Pedal vs trigger and my welding table

Hi ya'll! I haven't really had the opportunity to practice with my pu205, but hopefully this week I will. This is probably a worn out question, but it's new to me, so~

The pedal: I will set no amps cause the pedal does that? how do I know how much to push? will it burn a hole through the metal if too far, or when is enough enough, and how do I achieve the mark, or once I establish the correct amp~ can I just leave it at that spot until I finish welding? There's very litte mention of the pedal other than how important it is to master it!

The trigger on the handle: I set my amps to what I think is correct, practice a bit to see if I'm at the correct amps to what I'm Tigging? This sounds much easier~ for me anyway.

Advice on this subject it quite welcome! the present setting I want to learn quickly is on the gauge metal of the dash on my '59 Apache truck. I need to repair the radio panel with new metal. I'd really like to do this with my Tig vs. my mig.

This is a table a bought at northern tools~ it's great, it's light and the sparks go down into the mesh(a lot of it) when I practice with my mig. It was about 80bucks. I need to go back to the welding supply to buy stuff; I have 1/16 red tungsten, 1/16 rod(filler), argon bottle. I just need to find some metal of the thickness I'll be welding. I thought I saw a man coming out of Northern tools with some small steel plates, or maybe Ace hardware may have some proper gauge.
dne'

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ldingtable.jpg

The dash is probably somewhere around .040-.050" thick. A rule of thumb for sheetmetal work is 1 amp per .001" thickness. Certainly not something that is carved in stone, but nonetheless a good starting point.

Wen using the pedal, the amps that you are at should display on the machine panel, they just wont display when you are adjusting them on the pedal (assuming the PU205 operates with an amp adjustment located on the pedal, otherwise, use the panel knob to set the max amps).

I would recommend finding something about 1/8" thick to practice on at first. That way you can get the hand of the operation of the torch, pedal, and trigger, as well as to understand the dynamics of the weld puddle.

With steel, you can watch the metal and see the puddle form, then start to move the torch. Start out with just running a bead on plate (no filler) just to learn how to push the puddle. Then add filler as you get comfortable.

As my highschool metal shop teacher used to say....Heat it and it will flow....

John

I like that table that you have. I was thinking about making something out of scrap and maybe Ill add the mesh. Is there ever a time you wish it did not have that. I would think that small things may fall through or things may get caught in it.

As to the amp settings, when using a foot pedal I like to set my amps a little higher than I need and then use the pedal almost all the way. This allows me room for that little extra if I get to a point that needs a little more heat. If you are too hot, you will know by the metal melting away and you wont have any control over the puddle.

Well, I guess I get to shop for .040-.050 sheetmetal soon, like today! lol I'm not to dare lay my tig on my dash until I feel comfortable tigging, no hurry here!

As for my table regarding the mesh, yes, I wish I had a plate to put over the mesh part cause I don't need it all the time, plus a little extra weight on the table may be nice since it's pretty lighweight (36lbs), but heavy enough to stay put, but light enough to move around my ever growing smaller garage! ; )

Maybe this afternoon I can go out to a steel place I know of and see if I can buy a sheet of metal to practice my tig.
I'll be back! ;)
dne'

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Originally Posted by Dne007

Hi ya'll! I haven't really had the opportunity to practice with my pu205, but hopefully this week I will. This is probably a worn out question, but it's new to me, so~

The pedal: I will set no amps cause the pedal does that? how do I know how much to push? will it burn a hole through the metal if too far, or when is enough enough, and how do I achieve the mark, or once I establish the correct amp~ can I just leave it at that spot until I finish welding? There's very litte mention of the pedal other than how important it is to master it!

The trigger on the handle: I set my amps to what I think is correct, practice a bit to see if I'm at the correct amps to what I'm Tigging? This sounds much easier~ for me anyway.

Advice on this subject it quite welcome! the present setting I want to learn quickly is on the gauge metal of the dash on my '59 Apache truck. I need to repair the radio panel with new metal. I'd really like to do this with my Tig vs. my mig.

This is a table a bought at northern tools~ it's great, it's light and the sparks go down into the mesh(a lot of it) when I practice with my mig. It was about 80bucks. I need to go back to the welding supply to buy stuff; I have 1/16 red tungsten, 1/16 rod(filler), argon bottle. I just need to find some metal of the thickness I'll be welding. I thought I saw a man coming out of Northern tools with some small steel plates, or maybe Ace hardware may have some proper gauge.
dne'

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Nice table!

