Tig with Miller Big 40????????

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I have a older miller big 40 ,and a friend gave me tig gun hose reg ,is there a way to run this off my big 40 ? Cheaply. He said he has seen it done but could not tell me how or what I need.Thanks
Reply:If you have CC mode, tigging steel is pretty easily accomplished.  You just need the torch (gun?), regulator and a tank of argon to get scratch start tig...add high freq (or capicator start) for starting the arc without touching the workpiece with the torch (and for doing aluminum in ac).  Is your torch air or water cooled?  If it's water cooled you will need to figure out some way to run water through it.Last edited by smithboy; 01-23-2006 at 09:10 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:??? new at this what is CC mode also how do I add high freqor capacitor start???sorry for all the beginner questions.Thanks
Reply:torch is air cooled and I have regulator, hoses and argon bottle from trying aluminum with my SP125 mig.Thanks
Reply:Ok, I guess I thought since you had a big 40, you were more experienced, just not with tig.  That's a whopper of a machine you got...CC means constant current.  All of the big 40s I have ever seen have both a CC mode and a CV mode (for constant voltage).  You can generally think of CC mode as being for stick welding and for tig welding.  CV mode is for attaching a wire feeder (mig) unit and welding with wire.  You dont use cv mode for stick or tig...at least I have never done it.  I do not recall if the big 40 has AC current...seems like some do and some dont...I am really not certian at all about that.  If you want to do mainly steel, stainless and the like, all you need to do is hook up the gas and the torch, flip the selector to CC and scratch start.  High frequency is used to start an arc without scratching the tungsten across the surface of the workpiece.  It's like a little spark from a sparkplug that gets the arc started.  For steel, you just need it to get things going (in dc).  For aluminum, you need it on all the time (continuously) to maintain an arc...otherwise, the arc dies out.  You also need AC output current, but folks have used dc for aluminum...not me though, at least not yet.  High frequency is not required, but it's nice to have.  You can add it on later if you dont have it.  Most likely you either dont have it or dont know if you have it....either way, dont worry about that for now.get the torch hooked up, gas flowing through it, tungsten properly sharpened, and polarity set for DCEN and keep the amps low to begin with...you may not know the rating of the torch, but likely it's 150 amps or less if it's air cooled...so, dont over do it on the amps.  Scratch starting takes a bit of practice...so, dont get discouraged.  Expect a substantial amount of failure before you start to figure things out also.  Dont get discouraged...also, dont weld anything you really love either.  Start with scrap.  You might want to go to the miller or lincoln websites and look for GTAW guides to get a better pictorial idea of what you need to do.  Both sites have nice pdf documents with lots of pictures.  They really help novices visualize the process.  It would also probably be a good idea to read a bit before you start.  What doesnt initially make good sense will start to make better sense as you get more practice.http://www.millerwelds.com/education...pamphlets.htmlhttp://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/gtawbook.pdfhttp://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/Read, read, read, and then practice, practice, practice...or, you can mix the order of those up a bit.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Great Info thanks wont get around to trying it for a few weekend yet.And yes I am a beginer picked up Big 40 on a sealed bid auction it was missing starter .cooling fan ,and air cleaner tube , $400 canadian.Bought another dead continental eng at another yard sale for $30 ,it had starter and fan +spare parts .Figured it would be better than old buzz box for working on backhoe and dump truck, mobile for around the yard.Now just want to try out tig since I aquired most of the equipment.I appreciate your time !!!!!Thanks ,I'll try to get some pics after I start
Reply:WOW!  If you have a place to run it...man, you got a deal.  Glad I could help.  Take some pictures of the welder and post um.  I just like to see what kind of snags folks get.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Heres some pics ,no time yet to figure out how to use tig.Just got camera
Reply:YEAH BUDDY!!!  You need a concrete slab to sit that thing on....not that it requires it....just that it would look even more massive that way.  Also, add a bunch of CAUTION signs with lightning bolts.  What a snag!!!Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:i know im kinda late here.  For a lot of these applications you need a tig torch witha gas valve because without a remote the gas dont know when to come on.  The gas valve is built into the torch body.IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Going to put it on trailer.Also needs turn up with flapper on exhaust gotta have that flapper happening!!!!