell any difference in the welding characteristics or life of one as oppposed to the other? So far I have only used the 1.5% Lanthanated and am wondering if there is a noticable difference in the 2%.

Adios-----

[fun4now]

Bert
yes i have an inverter, the TA-185 has almost all the same features as the dyn200 except the 120V option, and its 185 amps. its also not blue.
Archaic
Have you tried 1.5% Lanthanated and 2% Lanthanated? Can you tell any difference in the welding characteristics or life of one as opposed to the other?
i have used both 1.5% and 2% lanthanated . as far as acr starts and performance they are identical. the only difference is the 2% holds up to the heat much better.
i have tried all except pure and thoranated, pure being pointless to try and also not recommended for inverters, and thoriated being radio active and as such i don't see the need to teal with it. there are better options, like 2% lanthanated.

[grumpy42]

i have used both 1.5% and 2% lanthanated . as far as acr starts and performance they are identical. the only difference is the 2% holds up to the heat much better.

I concur. I bought some 1.5% from the LWS (at nearly 3x the cost of 2% from arc-zone, but I didn't want to wait for the order ) and it held up pretty good, but the 2% is better. With 2% you will likely not have to regrind the tungsten unless you dip it or otherwise mess up the tip. Arc starting for both were great (I use lift-arc starting exlusively). I have only tried 2% ceriated, 1.5% lanthinated, and 2% lanthinated and on aluminum, 2% lanthinated rules .

[phila.renewal]

Grumpy or anyone else reading this thread. Question about Lanthanated tungsten electrodes. Have you tried 1.5% Lanthanated and 2% Lanthanated? Can you tell any difference in the welding characteristics or life of one as oppposed to the other? So far I have only used the 1.5% Lanthanated and am wondering if there is a noticable difference in the 2%.

Adios-----

Welding steel, no difference.

Welding Aluminum, AC, the 2% lanthanated definitely holds up better for me (as the other guys have also said). My machine is a syncro 200, transformer square wave (SCR controlled output, not inverter).

I buy my tungsten from Diamond Ground because they have sent me a bunch of free samples to try. I figure if they will send me something to try and I like it, I'll give them my business. Saves a lot of time and trouble on types I don't like or don't work well for me.

If you want to just try 2% lanthanated before buying a bunch, give diamond ground a call and ask them to send you one or two. Also give their "tri-mix" a try. It costs more but it will give you something to compare to and they seem to be OK with giving samples of it. If you end up liking it, it's worth the small extra price.

[fun4now]

DG is good people to deal with. i got a few samples from them so i would know what a properly ground tungsten should look like. when i first started all the "grind it to 30% and flatten the tip.030" was all greek to me. so a few samples made it much easyer to know what to grind to look like.
then i orderd 50 so i would have plenty on hand.
the TRY-mix are nice but a bit pricie.the 2% works great for all my TIG needs be it AC or DC so its easyer to just stick to it.

[Samurai Dave]

TIG Pen

[QUOTE=Bert;
Samurai Dave:
asked for the gas lens (saw it and think it's awsome!!!) but they didn't have any in stock! Thanks for the tip/link on diamondground! Pen rod looks interesting, I guess you just start out with about 6-8" sticking out the front of the pen? Is it that much different than holding the rod in your hand, 'cept it's a little fatter handle? [/QUOTE]

Glad you like the gas lens. It doesn't cost that much and will help protect the puddle. Diamond Ground's offer is tough to beat for sampling different flavors and sizes of tungstens.

The TIG Pen is VERY cool. It's not just a holder, it is a feeder as well. Insert the rod down the center until it sticks out the front. There is a roller that presses against the rod. Use your finger to rotate the roller, which advances the rod. Rotate the roller the other direction to have the rod retreat. It is A LOT easier to just rotate a roller to feed rod than to perform the finger gyrations to feed rod. It is A LOT more accurate when feeding lots of rod quickly. With TIG you also have the foot control to deal with, so there is one more body appendage to coordinate to create a nice bead. So now I'm like a drummer with both hands and one leg trying to be in sync. The TIG Pen has reduced my frustration level and advanced my learning curve. Without it I tend to crash the rod into the tungsten or have the hot end stick to some other piece of metal near the puddle. It also allows me to keep the tip of the rod in the gas envelope to prevent oxidation.

