first time tig welder today

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Hi i recently purchased a lincoln square wave tig 175.  I fiinally got to use the machine today and i have to say it was very fun and extremely hard..haha   My question is would it be easier to lean the tig technique if i bought the hand amptrol.only asking becuase i can already tell that using both hands and a foot pedal is difficult. My first strike i made with filler rod and trying to do all three motions at same time i was litterly luaghing out loud when i finished burning a hole through metal and told my self why the " beep" did i buy this..haha  hopefully i will progress with time i purchased machine to do more percise work on my race car,,,,brackets, tubes, aluminum mounts ext. i relized today how much i love my mig welder.  any tips would be nice
Reply:Get a few hundred hrs of seat time then decide.  Actually foot pedal is easier.  Trying to manipulate the finger control and hold the torch steady and move the puddle with one hand is even more difficult.    Start on mild steel, set the amps and don't even bother with the pedal at all.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:I learned with a finger control and I'm glad that I learned that way. But that's just me
Reply:Set the filler rod aside for now.  Work on just getting the arc started and under control. After you have run a few beads with out the filler then try working that in to the mix also.I learned on a pedal and have since gone to a finger control. I still like the pedal for bench work but use the finger control when I am working on a piece somewhere else.From the desk of Kevin CaronTrying to be the best me I can!www.kevincaron.comAHP Alpha Tig 200x MillerMatic 251Miller Syncrowave 200
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawGet a few hundred hrs of seat time then decide.  Actually foot pedal is easier.  Trying to manipulate the finger control and hold the torch steady and move the puddle with one hand is even more difficult.
Reply:I also agree with getting hours and hours and hours of seat time.  I find using both hands easy, so just adding the pedal wasn't so hard for me (been playing guitar for 20yrs).  I also started welding to fab stuff up for my race car.  I'm barely on my 3rd 125 ft³ bottle of argon, but the 2nd and 3rd ones came and went in a pair of weeks, and I know I still need lots lots more time.  I welded up some modified longtube headers that you can read about in the Projects forum.
Reply:thank you all for advice and dsw thanks for tips i will use them this weekend i also didnt kno anything about sharpining tungsten....ps i signed up for a adult welding class at a local vocantional school starts in few weeks they teach tig in the one i signed up for.lincoln square wave tig 175blue point mb140 mig
Reply:Post up picts of your welds along with setting info, material thickness and so on and we will help you with suggestions. Remember the more info you give us, the less we have to guess at, and the better your replies will be.Remember you need to grind all the mill scale off the surfaces you will be welding with a grinder. A wire wheel will not cut it.  Also stop and regrind as soon as you dip the tungsten. As far as grinding the tungsten you want to grind with the point "into" the wheel, not across from it and sharpen it like a pencil..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan