TIG welder

propos · Post by **propos** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:53 pm

Well, I had some time tonight between work and a doctor's appointment so I went over to HF to check out the welders. They had the 220v TIG welders for $199 so I bought one. Nice little unit. Will even arc weld. Problem is I have never learned to weld. Guess I will now. It is always something that I wanted to learn to do anyway. I read Pirate's TIG 101 tutorial. Very informative. Thanks Pirate.

Still have items to pick up yet. Like a welding mask , gloves, argon tank, flow meter, etc. I am in the process of building a new work bench in the basement. What I had before was adequate for building AK's but more room is going to be needed for the 42. There are some good welding shops around here and one of the guys at work is a welder. I was getting some advice from him about tig welding.

Building this SA-42 is going to be one hell of a learning process. I've been spending lots of time here reading the posts. I'm a little overwhelmed right now, but I am sorting things out. From what I have read the FAL FCG is the way to go for a trigger and hammer assembly. I am still unclear obout the bolt modifications. Do you use the original bolt and modify it so it cannot be used as a FA bolt? I understand the part about enlarging the grip stick opening so that a FA grip stick can't be used. Same with the bolt stud. Give me time guys. I'm learning

Once I get the kit in hand and the manual I will have a better idea what I am looking at. Nothing like knowing what the parts are and where they go an how they interact with each other.

Post by **Pirate** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:52 pm

Welcome to the site and the world of beltfeds. learning to TIG is not really hard, if you have an experienced welder get you started it will be even easier. Just have patience and practice!!

acmech · Post by **acmech** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:04 pm

Did you get to use a coupon propos? I have posted that I have a 10% off the entire purchase coupon thats good till the 25th, you could have used it to get just about everything from HF. Since I don't know a lot about theses builds I can't help much there, but I do get Harbor freight coupons in my email so I like to let guys here have them to save some money to spend on ammo.

Post by **Büchsenmacher** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 8:24 am

The only distance between a novice TIG welder and a good TIG welder is about 10 large bottles of argon. You need a lot of practice but not necessarily a lot of metal and filler rod.

Post by **Bullwinkle** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:33 pm

Holy MOLEY....I couldn't figure out what I was looking at until I realized it was a RAZOR BLADE.....You outta be a BRAIN SURGEON with hands that steady!!

Post by **Blanksguy** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:51 am

propos,

What welding material and gas were you using when you did those welds?....and what settings on your HF "TIG" welder?

Also.....gas-mixture and gas-pressure settings?

Thanks you for the information, RichardS.
Blanksguy2001@chartermi.net

Post by **Büchsenmacher** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:24 pm

That weld was done with a Micro welding unit, under a microscope. The torch was a small size gas cooled handpiece with a gas lens and collet and a .020 tungsten ground to a long thin point.
The filler rod was centerless ground to .010 dia. and the power setting was in the 0-3 amp range. Both hands are restrained/supported in mechanical rests. The workpiece is held in a jewlers vise. Spent the last 41 years as a tool/die/ modelmaker and some of that has been welding. Lots and lots of practice.

Post by **duv41** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:45 am

Propos - Like the other guys said good TIG welding takes practice and its fun. I'm a stainless welder/maint. tech and never tire of the welding. Good luck with your new welder and have fun.

Buchsenmacher - awesome weld![/i]

propos · Post by **propos** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:38 pm

I'm really looking forward to this project. Welding is something I always wanted to learn. A long time ago I worked for an outfit called ALTO Corp. They made bakery equipment and installed it. I had a nice paid vacation in Jacksonville one winter, compliments of the company. Anyway, I did sheetmatal work and bent pipe, etc. They were going to teach me to weld. One day one of the welders didn't show up so the foreman was going to show me how to weld. Just got set up to weld when the guy showed up. Foreman sent me back to what I was doing and that was that. I quit not long after that so I never got a chance to learn. Became a carpenter. Not much welding required there, although it would have come in handy at times. So now I am going to learn to weld finally. Damn useful skill to have. Never know when you might need something welded around the house. Like a firearm.