Before the TIG Pen I was spending more time regrinding my tungstens (due to crashes) than welding. Now I know right where the rod will be, so I can concentrate on where the tip of the tungsten is relative to the puddle; and how much foot pedal to give to keep the puddle fluid.

[fun4now]

the tig pens look prity cool. i want to get one one of thse days.
i cut all mt filler sticks down to 18" to make them easyer to manage.

[Bert]

Phila,Samurai and fun: New 3 Amigos

Thanks guys for the tips and feedback I am going INSANE of not being able to try out my new TIG setup At least I got more info to prepare for differrent things to try!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fun4now]

finaly found the pic's

here are a few pic's of my TIG/Stick welder and cart. you asked if mine was an inverter the first pic should prove aether its an inverter or i have a very large 1 year old son. the other pic's are of the cart encase you want any idea's off it when you build one for your self.
i tried very hard to get a Dyn200 but just could not come up with the $$ for it, and as the $ kept going up it got harder and harder not only to come up with the $$ but also hard to justify the expense just to play in my shop and learn TIG. at the time i got my TA-185 it was $1739.00 as a complete ready to weld kit (like the Dyn+ cont. kit) with free shipping, wile the Dyn200DX was $2200.00 for just the power source and i would still need to get all the parts for TIG & stick before i could use it (even more $$) so i decided to go with the TA-185. the hole time i was saving up to get a TIG (about 3 years) i intended to get a Dyn200DX but was watching the TA-185 on 56 different welding forum boards. in that time i only saw one with a problem and it was a small one that was an easy fix until the guy dropped it off his work bench wile working on it.
also many members were getting it and giving it good feedback with the only possible problem being service availability in some area's. so after checking locally to see if i could get one serviced i went with the TA-185. i have no problem getting service here.

if you compare the TA-185 to the Dyn200DX you will see the features are very close to the same. the Dyn dose adjust a little more as in the dyn200 will go to 500PPS on pulse and the TA can only go to 250PPS or some thing like that but they are very close.
the biggest differences are the TA-185 is a 240V only welder (it comes with a plug) where the dyn200 is a multi Voltage welder starting at 120V.
the other being the Dyn200 is 200Amp welder and the TA-185 is only 185 Amp's.
for my uses 185Amps and 240V only was fine and the savings was a big deal on my budget.

well enjoy the pic's.

[Bert]

Huge BABY!!!

OH MY GOD!!! What the he!! do you FEED that kid
For some reason, I thought your TA looked different. If I ever ming my Lincoln catalog (I mean...borrow my friend's lincoln catalog), I'll look at what I think it was...
Well, glas you have a inverter tig. NOW THE QUESTONS WILL START COMING!!!

[Bert]

Wow fun, now you're rubbing off one me
Spelling is getting bad!!!

[fun4now]

definitely an inverter

hey don't blame your spelling on me. i been using my spell checker a lot more lately.
my TA is not a lincoln, its a thermal arc. why would you look for it in a lincoln book ??
my TA is a little taller a little thiner and a lot shorter then the Dyn200. and definitely an inverter.
i had no choice about the inverter VS transformer i could not feed a transformer the needed power. if i could i would have gotten a syncrowave 200. i think the syncro200 would be an excellent hobby welder for those that cant afford the dyn200. the dyn200 is a lot more welder than most hobby guys will need, nothing wrong with it its a great welder just a lot of $$ for a hobby guy on a budget. the TA was the same $$ as the syncrowave 200 but only needs 30 amps.
keep in mind i have limited experience with TIG but i will be more than happy to help if i can. needless to say i have read a lot on the subject.

[Bert]

Ok, I was surprised it was purple looking
thanks James

[fun4now]

sorry i should have used this pic insted.
i just used the other one to show off i got a plug with mine.
Dyn200DX $3000.00 and no $8 plug.