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Going to order a Diversion 165 online in the next day or so (> $100 cheaper than locally), figured I'd order consumables from them as well. Since I've never done this before I'd like some suggestions on what tungsten to get, etc. I'll be doing steel at first, then aluminum, once I gain some confidence (I hear steel is easier). I'll be doing sheet and tube, 1/8" thickness/wall or less. Thanks for any and all suggestions/guidance/help. I plan on buying gloves, mask, and gas locally. Thanks!Adam
Reply:I just bought this lincoln hood.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=270796731485Pretty good price considering the viewing area, 1/25,000 switching speed, grind mode, 4 sensors, battery back up comes with a carry bag and bandana...I think it's pretty good value for the money relative to some of the more expensive hoods.
Reply:Understand the Diversion 165 is very limited. It will do 1/8" on max, but has a very low duty cycle. You also give up all the advanced features with that machine. I'd suggest you save up a bit more and look at a 200 amp class tig like the Syncrowave if you are serious about this..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
Reply:I am a rookie at TIG, also. I do not claim to be a professional welder. I don't even claim to be a good welder. I do claim to enjoy it.I found that Both Ceriated and Lanthanated Tungstens work well with my Dynasty. Ceriated came with the machine, so that one should be OK. 3/32 can be ground to a fine point to obtain small diameters--HOWEVER, 1/16 is very nice, and less expensive.You will need collet bodies and collets, for the size Tung. you purchase & ceramic cups ( 2-3 each of the common sizes). The cups will work on both sizes of collet bodies. Note the size of torch you own before ordering. They will send you what you ask for, not necessarily what you really need.My LWS sold me a bunch of RG-45 filler rod, & i wasted nearly a full bottle of Argon and the filler without knowing why I was having so much trouble--lack of homework on my part contributed to that fiasco (I have no mentor, and no ability to take a course) (I'm essentially on my own.). ER70-S2 filler works great for mild steel. I find that I use much more 1/16 than 3/32, but both should be available in the shop. 308L stainless rod was recommended to me; however, I haven't done much stainless.I am relatively comfortable with steel; however, aluminum and me do not get along well at all. I know, I know---Practice, Practice, & more Practice.I find that due to age, a cheater lens in the hood is a great addition,Of course, you will need wire brushes (stainless), an angle grinder (wire brushes will not remove mill scale), clamps, and a myriad of other small items not specific to welding.A comfortable location that is free of drafts is mandatory. Being comfortable in welding position will greatly aid in the learning. I realize that I have only touched on things that I learned (or am learning) the hard way. Sometimes, another rookie can help to fill in some of the potholes.Best to you, & try not to get discouraged.Jerry in Anchorage
Reply:Buy some soft gloves, bottle of argon and good helmet. Don't buy cheap helmet, buy second hand speedglas or optrel and you'll be good for 10 years. You have only one pair of eyes so it's worth paying 100$ more for good quality helmet.Buy few tungstens, cups and collets, if you'll be welding stainless buy some #8 gas lens too. Also get some small cooper blocks, they're usefull as heat sinks for thin material. Buy few stainless wire brushes and use one only for stainless, one only for aluminium,...Go to metal shop and buy some scrap metal and aluminium and practice.Last edited by ravselj; 08-16-2011 at 06:12 AM.