I use the foot pedal about 90% of the time. I set my maximum amps on the machine that the material I am welding is needed. I then can use the pedal to control the arc better in areas of like edges where burn through may be a problem. When needed, I just mash the pedal down for the maximum amperage the machine is set for that material. I also use the pedal as sort of a pulse setting. With thin aluminum, I can weld, then cut back a bit and move the torch, then weld again. Sort of like beating a drum with a foot pedal. Pacing the weld.

When I weld thin steel, I can back off on the amperage with the pedal so I do not warp the sheet metal. Works really well on body work and small projects where a constant arc may make welding impossible.

If you get an aftermarket torch with no trigger, then you will be forced to use the foot pedal. No 2t or 4t to use. Using the foot pedal all the time makes you concentrate more on the weld and the way the puddle is worked. Sort of like chewing gum, walking and talking on the cell phone at the same time. Pretty soon it becomes natural.

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Originally Posted by Dne007

Maybe this afternoon I can go out to a steel place I know of and see if I can buy a sheet of metal to practice my tig.

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Hopefully not telling you something you already know: you may find retail steel to be surprisingly expensive. At your steel supplier, you can find "drops", the miscellaneous odds and ends that remain from custom cuts, and they're often free or cheap. For scrap practice pieces, this can work out for you.

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Originally Posted by DaveO

Hopefully not telling you something you already know: you may find retail steel to be surprisingly expensive. At your steel supplier, you can find "drops", the miscellaneous odds and ends that remain from custom cuts, and they're often free or cheap. For scrap practice pieces, this can work out for you.

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The place I went for steel did not work that way. They charged me for a little piece of round bar that was probably scrap to what I purchased the day before. I am not complaining about it but I see people post all the time that their local places give them small scrape for free and such. Maybe one day they will just toss something in for me but if not, oh well as it's only right I pay anyway.

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Originally Posted by Jason

The place I went for steel did not work that way.

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The closest steel place to me offers drops, but I still can't report having a good experience with these guys. First off it's a 40 minute ride to get there, and when I went to find square tube there were no drops so I had to pay the retail price per pound, plus a cut fee, plus a "you didn't take the whole 20 ft. piece" fee. When I started hearing about all these fees I started asking questions about them- not to challenge the guy, because he's just doing business and I get that- I just wanted to figure out how the game is played so I can play it smarter next time. He thought I was challenging him and his business, though, so he was a little suspicious of me. And then next time I was there I picked up some drops, and the guy at the office (a different guy this time) just waved me through, as if he couldn't believe I was going to bother him to pay for a few pounds of drops. Go figure.

I wish I could even find a place that sells drops... I'm having zero luck finding a local source for whole pieces. One has a $150 minimum, wants $10 a cut, won't cut for transport and won't load in anything but a flatbed, truck with a rack or a trailer. $450 minimum for delivery, no deliveries to residences. The other place is a bit further, and will cut in half for transport, but the prices are 15% higher at least. I do small purchases through online metals, and that works for things where a 20' piece would be uneconomical to buy (needed some 4" round and things like that) but the project I'm waiting to start needs about 160' of 1/2 and 3/4 square tube, three times as much as either local shop. My truck is off the road and all my friends are busy during the week (no weekend pick up for either local place). Hitting the junk yard this weekend to see what I can pick out of the scrap pile, but that's not likely to yeild more than a few small random pieces.

Dne,
I just saw this thread.

For the PU205, you have the full, 0-200 amp control over the pedal range. It does not adjust on the panel. The adjustment on the panel for this unit is only to use the torch trigger.

Yes thanks! I actually found out by playing with it.
Iwas actually thinking about trying my local muffler shop , but is that tubing coated? But another place, I can buy a 4x 8 sheet of 16 gauge for 60.oo . But I can't cut it, or wouldn't want wear out my new plasma cutter! I don't know if I could even handle it! Eh! Lol. Never thought that practice metal would be such a pain and expense. Then I'd have to haul it to the scrap metalnyard when done. Lol

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Originally Posted by performance

Dne,
I just saw this thread.

