old tig welders ??

[mikesparks]

does anyone still use their old machines? i have a miller 330 ABP . compaired to a newer welder is the quallity of the weld any different as far as looks?

[mikesparks]

oh i forgot i never used anything newer than my welder i think its made in 1979

[mikesparks]

[welderman23]

who in the heck wants old a tig welder ...all they do is sit around drink coffee....

[mikesparks]

who in the heck wants old a tig welder ...all they do is sit around drink coffee....

true i still have many years to go before im an old tig welder

[tnjind]

I had an old Aircrafter 330, it welded fine, but the synchrowave 350lx is much nicer to use.
I had trouble with the high freq. on the 330 , so I scratch started.

[mikesparks]

i dont have any problems with my welder im just wondering if there is any difference in the looks of the welds like cleanness and shine?

[fun4now]

mostly the hand not the torch

a fella that helped me out when i first started TIG has a small shop in a near by town. he uses an old syncro 350 i think, not shore as its so old you can barley tell it was blue. dose not look at all like the new syncro's.
even with that thing he lay-ed down a bead on some 1/4" aluminum almost too fast to keep track of what he was doing.i had him slow down so i could get a better idea as to what i was supposed to be doing.
his bead was the best i have seen anywhere. clean shiny with a small white cleaning line around it. he even dipped the Tung. just to show me he could clean it by a quick balance adjust, then back to a great weld.

the largest part of a great TIG bead will always come from the person holding the torch. with that in mind the newer welders will give you more control but you still need to be able to make a great bead before you plug it in if you want one.

[FusionKing]

Mike ...don't you worry one bit about that machine being old. I have the same machine in an Airco and It is a FANTASTIC machine.
One thing I did do that all the boat factories do around here (and we have several) is rig a "button" on the torch. Simply a momentary contact one. It allows you to lay down stack of dimes in places that you cannot drag around your foot pedal.
I love it. I now have a Dynasty 200 DX and it is a much higher maintenance machine than the ole Airco. I have not used it since I got the Dynasty because I want to learn everything about the inverter machine in as little of time as possible. Now I have gotten a 350P as well and it will come much closer in amps so it will punch another hole in the older welder's usefulness
If you get where you can weld real good with that machine you will be able to lay down nice welds on the newer stuff once you learn how to set them. What I see about the newer machines is the ability to shape the arc. That is the best thing they have going for them. Also newer inverters use less electricity than the older welders. Inverters are MUCH MUCH lighter weight as well and can be carried into a hard to reach area and run off of whatever electric available (well my Dynasty anyway)
As far as weld appearance goes I feel the POTENTIAL for a better looking bead is there. I notice that my beads with the dynasty do have a shinier look to them than the Airco does all things being equal BUT the Airco will use the same tungsten for weeks on end day in day out and if you even frost the tungsten on the Dynasty you had better stop and change it or else it won't look as good as the Airco does. The Airco's welds have a whiter look to them in general. I got a lot of good compliments on my weld beads with that machine.
I am happy for you to be fortunate enuff to own that fine of a welder. They are unbelievable stick machines as well. 470 amps is pretty powerfull
My advice is NEVER sell it unless you can upgrade over it. As for as I can see the only machines I would consider a replacement would be either a Syncrowave 500 or a Dynasty 700 but that is just my opinion HTH
Garry

[mikesparks]

Mike ...don't you worry one bit about that machine being old. I have the same machine in an Airco and It is a FANTASTIC machine.
One thing I did do that all the boat factories do around here (and we have several) is rig a "button" on the torch. Simply a momentary contact one. It allows you to lay down stack of dimes in places that you cannot drag around your foot pedal.
I love it. I now have a Dynasty 200 DX and it is a much higher maintenance machine than the ole Airco. I have not used it since I got the Dynasty because I want to learn everything about the inverter machine in as little of time as possible. Now I have gotten a 350P as well and it will come much closer in amps so it will punch another hole in the older welder's usefulness
If you get where you can weld real good with that machine you will be able to lay down nice welds on the newer stuff once you learn how to set them. What I see about the newer machines is the ability to shape the arc. That is the best thing they have going for them. Also newer inverters use less electricity than the older welders. Inverters are MUCH MUCH lighter weight as well and can be carried into a hard to reach area and run off of whatever electric available (well my Dynasty anyway)
As far as weld appearance goes I feel the POTENTIAL for a better looking bead is there. I notice that my beads with the dynasty do have a shinier look to them than the Airco does all things being equal BUT the Airco will use the same tungsten for weeks on end day in day out and if you even frost the tungsten on the Dynasty you had better stop and change it or else it won't look as good as the Airco does. The Airco's welds have a whiter look to them in general. I got a lot of good compliments on my weld beads with that machine.
I am happy for you to be fortunate enuff to own that fine of a welder. They are unbelievable stick machines as well. 470 amps is pretty powerfull
My advice is NEVER sell it unless you can upgrade over it. As for as I can see the only machines I would consider a replacement would be either a Syncrowave 500 or a Dynasty 700 but that is just my opinion HTH
Garry

the only problem i have with my machine is that its huge, its heavy ,and takes up alot of room but i do great work with it. i wouldnt mind finding a thumb control torch for it but for now i got a weldcraft flex head torch .

[Fat-Fab.com]

who in the heck wants old a tig welder ...all they do is sit around drink coffee....

I resemble that, filler up and pass the sugar

[mikesparks]

oh like i said before this is the only tig welder i have ever owned/used behind the access panel there is a high freq adj. knob it ranges from 0 to 100 what should it be set too or what determins the setting?

[FusionKing]

Just set it where it starts good....I believe I had mine set fairly high tho.

BTW...They don't make a hand controller that will work for that machine unless it's one of those giant-@$$ed heavy old school ones. It's either the foot pedal or a button that you rig up yourself. All you have to do is interupt 2 of the 3 wires on the remote contactor switch. That machine is as analog as it gets but then you prolly know that. Fancy new transistorized stuff just don't work on that big monster.
But you are right it is so darn big and heavy it would be too much for most people

[mikesparks]

Just set it where it starts good....I believe I had mine set fairly high tho.

BTW...They don't make a hand controller that will work for that machine unless it's one of those giant-@$$ed heavy old school ones. It's either the foot pedal or a button that you rig up yourself. All you have to do is interupt 2 of the 3 wires on the remote contactor switch. That machine is as analog as it gets but then you prolly know that. Fancy new transistorized stuff just don't work on that big monster.
But you are right it is so darn big and heavy it would be too much for most people

yeah i think it is set to 70 or 80. i have been pulse welding instead of just running a bead and i have a roll cage coming up and its gonna be some fun working that pedal inside the car.....

[FusionKing]

Seriously...rig a button...it would only take ya about a half hour. Just set your heat and weld. I gave up that POS pedal years ago...better beads too ....much better