Reply:The cheapest accessory is probably the most important...to me anyway.Go down and get one of those fishing boxes with the adjustable compartments. Keep all your collets, nozzles, tungstens, etc. in there. Label what's in each compartment. Other than that if you stick with it a while tools will find you. A bigger shop building is always a nice accessory.AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:after you find out the type of torch you have (wp-18, 26, ect) look for consumables on Ebay.You can get a package deal with different sizes.http://cgi.ebay.com/33-pcs-TIG-Torch...item3a694b04a3Also tungston 1.5% lanthanated works for most types of welding. Get some scrape cleaned metal and play with it.Make some toys (clamps, torch holders, welding cart ) for practice.Watch videos of welding http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...-reviewed.htmland enjoy have funTomLast edited by acourtjester; 08-16-2011 at 10:28 AM.Reason: add info
Reply:When I shopped around I heard that the 165 is a meh machine and the diversion 180 is a step in the right direction and badass machine. I'm new like you and I do it just because I like to. I bought the 180 and never looked back. I figured I do it as a hobby and not a professional and I wanted to buy 1 machine and not have to upgrade later down the line. Worth EVERY penny.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:It would be good to get a couple stainless tooth brushes.Make sure you have a 80-100 grit flap wheel for your small hand grinder.Tig gloves.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder
Reply:A lot of good suggestions. I'll add mine.The 180 if you are going to do aluminum.Get a good helmet. You will learn soon enough that what you see is what you get with welding. The pros can get away with sense of smell to tell if a bead is good, the rest of us need to _SEE_ it. Auto-darkening with adjustable shades, stick with Jackson, Optrel, Miller, maybe Lincoln. If you are pushing 40 or more in age, get cheater lenses. Try 1.5 first, later 2.5 (talk to your optometrist about reading glasses strength).Buy gloves locally. TIG welding requires good feel and the ability to hold the filler. Thinner gloves typically than MIG or stick. Try them on. I have a couple pairs of Black Stallion "Tigster" gloves. You'll want a welding jacket as well. For me, I wear t-shirts around the shop. Many of those have holes etc. in them. Welding sleeves are not enough. I also have leather half jacket. When I know sparks are going to hit me (welding under car) I prefer leather.I'm pretty sure a new Diversion comes with everything else to get started but a bottle of gas. You _NEED_ to get a way to secure that bottle. Either chain it to a wall or chain it to a cart.If this is the first time you had to deal with high pressure gas, please please read the safety instructions that comes with the regulators and are pretty much in all the safety manuals. To put in perspective, 2000psi of pressure, forced through an opening 1in square, would mean 2000 lbs of thrust... the bottle weighs 50-100lbs. Than means 10-20 Gs acceleration. That's missile territory.Safety first.Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:Guys, thanks for all the replies. Sorry for my lack of quicker reply. Last week my hours were cut in half at work for 6 weeks and I was stressing about whether or not I should go through with this purchase. **** it, I'm going to. With my hours cut, I have all the more time to practice welding There are two LWS near me (Chicago), I'm probably going to buy the welder online and get all my accessories from them, armed with the info I have learned online and via your responses, as well as trusting their suggestions. The stores get good reviews. Everything I have read implies that between the 165 and the 180, it's really not worth spending the extra $ to get the 180, when all you really get is 15 more amps at a ridiculously low duty cycle. Check it out:http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/spec_sheets/AD1-5.pdfThe 115V might be nice to practice on thin metal inside during the winter, but I'm not sure if its worth the extra $435. But wait, the 150 rebate... down to a $285 price diference... $150 pedal for a pedal, down to $135 price difference... however that would be a much better SSC pedal than the diversion pedal that supposedly sucks... hhhhhh now I don't know what to do. Instinct is telling me to stick with the 165 and save the cash, I'm pretty low on that right now. - Adam
Reply:get the 180 , i bought a 110v as my first welder and regreted it later . ................. just dont eat out for a couple weeks and eat romen noodles for a month . then ull be set on money and ull have lost a few lbs .>Innovations are what i leave behind for History
Reply:Originally Posted by Thiel-Metal-Fabget the 180 , i bought a 110v as my first welder and regreted it later . ................. just dont eat out for a couple weeks and eat romen noodles for a month . then ull be set on money and ull have lost a few lbs .
Reply:The 165's torch is for 3/32 tungsten - does this mean that I want to use 3/32 filler rod? If rod is sold by the pound, how much is a good starting amount? Remember, I'm a hobby welder, not commercial. 5 pounds?Why would I want to get different size cups, aside from using narrower ones to get into tight corners?Thanks,Adam
Reply:You can probably run different sized tungstens with it just fine, you'll just need another collet. With 3/32" tungsten, Id get some 1/16" filler for small stuff and some 3/32" for larger, and maybe even some 1/8" for when you've got it maxed out. Id say that 5 pounds would be plenty, since it also comes in like 1 or 2 pound tubes, things will be easy for you.[Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Originally Posted by OakBehringerThe 165's torch is for 3/32 tungsten - does this mean that I want to use 3/32 filler rod?
