That was my understanding but I thought shenion made a distinction between scratch and lift. I can only find out by trying it, which I will, someday. My welding progress is slow and I've only just turned my attention from arc to MIG. I am, however, keen to get hold of some Argon gas and am shocked by the price and by how many people claim no rental but then charge for rental under another name.
- Thread starter Matweld 160
- Start date
That was my understanding but I thought shenion made a distinction between scratch and lift. I can only find out by trying it, which I will, someday. My welding progress is slow and I've only just turned my attention from arc to MIG. I am, however, keen to get hold of some Argon gas and am shocked by the price and by how many people claim no rental but then charge for rental under another name.
irondarren
Member
- Messages
- 2,583
George those gas bottles are not cheap, they have to be safety checked pressure checked regular etc. so rental is a method for getting that money back. After all you wouldn't get a brand new ford focus for nothing as long as you paid for the fuel. Rental is a fact of life on those bottles my annual rental bill from BOC comes to over £500. its either rent the bottles or dont work and sign on the dole. Obviously im earning money from the gas and figure the rental into my labour costs, bit different if you are just having a play around for a bit of fun or a car repair. Dont forget you don't have to rent a bottle for a whole year, you can rent one have fun and when its empty take it back.
There is a difference between scratch start and lift start. With scratch start the torch is live when you touch or scratch the tungsten on the workpiece and withdraw it to initiate the arc. With lift start, the tungsten is touched onto the workpiece and then the power is turned on with the trigger, the arc is initiated as the tungsten is lifted off the workpiece.
matt1978
www.lorch.eu
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- 3,966
- Location
- UK, Cannock
Yes mate, also, usually scratch arc tigs only have a gas valve torch, which has a tube going directly to the gas bottle and must remeber to be turned on and off manually.
Lift arc/Contact arc units usually have basic tig functions such as pre/post gas, start/end current etc and gas management from the machine.
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Hi Guys
I mentioned earlier in the thread that I was waiting for the STEL DC inverter to arrive and it did. There is no documentaion with it and I couldn`t find any info on their site as well. I just could find the specifications on it. I set it up and tried to weld a piece of 0.4 mm 304 grade stainless steel. The first photo will show big holes burnt into it and this was done with the Matweld inverter welder. The second photo will show my first attempt with the STEL inverter,set at 4 amps and a 0.8 mm 316 L filler rod was used. I also used a 1 mm tungsten electrode in the TIG torch. Can anyone assist me with the symbols on the front right side of the display panel? I assume that the lower one is POWER FACTOR,the middel one is DOWN SLOPE and the to one is unknown to me. In fact,it doesn`t light up when the TIG function is selected.
I mentioned earlier in the thread that I was waiting for the STEL DC inverter to arrive and it did. There is no documentaion with it and I couldn`t find any info on their site as well. I just could find the specifications on it. I set it up and tried to weld a piece of 0.4 mm 304 grade stainless steel. The first photo will show big holes burnt into it and this was done with the Matweld inverter welder. The second photo will show my first attempt with the STEL inverter,set at 4 amps and a 0.8 mm 316 L filler rod was used. I also used a 1 mm tungsten electrode in the TIG torch. Can anyone assist me with the symbols on the front right side of the display panel? I assume that the lower one is POWER FACTOR,the middel one is DOWN SLOPE and the to one is unknown to me. In fact,it doesn`t light up when the TIG function is selected.
Could it be that 0.4mm thick metal is a bit thin and ambitious for an initial test drive, until you get a feel for the kit?
Matweld 160
Member
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- 20
Hi GeorgeB
You are correct in making that remark.I was given 2 days to try the machine out and if it would not work on the 0.4 mm material,then the Supplier would take it back for a refund. The more that I experiment with it,the better it would get. One thing which I noticed,when I first tried it out,using a 1,6 mm tungsten electrode on a mild steel material,also of a 1,6 mm gauge,the machine was "pulsing" the arc.This was at an amperage setting of 60 Amps. The rate of pulse was fairly quick and was a BUZZ,BUZZ,BUZZ sound,as if it was comming from the arc.The sound got louder when moving the electrode further from the material and softer,when almost touching the weld pool. So its only time that will tell if this machine is the right thing for me?
You are correct in making that remark.I was given 2 days to try the machine out and if it would not work on the 0.4 mm material,then the Supplier would take it back for a refund. The more that I experiment with it,the better it would get. One thing which I noticed,when I first tried it out,using a 1,6 mm tungsten electrode on a mild steel material,also of a 1,6 mm gauge,the machine was "pulsing" the arc.This was at an amperage setting of 60 Amps. The rate of pulse was fairly quick and was a BUZZ,BUZZ,BUZZ sound,as if it was comming from the arc.The sound got louder when moving the electrode further from the material and softer,when almost touching the weld pool. So its only time that will tell if this machine is the right thing for me?
pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
- Messages
- 12,988
- Location
- CX near Chesterfield
Could the top setting be post gas on the Stel ?
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Hi.The top one can`t be post gas,as there is no connections for the Argon gas on the machine. The machine just has to sockets - one for the positive cable and one for the negative cable.There are two internal cooling fans inside the machine.When the power switch is turned on,one fan starts running and as soon as I start the arc,the other fan starts and blows quite an amount of air out of the unit.So it seems to remove the hot air out of the machine.
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Merry Christmas to all of you and your Families.
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
New AD/DC tig welder
I received my new machine yesterday and now I`ll be able to try aluminium welding.
I received my new machine yesterday and now I`ll be able to try aluminium welding.
Your work looks very high quality. The jet engine construction is especially interesting, too. It can't be easy, but how difficult is it to build a model jet engine? Will you have to weld together the turbines as well?
My work so far would never be accurate enough to meet the fine tolerances presumably involved - not my cutting, alignment, welding or any aspect of what I do! It must involve serious engineering skill.
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Hi GeorgeB
Thankyou. No,the turbine is acually a casted inconel component,so no welding is required there. Most of the combustion chambers are spot welded together,but I don`t have a spot welder. So I had to teach myself to tig weld it and used this forum to assist me with tips and ideas. The tolerances are important,just as well as the alignment of the parts. I make the parts on my old Myford ML7 lathe and so far its been very successful.
Thankyou. No,the turbine is acually a casted inconel component,so no welding is required there. Most of the combustion chambers are spot welded together,but I don`t have a spot welder. So I had to teach myself to tig weld it and used this forum to assist me with tips and ideas. The tolerances are important,just as well as the alignment of the parts. I make the parts on my old Myford ML7 lathe and so far its been very successful.
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Hi.You can try MPP Products in Montague Gardens.
Matweld - your work is very impressive, specially tig welding 0.4 mm.
here is a link to your Stel manual. hope you'll find it usefull.
http://www.stelgroup.it/public/products/MAX_dp_171C-201C_MC6910700020.pdf
here is a link to your Stel manual. hope you'll find it usefull.
http://www.stelgroup.it/public/products/MAX_dp_171C-201C_MC6910700020.pdf
Matweld 160
Member
- Messages
- 20
Hi.Thankyou for your reply and the link to the Manual. I don`t have the STEL inverter anymore and just have the AC/DC Matweld machine. It also welds the 0,4 SS material,after using a 2,4mm tungsten and turning the amerage down to 0. The amperage is not such an issue,when welding the 0,4 material. Its the output voltage,that plays a big part. My machine has a 4m long cable to the tig torch and the same length earth cable. By increasing the length to 8m,the voltage will drop further and it should weld the 0,4mm SS even better.
