Bought some new stuff
 

So, I added some new things to my collection of fabrication tools. I bought a plasma cutter with auto pilot, a plasma table, a fancy circle cutting holder for it, and a spool gun for one of my MIGs. (So now I can weld alum with both mig or TIG).

Anything else I need? lol

-- Joe

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

That's sort of a random post... like what brand/size on all of that??? What kind of plasma table?

I have a MM211MVP which came with a spoolmate 100 that I modified to use standard (larger) contact tips, I now use that for quick work on aluminum more than I use my Synchrowave (honestly I'm very comfortable with MIG, not soo much with TIG) and an Everlast 50A plasma ;)

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

The cutter is a colossal ? Chinese made surely, 50 amp. Table is from eastwood, the slat type.

The spool gun is chinese, and was cheap (like $75). I have a few 240v mig welders in the basement, so I figured I'd use it on one of those. Came with cable, and a quick connect plug.

I have a Miller EconoTig, but without a foot pedal it sucks. I use it mainly for stick welding. It has high frequency, but no foot control and I don't think I can add one due to the way the temp crank works.

-- Joe

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

I also have an Econotig and just finished making a few mods to it.
How old is your model that it does not have a foot pedal?
Does it have the 14 pin connector on the front panel?

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

My bad, it's an "Econo Twin HF" which was made in the mid 70s I guess ?

You basically have this weird dial crank for amperage, so if you are using it to do say 1/8" stainless you can set it and do it, but if you are trying to TIG like a 1/4" flange to some 16 gauge pipe without the foot control it's easy to end up with a mess.

It's a PITA to use it on aluminum.

But for Stick use, it's a fantastic machine. I can stick 1/2" without issue, it has a great stable arc.

-- Joe

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

How/Why would you use a spool gun on a TIG machine for aluminum?

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

No idea, I bought it for one of my MIGs. (See first post).

-- Joe

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

Oh, I took it that you were going to use the spool gun to TIG weld aluminum.

Re: Bought some new stuff
 

Oh no. The transformer in a TIG/Stick machine can't do MIG/SPOOL.

I have a couple of cheap chinese harbor freight 240v welders in the basement, I think I'll take one apart, run the 24v leads to the spool gun and use that. It's a 150amp DC machine, so it should do aluminum ok.

I've done aluminum with my MIG, but the second I have an arc failure it birds nests inside the machine.

And as stated, my TIG sucks without a foot pedal.

-- Joe