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many TIG questions

Hi, i am building a TIG welder and have some questions mainly on safty:

1) as i understand the HF start pulse is superimposed on the weldig current, and therefore goes through the main power cable and torch. does this not cause problems with arking through the relitavly thin insolation? i have got a profesional torch and cable and the conductor is just stuffed down the middle of the argon pipe. it looks like it might hold of the voltage (about 10Kv?) but i want to be shour.

2) information on electrode colour codes seems ambigious or contradictory. so far i have seen white, grey, red and yellow. what aditives do these colors represent? are they even standardised?

3) do thorium doped electrodes pose a helth hazard? i find the idea of grinding radioactive materal (to form a point on the end) rather worying, not to mension the fumes produced by electrode erosion.

4) which electrode do i use for which metals?

5) what volume of gas does one get in those little desposable cylinders? i'm wondering wether i'm better of with them or getting a refilable (and probably rather expensive) BOC

Thanks Oliver

Reply to
Drendle
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Thorium is radioactive. The radioisotopes in thoriated tungsten are alpha emitters. They emit alpha particles composed of two neutrons and two protons. These alpha particles are effectively stopped by a few inches of air, your epidermis, or a sheet of paper and are not considered a problem as long as they stay outside your body. However, if they get inside, they are considered carcinogenic.

Don't know how much they hold, but almost certainly not enough if you are going to do more than a very little welding. And you will pay through the nose for it. 12 to 15 CFH is typically an optimal flow rate. Typical refillable cylinder used in welding shops holds about 300 CF, so would be good for 20 or so hours of welding. You can get smaller refillable cylinders to fit your needs. But the smaller you go, typically the more you pay per CF because the labor to fill the cylinders is the same.

Reply to
footy

Thanks, thats very helpfull

Oliver :)

Reply to
Drendle

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