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Thread: New gear to TIG weld
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16th Aug 2017, 05:46 PM #1Senior Member
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New gear to TIG weld
What TIG gear should I buy for my BOC smootharc 130 (DC stick / lift TIG) welder to learn TIG welding?
So far I have read I need:
1) A torch ($50 from total tools?). Size 17 looks good, its what "This old Tony" uses.
2) Some gas (D size argon or a smaller bottle?) Buy or rent? I have no real conception of how much you use.
Anything else? Any recommended suppliers? Thanks.
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16th Aug 2017, 06:14 PM #2Member
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Didnt you get a torch with the tig?
Buy the cylinder. You just exchange it for a full one and cost of gas. Can upscale it and pay difference at a later date too. Gasweld and a few others sell them
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16th Aug 2017, 10:17 PM #3Senior Member
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For 130amps i would probably look at a wp9 torch. Much smaller and rated to 125amps. I run a wp20 which is the same but watercooled. As for gas maybe start of with the bunnings deal. If you are using heaps maybe look into buying your own e size.
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17th Aug 2017, 12:01 AM #4Tool addict
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+1 to brendanh's recommendation of Bunnings for the argon. No rental cost, just a "deposit" on the cylinder and the refill cost ($80 or so? maybe a little more), so at worst if you crack the s***s at it you can get a large part of the outlay back, not sure if you can do that with any other cylinder seller. They only offer one size, but it's a fine size to get started on.
After that, you'll just need a regulator, and maybe a flowmeter if you want that bit of extra visual information.
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17th Aug 2017, 07:45 AM #5Member
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Bunnings is $200 deposit and $99 for the refills for a D size. Shop around and do some economics. There are better options if you want to get serious with it. Also look on gummy etc as guys may be selling cylinders they have bought and no longer use.
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17th Aug 2017, 08:41 AM #6Philomath in training
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Check the manual - an industrial TIG machine will take a generic torch and so on, but some of these small machines that are technically capable of TIG* may require particular accessories to function. There may be a particular type of torch that you need to buy.
Michael
*Not denigrating them as not being capable, just that sometimes with machines/ devices that are 'multi-functional' (and not just welders) I get the feeling the marketing guys have pushed for more function/ features without wanting to spend the money to develop the enabling 'infrastructure'.
As an example, lift start means companies don't have to develop a HF start module (so cheaper) but experienced welders I've talked to have told me that it is easier to contaminate electrodes with that starting method if not done properly.
Another one is the MIG that is pushed as being capable of welding Al, even though the seller does not include the new rollers, liner,...
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17th Aug 2017, 12:02 PM #7Diamond Member
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Provided the unit has a stick/TIG switch it should be good to go - both modes are DC constant current, the switch just changes the current regulation profile.
Having dipped the tungsten plenty of times now, I've come to realise it isn't always a show-stopper, particularly with steel, so I can see why a lift or scratch start wouldn't necessarily be such a problem.
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17th Aug 2017, 01:01 PM #8Senior Member
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Hf start isnt nessesery but it is nice to have.
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