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Is HF Tig good enough or is Squarewave needed for Al repairs

I'm looking at used Miller Dialarc HF 250's vs Syncrowave 250's for repairs and fabrication on scrap aluminum.

Is the cleaning or arc balance control on the syncrowave an essential feature, or would an older dialarc TIG machine (adjustable HF anyways) still be good for this kind of work?

The work I have in mind is mostly on 6061 and 5052 for marine stuff like crane fittings, dock ramps and propellor repairs etc.

The other possibility is a Millermatic Pulsed Mig welder which sounds good for thin aluminum like my car topper which needs a bit of repair work.

Graham

PS are all the sycrowave 250, 351 (etc) machines advertised on E-Bay the result of the aerospace downturn post Sept 11?

Reply to
Graham Parkinson
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You need the AC cleaning.

Reply to
jerry_tig2003

A square-wave machine will always outweld a sine-wave machine on aluminum.

The Dialarc will work, much as a crescent wrench can be used as a hammer.

There are always machines floating betwen shops. I sold a Syncrowave 250 about a year ago so I could upgrade to a Syncrowave 250DX.

Syncrowaves are very popular machines, and have been for a long time. We have 6 of them at school and I am on my second one.

4 of the ones at school came from Boeing, as donations. So partly yes, the downturn in fabrication has put a lot of machines on the market.

Boeing used to have over 450 welding machines in the greater Seattle area, now they have 79.

Seattle has been especially hard hit for fabricators. With Boeing outrsourcing everything globally, and the recession hammering local fabricators, many chose to leave Seattle. The last statistics I heard said we lost 17 major fabricators. They just could not afford to do business in the Seattle area anymore, and moved to Idaho, Oregon, Spokane, Montana..... wherever they could cut a deal with the locals.

There has been quite a bit of equipment for sale over the last 2 years around here. Murphy Auctions has been very very busy.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

I think they are working themselves out of a job. Pretty soon there won't be anything left to auction.

Reply to
lane

The Lincolns are a lot more relaible than the Millers ever hope to be!

Reply to
David Algie

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