Thinking of buying a TIG- opinions please lads
Turbo Mini Forums

Hurry up man we all want to know how good this thing is.
Allan

http://www.rabdunn.co.uk/

I'll report back, to be fair though I'll be learning how to use it at the same time as trying it out.

Although at some point my mate Phil will no doubt have a play with it, he does a lot of TIG welding and is pretty damn good at it these days, so his comments will probably be of more use.

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

Well I cracked it up for the first time this afternoon, I knew TIG welding was a tricky art to pick up and I wasn't disappointed, so far I've had a little mess on some bits of mild steel, some experimentation with the current settings got this working reasonably well, had a few problems trying to strike an arc up without touching the workpiece, I'm sure that is down to setup of the welder though.
I also had a little play on some thinner stainless, suffice to say I think practise is the order of the day!

I've not tried it in AC mode on Ally yet, need to get some different tungstens for that, Phil recommended sticking to stainless and mild to start off with and I think he is right!!

You probably know some/ all of this but...

grind a nice point on the tungsten and set it level with the cup this way it will be more difficlut to dip the tip.

If you do dip the tungsten, stop, pull it out and regrind the end.

I actally find it easier to weld ally so that may be worth go.

the tungstens will work with ally but won't be quite as good.

get some pics up so we can see your handiwork!


:)

Plz do some alu work. I need to know how it works.

Any more news on this was it worth buying?
Allan

http://www.rabdunn.co.uk/

Yes and No.

Yes, as it certainly seems a decent enough TIG set for the money.

No, as mine is currently sat in a box awaiting collection as the HF start doesn't work so its going back for repair/replacement............

what was the customer service like Tom?

Team www.sheepspeed.com Racing

bummer,

well if they sort it pronto then fair enough, hope so!

Customer service so far so good, been emailing Sara Greco

Hi,
Hands off I saw her first!
Cheers,
Gavin :)

VEMs Authorised Installer / Re-seller. K head kits now available!

WB/EGT gauges. Click here for customers write-up

Visit www.doyouneedabrain.co.uk

My Mini build diary

to be fair to them the HF circuit is probably the most likly bit to pack in as it relies on a calibrated airgap.

somebody should send her a link to this thread

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

Well fair play to them, Parcel Force have just turned up to collect it and send it back to Germany, I've been cunning and marked it discreetly in a couple of places so I'll be able to tell if its the same one back or if they send me another.......

Please keep us informed I plan to buy somthing that welds ally this year but I dont want to spent thousands.
Allan

http://www.rabdunn.co.uk/

Will do buddy, what I have done thus far on stainless by scratch starting bodes well as far as I'm concerned, so long as they sort it out in a reasonable timeframe then I'm happy, I phoned up yesterday to confirm what was going on and whoever I spoke to did speak some English, so not too bad on that front either.

local mini mate of mine speeks german if you get stuck Tom

Update on this....

Well its back, I noted the serial number and made some discreet markings on it before it went, and it is the same machine that has come back.

However the HF start now does work faultlessly, so fair play to them, they obviously do have some idea about how the machines work and are able to repair them.

It did however take nearly a month for it to be turned round, and communication back from them wasn't great during this time, to the point where I opened a paypal dispute to be able to claim back my money if the welder didn't return within a reasonable amount of time.

However its back now so I am back to playing with it, I've also tried a bit of ally work and can say that it definitely does stick bits of ally together, however quite a bit of practise will be required on my part to do any useful ally welding as opposed to creating a blobby mess.

I think in total I would sum it up as worth buying. The customer service is a bit frustrating in that you don't get updated or much feedback, but in fairness to them, they have collected the machine from my house and had it delivered back to Germany, repaired it, and then couriered it back to me, all at no cost to myself.
The machine itself seems to have enough features and controls built in to be able to adjust to to do most jobs properly, the only thing it lacks and they cannot supply for it is a footpedal which is a shame, as it does have an input on the front of the machine for one to plug into. Phil is going to come and have a mess and play with it at some point so his verdict will be a lot more use as he TIG welds often at work and is pretty shit hot at it.

Hi,
Good to hear you've got it all sorted. I was only thinking this afternoon about getting some stuff tigged at my local place, when I suddenly thought " Wonder what happened to Tom's TIG welder?"
Cheers,
Gavin :)

VEMs Authorised Installer / Re-seller. K head kits now available!

WB/EGT gauges. Click here for customers write-up

Visit www.doyouneedabrain.co.uk

My Mini build diary

No reason at all but you may have to adjust gas feed and wire feed speeds a little, as is usual with any change to spec.

TIG not MIG!

And for those interested, some of my shameful attempt at TIG welding so far. That is mild steel, but stainless looks similar.

That looks OK to me.
Allan

http://www.rabdunn.co.uk/

not too shabby.

sheet steel is a bit tricky, ( i find) ally disipates the heat quicker and as a result is easyer not to blow apart.

check you havent got the gas too high, i find 8-10 cfm pretty good for most stuff, if itgoes to high it can blow the arc about.