I been thinkin I need a Tig welder,,,   I read somewhere, where you can fashion a Tig set up by using an ARC welder for power,,,?? Any truth to that or no,,??

 Reason I ask is I have an opportunity to latch onto one of those Lincoln Model AC-225-S arc welder with the red cathedral top in like new condition. He also has a brand new  200 amp Tig Torch WeldMark brand air cooled.

 Yes,,No,,,,,HF has brand new ones from China for bout $350 but,,,,,,I can get into the Lincoln for $100,,,,yes,,,NO,,?

shameless dude wrote: what dos a "tig" do that other don't?

   Well Shameless,,,when the "shore Nuff" welders on here wakes up,, maybe they can tell you,,,,,

 I'm bettin ole Thad will tell us both,,,,

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I've got one of those..Lincoln Model AC-225-S arc welders... best $250 I ever spent, 25+ years ago ! I ONLY use brand name E7018AC rods and have weld rider decks to snowplows. I was going to convert to DC( have parts) but not needed, bottom line.

It's an AC only welder so not TIG or MIG, those use DC. Maybe (?) the TIG/MIG adapter has AC to DC conversion in it ?

TIG means Tungsten Inert Gas

MIG means Metal Inert Gas

or so I'e been told..

Unless you've got a lot of time and a NEED for TIG, farm out the job to a pro shop,cheaper in the long run.TIG needs gas bottles, ultra clean metal,patience and steady hands...

I've only need 2-3 TIG jobs, bartered them off to neighbour as he's a PRO at it !

 Well,,Many Thanks to all for the good info Guys,,,, After more readin,,it seems TIG requires a DC machine and this one is an AC machine and as ole Jay states a "conversion" AC to DC kit is available,,but Chit,, then you start goin round and round spendin money to get to where you want to be. This Lincoln AC-225 is in great original condition but I already gots another 225 amp arc welder,,,,

 The dude texted me and is wantin to trade the old Lincoln for a mig gas rig and I only gots 4 of those,,,,, I may trade "one" of the Campbell Hausfeld Pro 140 Gas Migs I got from Home depot,,,and,,,and,,one was Free as in "Free" as some of ya'll might remember,,,,,

 I'll prolly go ahead and trade for the Lincoln AC225 as it is in really nice shape and I only gots one arc welder,,,, kinda like tools,,,you can't have just one,,,,

 OH,,and By the way,,,,Thad,,I finally did buy a Pro 175 Lincoln mig, 220 VAC that sure does weld great,!!,,,glad I followed your advise to get a quality machine.

 Hey JC,,it lookin more and more like I should have a DC machine so I can run everybody's favorite , 7018 Low Hydrogen,,,?????

I'd have  a DC machine, IF I could justify it. Only make 2-3 trailers a year plus 'things' around here...I can make good, strong welds with 7018ac rods all day long.

I did try a 'flux core wire welder' ( they're DC ) but after a morning of &^&^*&^* around, used my 25+ years old AC welder and got the job DONE.

If I need ultra precise, fancy welding  I just ask neighbour.....

Jay

re: ...I got 30+ sticks of 5/16 and 3/8 solid, cut into 200+ pieces, ready to weld.

if you hadn't cut them up, you wouldn't need to weld them back together

cut 200 times and STILL too short....

Like Coke, I have more than one welder.... Actually, I have at least... uh... lessee.... twelve... uh... mebbie thirteen... I'd hafta go count again.

I have AC and DC stick welders, and at least ten different types of welding rods, including high-nickel cast rods, hardfacing, and at times, even some silicon-bronze.  Several of those are engine driven machines, and one of the engine-drivens is both CC (stick/tig) and CV (wire-feed MIG).

I have several MIG welders, with four different types of wire.  Two are Miller CPs... one is a CP-200, the other is a CP-300.  (Both the CPs and the SRH-333 are 3-phase machines that have been converted to single-phase)

I have one HF arc starter, bottle, and foot controller unit that will allow me to run TIG from my Miller SRH-333.

I have an Airco Heliwelder (a TIG) with HF arc starting/stabilization, liquid cooling, footpedal control, purge timers, etc.,

When stick welding, one can use AC or DC, and the success you get is dependant upon having the proper rod, grounding quality, polarity setting, and power range for the rod and position type.  There are rods specifically for AC use, and rods specifically for DC use.  Crossing them assures that a good weld will be difficult, and not as successful as using the proper rod.  For what it's worth, 95% of my stick welding is done with DC, and when I'm stick welding, it's rarely thinner than 3/8", and the rod is no sissy.

Tig welding differs from stick and MIG in a very basic way-  the arc does NOT exist between the filler and parent metal.

Using a TIG, is more like gas torch welding, than arc welding... you start the torch, heating the parent metal, then bring in the rod and drip a little in, then move.  Imagine that you're doing it with an acetylene torch and a piece of steel rod... same thing, but when you don't have enough heat, rather than messing with gas valves, you push down with your foot, or turn a knob on the torch with your thumb.  If it's too much heat, you back off with the footpedal or knob.

When welding steel, you see the metal change color from plain, to red, and eventually you get a puddle.  When welding aluminum, you see... aluminum... and then... a puddle... that  appears immediately, grows rapidly, and falls onto your shoe.  Aluminum passes heat several hundred times FASTER than steel, so you have to get in there close, kick the heat on, bring it up HARD... and as soon as there's a puddle, back off, and MOVE... so that the area you added filler to cools and solidifies... and you keep the torch arc moving forward (the heat is going that way), and you have to constantly balance that arc power in order to keep from heating too much, and melting through.

TIG is great for exotic metals... stainless, titanium, as well as brazing (brass or silicon bronze), because you don't have to do anything major aside from swap electrodes (30 seconds) and turn a few knobs, grab the right rod, and go.  That little TIG torch gives you the ability to get really good results in a really small spot.

But don't go cheap.  People that get frustrated with different types of welding, fail because they either have a machine that isn't set up or maintained properly, or it's a generic cheapie that's designed to sell, not weld.

The best way to go about any sort of new welding style, is to find a friend who's already using that sort of a rig, and ask for a test-drive and some pointers.  Sitting down at an already-set-up station, with scraps of known-size-and-alloy, where the owner has his system set up for it, pretty much guarantees that you'll get a winner bead right out of the gate, and after that, setting up some other machine will be MUCH easier, because you'll KNOW how it's supposed to perform.

If you can stick weld, you can MIG.  If you can GAS weld, you can TIG.  If you can pick your nose, ask questions, be patient, and find the right friends, you can learn to do all the above.

 Well,,THANKS,,Dave Kamp,,that was a great Write-up for the person that is contemplating switchin to a TIG set up. I do not do enough of the weldin that requires the high quality of the Tig weldin,,,,most of mine is oilfield pipe weldin for mostly structual applications that the arc welder is better suited for. I like the LONG leads of the arc welder much better than the short ones you see with the Tig machines.

 Incidently I went ahead and bought the "Tombstone" Lincoln as it is in such great shape and and looks almost new,,,Plus it was so cheap,,,,,BUT,,I do NOT like them little bitty hard rubber wheels and my first "mod" is goin to be some bigger pneumatic tires from,,,,,,,,,,HF,,,,,

 Hey Good Buddy,,,,,How the heck are you gettin along with your feets,,,?? I like that you are eatin all them veggies at home instead of thet killer food at them casinos,,,,Number one,,it ain't good for you and Number two,,it ain't good for you cause you always gots to go back for seconds,,,,,,and maybe even thirds,,,cause it cheeper the more times you go back,,,,,,

I also have a wire welder, I use for lighter welding.