New Tool: TIG welder!

 Catching up on a lot that has happened in the last year or so.

This one was back in May of 2019 (i need to do a better job keeping up with this blog...)

I've had a little 115v lincoln weldpak with a mig upgrade kit on it for many years, and I love it. It's portable, easy to use, and lets me do all kinds of fun projects, including fun stuff with my kids (like this guy who Max calls "No-name Rick 2, the robot dog):

Anyway, I've always wanted a few abilities that I don't have with that welder. Thicker steel, aluminum and stainless, and very thin steel, just to name a few. Plus, I like to try to build new skills, and TIG welding is a lot more of an art than MIG. For those reasons, in May of 2019 I finally bit the bullet and bought a TIG welder. Specifically an AHP Alphatig 201xd. Its a relatively inexpensive but capable machine, according to the internet and a friend of mine.

 

I put up a nice little welding curtain so I can weld with the garage door open without worrying too much about neighbor's eyes.

2 years later, I am really glad I bought this machine. DC TIG on steel is a joy, it's so quiet and controlled compared to MIG. That being said, it's still a lot more prep and requires a lot more care. If I just want quick and dirty welds, I reach for the MIG.

I have only tried stainless a few times. They were successful, but the mistakes are MUCH harder to grind off than mild steel!

I also did some successful tig brazing with silicon bronze to mount a cast iron vise onto a steel plate. Not something I'm super good at, but it wasn't hard to make it work.

Aluminum is the fun one. It requires a lot of skill and I don't really do it often enough to get much better at it, but I can make it work if you give me enough tries (and tungstens!).  

Here are a few ugly aluminum attempts and messed up tungsten electrodes to make others feel better about their welding skill:

In general I think this is a great machine, and I thoroughly enjoy using it despite the relatively steep learning curve.