Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
I started alloy tig welding about 40 years ago using one of these.
http://www.graysonline.com/lot/0004-5000686/engineering-and-toolmaking/sheet-metal-welder-emf-pilot-arc-6-5-kva-150-amps-415-volt-3-phase-po
Add says 150 amp but they are actually 200 amp, a few years after buying my first one I got a second and joined them together and had a 400 amp AC high frequency welder.
They were in service doing repairs on mainly Harley engine cases and heads up until about 5 years ago when I picked up a new 350 amp inverter machine that was made in China and it has worked well in that time.
I stopped doing the Harley shit just after buying the new welder as I just got sick of welding and dealing with the shops.
A good 200 amp welder sounds like it will do all you want but the foot pedal are really only good if you can sit at a welding table, I have one with the new welder but hardly use it.
Someone was talking about filler rod earlier. You will need atleast 3 types if you are to play with bike stuff. I mainly use 5% silicon on cases as it is the lowest melting point, the 5% mag is the strongest and machines better but is more prone to cracking on cooling, pure magnesium also comes in handy but it is expensive and hard to get.
With the Gas. Boc do a deal with the D size[small] bottles where you pay $108 rental a year and get 1 free fill of gas a year. Bunning have it now as well with a $200 refundable deposit on the cylinder and no rental. I still pay the $240 year rental on the E size argon as I go through a bit and it is about half the price for the gas in the big bottles.
Good luck and do plenty of practise before doing your big fin head.
see if I can get close enough for a pic,,,Whilst I am sure Pete will help with advice Mick I throw a bit in as I have done the big fin head myself. I used 20x3 flat bar cut roughly to length. Best to give the edge you are welding a quick run over with a flapdisk. Prepare everything and do a dummy run clamps etc all ready to go. Pre heat the head till when you spit on it, it sizzles. I would use a 2.4 tungsten and 10mm shroud set the square arc to narrow to help stop the tip boiling, Run the gas a little higher around 18 to help cool the tip.
The welder looks fine to me , I have a correct 15amp power outlet for my welders.
Ac Dc inverter pulse WSME 200 tig ( pro weld product ) Yes its made in China, but it has served me well over the past 8 years and very pleased with its
performance S/steel ...aliminium ... magnesium ...mildsteel .
Good choice Mick. I've just gone and had a look at mine and it is a Unimig.
use 5% Mg rods as I believe motorcycle components have a certain amount of Mg in their makeup, but Geoff would know more about this and may be able to offer some input.
If you've oxy welded aluminium you will have no trouble at all tig welding it - can't wait to see some of your work.
Yeah I hope it turns out to be a good choice. Stayed up most of that first night reading opinions etc from all over the web,,, they seem to have a great wrap and are rebranded as others. Order done 
BOC. I signed up last year for the GIANT for $249 rent per year but that includes a free cylinder swap each year as well as giving me a free cyl when I signed up. This means 2 free swaps in the first year and one per year after that.
Zane
Mick.200 amp will do 8mm okay and more
Foot controls are over rated
For thick material though you will need a water cooled torch.
Unimigs used to be good welders but I don't know what they are like these days, hardly anybody makes there own welders anymore, most of them are rebadged to suit the seller.
Quality units are $5-6 grand
There are a lot of these style of units around between $1-2 grand
The old story; you get what you pay for.
Its the duty cycle that comes into it if your going to be welding all day long.
Have you TIG welded before?
If not then factor in a couple of bottles of argon and lost of scraps to get the hang of it.
Controlled melting, you have to develop judgements, not unlike buying a MX bike and then learning to ride
Same thing here but I know nothing of the seller
https://www.ewelders.com.au/uni-mig-tig-mma-200amp-ac-dc-inverter/
You will need a 15 Amp plug and a dedicated 4mm2 circuit unless you like running out to the power box a lot. Plenty of people file the earth pin down so it fits in a 10amp GPO but normal wiring is only 1.5mm2()