Reply:Originally Posted by OakBehringerIf rod is sold by the pound, how much is a good starting amount? Remember, I'm a hobby welder, not commercial. 5 pounds?
Reply:You best save for the 180 or better as you can always turn the machine down, you can't always turn it up though and 165 amps just isn't enough and you will see it and regret it.Do you have a gas (argon) bottle?Why don't you take the online price down to the LWS and see if they will match it. It is always better to buy from them. They might give you a package deal also if you get everything at one time. Plus they have the gases you need.I would use 1/16 rods in everything you will weld, and get some 3/32 aluminum. That is basically all you will need.Get some acetone to wipe down your rods before use since they will probably be stored in the open.Get a 120 grit sanding wheel for the grinder to sharpen your tungsten, it will provide a smoother finish then 40-80 grit. make sure you DO NOT use this wheel for anything else as you will start off with a contaminated tungsten.And don't forget to have fun..... welding get very annoying, and you just need to be patient.
Reply:Every place I called said the 165 was ok, but the 180 was much much better.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:I have a 180 and I am glad that I bought it...The only thing I can say I don't like is that I wish you can stick weld with it..On a side note I bought mine from the local airgas and they now give me a discount on anything I buy from there, buying locally is a great idea..
Reply:Went to two stores yesterday. First one didn't have either model in stock and quoted me $2700 for the 180. Obviously their rep read me the MSRP, not their actual selling price (I hope!), but I wasn't impressed and left. Airgas had the 165 in stock and the guy working there was really nice. I took it home! Just got finished nursing my hangover, bout to go out and try to lay my first-ever TIG beads. Very excited.
Reply:Oh my ****ing god that machine is fun. So far I'm really happy with it. For a guy who, until yesterday, had never held a tig torch, this machine is perfect. Took me a couple hours to turn the damn thing on because I was stressing about silly thing like "is my tungsten sharpened right!!?!" and "how far out should the tungsten stick!?" Haha - Once I turned it on and started welding I realized how little those details mattered at this point. Practiced a few runs without rod, just watching the pool, playing with the amperage dial. Then I went through about 3 or 4 rods laying down what sorta look like beads, even welded a few pieces of metal together, sorta. I learned quickly that no amount of reading and video watching can learn you the tiny details to this art that I instantly lacked. So much fun, though. Last night I did a ton of reading and video watching, this time with specific questions in mind, and I'm armed with a new wealth of knowledge, ready to get out there and practice again. Too bad it's my brother's birthday and I can't get out there right now!Thanks for all your help. I would have ended up with the 180 if it was in stock, but I'm glad they only had the 165-- at least at this point. I really don't think it would have been worth the extra $400 for the 180. If I ever feel like I'm beyond the capabilities of the 165, I don't buying the 180 would have been the solution. - Adam
Reply:Ok now you have a tig welder make yourself some tools.Like clamps, cable holders, welding cart and torch holder. Small projects to get some practice and have fun. Most will not take a lot of metal so they are cheap but you get pleasure from making them.Maybe some wall art check around on the web there are many project that can build skills. You may even pick a buck or two selling wall art.check out this guy and or site for need projects.http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=629Have funTom Attached Images
Reply:some of the every day things that you have looked at will start to become a tool, as mentioned above, a storage box is really nice, I have also picked up the plastic tooth brush holders to use as tig rods seperated by color. Keep your eyes open for ideas stay open to learning and have fun, you will burn up alot of aluminum, steel, and argon, just enjoy.
Reply:Thanks for the advice, everyone. I made a third hand, a dog out of a spark plug and some old bolts, an covered a 48" x 2" piece of steel with beads. Going to work on some joints today. Thanks again!Adam |
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发表于 2021-8-31 23:24:21