Stick to TIG Adaptor

[xalky]

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I would rather TIG aluminum than MIG it. Mig just doesn't have the controllability of Tig being as soon as you pull the trigger you're off to the races, filler wire and all. I've had aluminum MIGged in job shops and was rarely 100% satisfied. Stuff I had TIGged was always perfect. TIG is what I'm after.

I agree 100%. Mig has it's place for the heavy stuff, but tig is a much prettier bead.

 

[f350ca]

I used the HF Miller attachment years ago, worked really well. Old school as they say, no pulsing, cleaning adjustments just high frequency AC. It fed off the AC on a stick welder. You had to turn the argon on and off with a valve and no on off on the power.

Greg

 

[astjp2]

I have a Hobart 250 amp ac/dc welder with a late 70's Montgomery wards High Feq box. This setup has no foot control so I have to treat it like an oxy acetylene setup, if you want to lower the heat, you pull the torch away. I have welded some with this setup but I am hoping to save up for a nice square wave tig with a controller. For chrome moly I prefer the torch....Tim

 

[Cholmes]

In our shop we MIG and TIG aluminum, depends on how large the project. I would suggest an inverter style set-up, you can get them for what you would pay for a HF box and have more usability. We have a small Miller Maxstar 150STL that is DC only but we use it to TIG aluminum in the field since it is very compact. (Yes! you can DC TIG aluminum) We also have a Syncrowave 200 in the shop for TIG and SMAW. We use a MillerMatic 252 with a XR-AlumaPro push-pull gun for aluminum MIG in the shop. I would look at the Miller Dynasty 200 or the Lincoln Invertec V205 series machines.

 

[Rbeckett]

The add-on HF boxes also do not allow you to control the amps at the weld. A foot and hand knob is really needed to get the best possible penetration and crater control, an scratch start wont get it wither. By the time you get a box and find a way to rapidly control the amps you will have spent more than just buying a new machine. The added bonus is if it fails your not completely out of business for other welding processes.

BOB

 

[Inflight]

I use a Lincoln hi-freq add-on box with my lincoln AC/DC stick welder when doing Aluminum.

I scratch start when I TIG steel which works very well but as others have said, no amperage control.



I found the hi-freq box for less than $100 on ebay.



Matt

 

[Rbeckett]

The Dienasties and Lincuns are both excellent machines, but somewhat over priced for what they are capable of doing. The Everlasts seem to be rapidly improving and the 256 series has all the capabilities in the tig worls and can be had for around a grand. That includes everything but bottled gas and filler to get started. Grab a bottle of pure argon and a handful of al filler rods and get with it. When I was the maintenance manager/Engineer of a large concrete placement company with a huge rolling stock inventory and 5 wet mix plants to keep up I demanded Blue or Red machines because they could take the abuse the average guy would subject it to. Leaving it on the back of the truck in the rain and blazing sun and could stand the occasion bent and dent too. As a retired welder I have found that the machines I would spend my money on has broadened pretty wide. I do however advocate avoiding a multi process machine and sticking with dedicated machines for dedicated processes. That way if a machine fails you still have all of the others you have to fall back on. That is why I have 2 wire welders, 2 stick machines and a dedicated tig, along with a Hypertherm PM1000 G3 65 Amp plasma cutter on my cnc table. The hardest part of the new crop of machines is if/when they fail and the shipping expense of sending it back and forth. This also does not mention the time that you will be unable to do that process either. The Everlasts and Longevity welders got a real black eye at first, but they have improved significantly over the last five years and I would not hesitate to buy an Everlast if I was still in the market for buying machinery. As always the buyer should outline his exact need for a particular machine and buy at least one step or preferably two steps larger to prevent outgrowing it too quickly or constantly having to wait for the duty cycle to cool enough to finish a project. If you need any help understanding any of the specific info on a particular machine I will be more than glad to de-mystify it and make it understandable for the common fellow.

Bob

 

[jamie76x]

You can weld with a AC, DC or AC/DC stick machine with a tig torch added.
For welding on AC ( Aluminum) you NEED hi freq. Ffor welding on DC you can get away without the HF, but you have to scratch start. This contaminates the electrode before you even start unless you jump it off a piece of graphite.
You will have no control of the amps as you go but it will work.

As far as pulsing goes, Unless you are a dynamite tig welder, You are hurting yourself by using it. It takes years to really understand what the pulser does and how to properly use it. Unless you are trying to control shrink/warp on tight tolerance welding work, you don't need it. And for anyone who uses the pulser to "make even spaced puddles"... Do yourself a favor and put the pulser switch back to "off" and leave it there lol.

 

[epanzella]

You might be able to find a HF box with all the attachments to turn your Miller box into a tig machine. I tried to do the same thing with my Lincoln power source a couple years back and by the time I found what I needed to make it work I probably would have spent more than what it would cost to buy a brand new Inverter Tig machine.

I ended up getting an Everlast powertig 250EX. It is an awesome machine with all the bells and whistles. I would buy another one in a heart beat. I have no affiliation with them, I just love my machine. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=welding tips and tricks everlast powertig 250ex&sm=12

Marcel

I checked that model out, it looks really good. Amazon has them for S1600
Thanks.

 

[jamie76x]

I checked that model out, it looks really good. Amazon has them for S1600
Thanks.

$1600 doll hairs is a lot of money to make a "not a real tig welder"
You could buy a used machine for less that has all the functions you need to weld properly and you have a good stick machine along with it. You can then sell your standard stick welder and put the money into the new set up.

Just remember, even with a HF box attached to your stick machine its not a CC/CV power supply and will not give you the control that is needed on thin metals and close to edges or holes. The luxury of a gas solenoid will also save you a lot of $$$ in the long run.