Have you considered buying a good used machine? The old Miller 320ABP machines weld beautifully, work for stick or TIG, and can be found for around a $1,000 or so. The downside is that they weigh about 1,000 pounds.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
For the pure spirit of discussion my main TiG is a Miller Syncrwave 250

I have 2 torch options....

Standard and a micro........both water cooled

IMO....The better bare basic TiG welders power supply doesn’t make economical sence to buy just to weld a couple bolts

This is the accepted standard in my industry. There is a Lincoln machine that also is accepted, but 10x more 250 Synchrowaves.

We weld a variety of high nickel and/or cobalt superalloys, all TIG, from light delicate airfoil tips to 100 pound castings. That machine has the ability to do it all. Most everyone has the foot control, there are a handful with a thumb control but not many.

The air foil tips look like this when done:

Cavity #8 had some damage on the end

.030 H13 rod 50 top end variable amps...foot controlled

Syncrowave 250....water cooled micro torch

4x magnification

We do smaller at times

.
Some pretty fancy gluing there Ted. I would need to have my optometrist glue The Hubble Space Telescope to my forehead in order for me to try to get that cocky. lol

Nice work Mike and Ted. Anyone try out the wireless foot pedal from miller. I like the idea of one less cable around my feet.

Back in the day many decades ago-

Juicey Fruit gum wrappers were layered aluminum & wax paper.
The aluminum was .002" thick when peeled from the wax paper.

Shim stock sheared lengthwise heat sinked & fusion TIG welded was the norm.

Beer/Soda aluminum cans could be considered thick.......for the experienced.

Mold work is elementary!

Listen guys - I STILL have the biggest **** here, so put your little things away!

Thanks for starting the thread Karl but we are done with you.

quote:

Originally posted by Dans40XC:

Mold work is elementary!

Really?

By all means educate me on "molds"

We weld only in a last resort or repair of old tooling.......always

In building molds....

From checking new prints to squaring steel and drilling ejector pin or water line holes. Planning electrodes, grinding or cutting electrodes to cavity and core rough out then heat treat.

Mold base pockets and all the work a base receives to ultra precise EDM, hand polish, finish grind then turn it over to a process tech and run parts.

Easy for mold makers

We are just 5 men.....so we do it all.....start to finish and everything in between

Yes....a mold maker considers welding.....very elementary

Weld....it's actually a dirty word and considered a shame to weld "new" tooling

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:

quote:

Originally posted by Dans40XC:

Mold work is elementary!

Really?

By all means educate me on "molds"

Well Ted, I was sure Dans40XC was going to say that he could reweld tears in the gum foil to within +-.000005 without setting fire to the wax paper. He may not have said it, but you can be DAMNED sure that I'm going to use that line next time welding and whiskey get mixed together. LMAO ROFF

The shop saying for a welder who was worth his salt.....

"He can weld a log chain to a gnats ass"

Pics from last springs Por-ser-ax thread

2 cavity Briggs & Stratton gas tank mold with nitrogen assist

Sadly......all 8 of these new molds have had several engineering "adjustments" and have seen time under the torch.....

Steel and Copper (mold max)





For elementary mold work click here

.

I have heard a couple of smart-asses say they had to slow the bead a bit so they could break it off and finish the area at C18 Rockwell to save money and time on filing the edges of the bead.

There's always one comedian on every crew, I guess. lol

quote:

Originally posted by J_Zola:
Nice work Mike and Ted. Anyone try out the wireless foot pedal from miller. I like the idea of one less cable around my feet.

I cannot take credit for that work, that was done by one of the many guys in the shop. But yes, it's pretty,,,,,,pretty danged hard to do! I can do some of it, and every now and then show a younger guy a thing or two, but some of these "unskilled" (LOL) guys, are amazing.

BTW Ted, that's pretty small and fine stuff there too. Nicely done.

Boilermakers say " we can weld anything from a broken heart to the crack of dawn" LOL!!

Anyone tried the Miller Multiprocess 200 yet? Tig, stick, mig, and spoolgun! Can be found for around $2200 with the above options.

Think just weighs around 29 pounds. Looks like it would be great for traveling work.

God Bless, Louis