I think I noted that when I was testing out the pot insert on the torch I have but too many posts to look back throughI had a little session welding tonight. I notice that the amp display shown when welding is up to 10 amps less than the max set on the welder when the pedal is to the floor. I made sure the pot on the pedal was set to the max as well.
So you may find yourself welding a little cold when using the pedal. Has anyone else noticed this?
To be honest I am finding the pedal a bit of a pain. The adjustable pot on the pedal is unnecessary when you set the max amperage on the welder anyway. The dial on the pedal is easily knocked too which can mess up your settings.
I am not sure what is going on with the welds if I am honest, some parts look too hot, some maybe too cold. I would personally say to dump the pedal and try just with the torch trigger, that way you will keep a constant current and get a handle on where it should be. If you use a long downslope and are using 2T mode then you can release the trigger momentarily if things get too hot then press again before the downslope has ended and it will go back to main current.So here’s my first ever attempt with aluminium. Or, to be honest, my second ever attempt - the first attempt got me nowhere at all, because I couldn’t get a puddle to form at all. A lot of head scratching and searching the forum for inspiration and then I realised that it was that weird extra pot on the side of the Sherman pedal, which was turned down to almost zero! I can’t remember if I’ve seen a wiring diagram for it somewhere but it shouldn’t be too hard to work it out - with a view to removing it completely as I can’t really see the point of it.
Anyway, back to the mess I made - the top run is the first, 5mm thick, and I soon found that it got very hot, even though I was making an attempt to control the amps with the pedal. Second run a little better. Both runs have a roughing grainy appearance - too much heat maybe, or the balance might be wrong (it’s set at 40)??
I had another go on some much thinner sheet - about 0.8 I think - much more tricky, although I didn’t melt any holes it won’t win a beauty contest.
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@NoM Well that’s given me something to aim at
Or try Justin on the Fabrication series as equaly as goodMate we all been there.. don't forget i do welding for a living... more than happy to give you a few tips if you need. Best place to start would be weldingtipsandtricks on youtube, ally is VERY different than steel but is so much easier to lay some decent beads when you got the hang of it, i was very surprised tbh with my results
Just ordered one off these just wanting to know what all comes with it regards consumables. Have got sgs 20l pure argon to day. 1.6 mm mild steel filler rods 1.6 4043 aluminium rods. 1.6 Ceriated Tungstens. Have all the ppe as do a bit of mig welding. Have some scrap steel aluminium to practice. Is there any thing else you’d recommend to get started? Thanks
have a spare for the mig think that should work? Yeah feeding the rod will be the fun bit. ThanksThe sherman doesn't come with a regulator so will have to borrow/get another one of those and gas pipe.
Then learn to feed rod.
@Colly2020 -
@DavidL posted a lot of info on the bits and pieces needed - have a look at page 10 of this thread, post no 198. Very comprehensive, read it carefully as you may not need everything, but it really helped me a lot.
I bought a WP17 flex head torch from Zoro - special offer price so cheaper than many other offerings. I also bought a two stage regulator and a flow meter from TBWS - extremely quick delivery and excellent price, good guys to deal with - https://www.tbws.co.uk/shop/argon-and-argon-mix-welding-regulator-two-stage/
I also bought a Sherman foot pedal from weldes.de - it’s a bit basic, but does the job well enough. You might not want one, or it might even be included depending on the exact package you’ve bought.
Download the Jasic manual, because the one you get with the Sherman will probably be in Polish.
And lastly, this complete thread is worth reading if you have the time - there is a shedload of useful info here.