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Everlast Powertig 250EX

Is just what I needed . These new machines are very easy to weld with compared to what I've read and heard about the older transformer machines . My friend that let me try his Miller gave me a couple each of 308L and 5356 to play a bit . And I did ... late last night I managed to butt weld a couple of pieces of 6061 3/16"X 2" angle together . Not pretty , but definitely well attached . Today I visited a small local steel supply/weld shop , Toby gave me some 3/32 4043 and 309L to try - he wants my business . I used some of the 4043 to weld 2 pieces of that same 2" angle onto a box section . Looked better , but still not all that great . I've been watching my arc length a lot more closely after Ernie's comment in the other thread , and there have been a lot fewer flare-ups. Late this afternoon I tried stainless again . I have some domed discs that were made by cutting 1.75" holes in 2.5" spheres , with very sharp edges . I put 2 of them together and proceeded to walk the arc around the edge for a filler-less join . Worked pretty well , too . Got down to the last little bit and started getting skips in the weld , dunno what's up with that . Hit it with full pedal at 65 amps for the last little bit trying to melt the skips and melted it back a little , but it fused ... Tomorrow I plan to try a thicker section of stainless with filler . Then I'll be cutting some miters on aluminum angle for shelf supports . I promised my wife a shelf out in the shop to help minimize clutter here . I was going to use lumber , but what the hey , if I can ... and welded aluminum supports are just SO much more elegant ! I have yet to have a piece of aluminum "fall out" because I put too much heat into it . I guess it's a matter of time until that happens . Hope it's not on something expensive !

Reply to
Terry Coombs
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Glad to hear you like the machine. The newer designs are probably easier t o weld with, but the older transformer machines are pretty easy to weld wit h too. When I retired I thought having a TIG welder would be great, but wa s concerned about the difficulty of welding with one. So before buying a T IG welder, I took a welding class at the local community college. If you a re over 60 years old the cost is almost nothing.

Well the class was about normal for a welding class. There were about for ty people in the class. Most of the students were working on getting certi fied for working in the ship yard with stick welding8. And most of the res t were wanting to learn oxy/acet. welding. I think there were only three of us wanting to learn TIG welding. Guess who got the most attention of th e instructor. Guess who just figured out stuff to try on their own. The TIG welders were ESAB transformer machines. Anyway I got where I could run a bead across the top of a coke can, I just never got where I could do th at and breathe at the same time. I found TIG welding easier than Oxy/acet because you can control the heat with the foot pedal.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Glad to hear you like the machine. The newer designs are probably easier to weld with, but the older transformer machines are pretty easy to weld with too. When I retired I thought having a TIG welder would be great, but was concerned about the difficulty of welding with one. So before buying a TIG welder, I took a welding class at the local community college. If you are over 60 years old the cost is almost nothing.

Well the class was about normal for a welding class. There were about forty people in the class. Most of the students were working on getting certified for working in the ship yard with stick welding8. And most of the rest were wanting to learn oxy/acet. welding. I think there were only three of us wanting to learn TIG welding. Guess who got the most attention of the instructor. Guess who just figured out stuff to try on their own. The TIG welders were ESAB transformer machines. Anyway I got where I could run a bead across the top of a coke can, I just never got where I could do that and breathe at the same time. I found TIG welding easier than Oxy/acet because you can control the heat with the foot pedal.

Dan

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The education system is broke ... and the nearest comunity college is over

50 miles from me on twisty "mountain" roads . I have learned more from guys like you and Ernie L. and internet videos than I would have thought possible even 10 years ago . That foot pedal took a bit of multi-track thinking on my part , but I'm beginning to see a tiny bit of light at the end of the tunnel , at least my foot is beginning to act on it's own without conscious thought . All the book learnin' in the world won't help without practice , and that's just what I plan to do over the coming days and weeks . I have sitting in front of me that box section that I made yesterday , and of about 16" of bead , a whole 2 inches or so actually looks like a weldor did it . At least I've learned when to add filler , and am still working on coordinating the torch movement with feeding rod . Part of the problem is that I'm barely coordinated enough to walk and chew gum ...
Reply to
Terry Coombs

That comes with time.

Im not sure Ive got that much time available for me to get it right...sigh.

Reply to
Gunner Asch

. At least I've learned when to add filler , and am still working on

I bought a metal bender ( Harbor Freight 38471 ) off Craigslist a couple o f days ago and just finished welding a couple of plates to a piece of 2 1/2 sq tubing to use as a stand. I just used stick and the last welds look mu ch better than the first ones.

I am drilling holes in the top plate so I can have the bender on it or a vi ce. Will probably use the vise a lot more than the metal bender. Will hav e to drill some holes in the basement floor to bolt it down.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Use LONG bolts and big ones. Ive sheared off 3/8 lagbolts with my bender. Ah..I was overdoing it a bit..but not all that much.

Now its bolted to a plate, which is welded to the 3" pipe leg holding my overhead shade up..and there are (2) pieces of 3/4" sucker rod driven 6' deep and then welded into the plate the pipe rests on. And it still moves a little bit when I extend the handle out for a bigger piece of material.

The legs of the roof simply set on the ground..are not embedded into the earth like a fence post. That way I can move the roof around (and Im recently really glad it could be done when I moved the welding "shop" over 30 feet to the north.

Reply to
Gunner Asch

You might find it a bit easier to TIG steel while you are developing the hand-eye-foot coordination. Cheaper materials and a bit more forgiving during the learning stages. You also get to work slower than you have to on AL.

Reply to
Pete C.

One thing I did bring up here was all my scrap aluminum . My mistakes go into a crucible ... I've got a bunch of 22" pieces of recovered 2" angle that will make excellent shelf supports . Great practice and as long as it stays together that's good enough . Heh , might hurt to get a bottle of pickled jalapenos on the noggin , I better make these sturdy !

Reply to
Terry Coombs

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