New (to me) and not sure what I have

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Hey all.  Been lurking here for a long time and learned a lot so far.  I never touched a welder until about a year ago when I picked up one of the HF 90A flux machines on sale with the 2 year warranty for $80 OTD.  Realized quick that I wanted something better, so I got an Eastwood 135 Mig this week, with a 150CF C25 bottle from the local Airgas.I've decided that I want to learn ARC, and I've got a machine that I got for free.  The story is that my Grandpa got it from a boat shop in the 70's that was going out of business, and that it was converted for TIG.  It's an old Craftsman 230A 240V machine with a high frequency box on the side.  Haven't had much time to play with it yet since I still don't have 220 ran to the garage, but I know it powers up and will strike an arc.  What confuses me though is the tig gun that I found with it.  Looks to be homemade, and the bottle connection isn't a normal cylinder fitting.  Can anybody tell me what I have?  What are my options with this if I decide I want to try and tig with it in the future? The gun looks cobbled together out of pipe fittings and an electrode holder.  Figure worst case scenario I buy a new gun and bottle for it, and if it doesn't work I'm out the cost of a gun and have a spare tank for the mig.The welder as she sits nowAnd the HF BoxThe sketchy tig gun
Reply:Trash the old tig torch and buy a weld raft wp17 with a gas valvehttp://www.weldingcity.com/tig-compl...-shipping.html Hook the conector block to your hi freq box and get a regulator with an argon bottle, your ready to tig!The hi freq box is for welding alluminum and for hi freq arc start.  You can also use the hi freq with stick electrodes.If you decide to get the unit up and running feel free to ask any questions! I have a miller thunderbolt with a lincoln hi freq box that I use quite often!Real welders know how to penetrate!(Equipment)Whatever can be used to beat my opponent into submission!
Reply:What the h3ll is that contraption shoved inside your stick stinger? I'd actually like to have that to add too my WTF pile. Lol
Reply:That is def an old school tig deal.   The cannon on the end of the pipe is where the collect is.   If you twist that it should open up and you could slide the tungsten in.    The twist valves between the pointy things start and stop the gas flow.   The fact that this is all clamped directly in the stinger shows tig in its most elementary form.    Modern scratch start tig rigs still have the gas nozzle, valve, ext.  Then they have the hose with an embedded cable back 15' to a metal connector block that you clamp your stinger on to and connect your gas hose to. I would love to run your rig, just for the thrill of playing with an antique. BTW when you run a tig rig on you welder, you switch polarity on your leads.Thermal Arc  Power-Tech 10/270  stick welderLincoln buzz-boxPurox O/A setupNothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool
Reply:Awesome guys, thanks for the info.  I finally had a chance to make an extension cord for it, so I've finally got power for it out to the shop.  It powered up just fine, and the fans kicked on.  And the HF box turned on too.  Planning on possibly pulling the panels and cleaning it out this weekend before running it.  Never used an arc before, so I'm hoping the learning curve isn't too steep.  But I've got a piece of 2x2 ft scrap 1/4" plate and 10 pounds of 6011 rods ready to go.
Reply:Good to hear it fires up! Maintenance is a much overlooked part of metal work, your on the right track pulling the covers and cleaning your equipment before you use it! I'd blow the dust out and possibly lube the moving parts with a little dielectric grease or anti seize.Also.. You might want to pick up a couple pounds of 7014 or 7018 rods, after using the 6011 you will be amazed at the difference in ease of running and appearance (7014 and 7018 are "drag" rods) Anyway good luck with it and have fun practicing!Real welders know how to penetrate!(Equipment)Whatever can be used to beat my opponent into submission!