For the PU205, you have the full, 0-200 amp control over the pedal range. It does not adjust on the panel. The adjustment on the panel for this unit is only to use the torch trigger.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dne007

Yes thanks! I actually found out by playing with it.
Iwas actually thinking about trying my local muffler shop , but is that tubing coated? But another place, I can buy a 4x 8 sheet of 16 gauge for 60.oo . But I can't cut it, or wouldn't want wear out my new plasma cutter! I don't know if I could even handle it! Eh! Lol. Never thought that practice metal would be such a pain and expense. Then I'd have to haul it to the scrap metalnyard when done. Lol

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Small machine shops will usually sell drops or practice pieces cheap. Exhaust pipe is aluminized.

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Originally Posted by Trip59

Hitting the junk yard this weekend to see what I can pick out of the scrap pile

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Another idea, maybe: commercial recycling places may let you walk around the yard and find useable pieces. Now that I think on it I'm surprised that steel yard lets me walk around, what with overhead cranes, fork lifts running around, etc.

Look for fabrication businesses. They would rather sell their scrap for what they paid for it than to a scrap dealer that gives them less.

I found a local fabrication shop that uses tons of aluminum and steel and I get most of my metal from them. They are happy to get a decent price which is still way cheaper than I could get it from a metal dealer. I pay cash so they love that too!

Where are you in middleburg? Where do you buy your metal? I live in keystone heights and maybe I can try to help you let me know.

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Originally Posted by 67cudafb

Where are you in middleburg? Where do you buy your metal? I live in keystone heights and maybe I can try to help you let me know.

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I'm about 20 minutes from NAS Jax right on th OP/Middleburg line. I buy from wherever has what I need and will let me get it, the last run was to Metals USA up north of 10. You have anywhere down by you that sells?

There isn't much down here I have bought online for smaller projects.

That was the problem, I buy online in 1-5' lengths, usually oddball sizes. I needed ~200' for this project, from the online sources would have been 3x the price to my door. As I'm ramping up for some other projects I'm going to try to coordinate to where I can just do a $450 order from Berman Bros, that's the min for free delivery. I have two shops within a mile of my house that will take the delivery (since they won't deliver to residences). It's the ones like this one, where I have to have it and can't wait for a big minimum that get me. MetalsUSA used to have a branch off of 1 just over the river from you, but they closed, the only one now is up north of 10 just west of 295. About 45 minutes from my door, but they're 20% more than Berman on price. The nice thing is no minimums and they'll cut for transport. One cut per piece for transport for free, but I tossed them $20 and they cut all 8 pieces in 1/3rds for me. Really nice folks, I know I said I'd save for a Berman delivery, but before I put it in, I'll offer it to them first :) just in case.

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Originally Posted by sportbike

The dash is probably somewhere around .040-.050" thick. A rule of thumb for sheetmetal work is 1 amp per .001" thickness. Certainly not something that is carved in stone, but nonetheless a good starting point.

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When I hooked a gas valve torch to my I-MIG and was having issues welding thin metal even on the 30a minimum setting, Mark said that their inverters weld quite a bit hotter than the 1a/.001" rule. that rule tracked pretty well on my dad's Lincoln precision tig 185, though (square wave transformer welder).

that dash might also be a bit thicker than that, too. some cars/trucks were stamped with body panel thickness, some were thinner. I'd get out a sheet metal gage, dial caliper, micrometer, whatever you have, and make a check.


I agree with Johns suggestion of starting on 1/8", though. it can be hard to figure out what's going on when welding on sheet metal because things (like blowing a hole) happen so much faster. once you get a feel for what the puddle looks like with too little heat, too much heat, and just right heat, then move on to something thinner.

Parts of my truck are 12-16 ga, quite heavy compared to newer vehicles. The floor is heavy enough it almost killed my nibbler, has to be in the 10-12 range. The dash is 14-16. VERY nice to handle compared to really thin sheet on the body. What I did before I approached it was to take the areas of the patch and dash I trimmed off and work on getting them welded up first. Same metal, same thickness, etc. Finding some other sheet similar thickness would be the next best thing. Don't be afraid of a little hammer/dolly work as you go.

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Originally Posted by Trip59

Don't be afraid of a little hammer/dolly work as you go.

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this is essential in sheetmetal welding. the weld shrinks as it cools, you need to hammer it back out. best way is to grind the weld down to just a bit proud of the parent metal, then hammer. you should do this after each pass when you're skip welding (which you should be if it's 18ga or thinner). of particular note when skip welding is the ends of your welds. the ends will pull metal along your weld seam as well as perpendicular to it, making a pucker, so you have to work them a bit more to get it flat.