Actually I got it a couple weeks ago, along with a bunch of other big badass tools, but I finally got it hooked up today. It's a big old beast from the 60s or 70s and it takes a LOT of juice to run so I couldn't just put a plug on the cord and shove it in the wall. It had three 2 gauge cables comin out of it :eek: Finally got my electrician to stop by today and hook it all up for me and burned a couple test welds. They aren't perfect, especially the aluminum, but this is also the first time I've ever welded with a non-squarewave machine, and also the first time I've tried using a gas lens. The welder came with a ton of lenses, so that's why I used one.

Here's the beast, and a couple pics of my first welds with it.

I've had my tig for a few years and you already weld AL better than me...Steel: not so much:flipoff2:

Nice! You're going to love it!

Congrats.

I love the older TIG machines. Last shop I worked at, I used a huge late 70's Miller Goldstar... it mustve weighed 600 lbs and looked like hell but I swear it had the smoothest arc of any TIG I've used.

I've had my tig for a few years and you already weld AL better than me...Steel: not so much:flipoff2:

The vast majority of my tig experience has been with aluminum so that doesn't bother me much. I've probably welded a total of 5 notched tube joints in my life, and that one was kind of a PITA simply because it kept wanting to move around the table. It's easier when it's attached to a whole car :flipoff2: All my other steel experience has been on little sample pieces in class. I always just concentrated on Aluminum because there are faster easier ways to do steel.

Doin aluminum with this machine is definitely a bit different than I'm used to though. With the squarewave machines it's easy to turn the balance a little to the cleaning side to make it easy to make nice pretty welds. On this thing you've gotta be a lot more thorough in your joint prep. I also made the mistake of flipping the HF toggle to start only and couldn't figure out why the fawk it just wouldn't weld for shit on AC. oops.

Quick question for anyone who's worked with one of these machines. The power selector only has i think 5 positions that control your current range instead of simply dialing the knob up to your desired max amperage. This I understand. It also has a fine current adjustment knob up top though numbered 1-10. How exactly does this control work? Is it kinda like a limiter to give you more pedal control? Like if your have the main control on the 100-150amp setting, if you set the fine adjustment to 5 it will limit you to like 125amps? Or is it something totally different?

Also can anyone post up a quick list of machine settings for different metals? AC/DC, Polarity, HF on-off-start, etc? I learned it all in class and I remember the basics, but it's always good to have a refresher for the stuff you dont do very often.

Ok, I just answered my last question myself. Did a quick Google search and found this bitchin TIG Welding Calculator on the Miller web site. You select your material, thickness and type of joint, and it gives you tungsten size and type, filler size, cup size, amperage settings, Polarity, Gas flow rate, and speed. The only thing I dont see is the High Frequency settings.

http://www.millerwelds.com/education/calculators/tig_amperage_calculator.php

For steels set the hifreq to start only. DCEN.

Ok, I just answered my last question myself. Did a quick Google search and found this bitchin TIG Welding Calculator on the Miller web site. You select your material, thickness and type of joint, and it gives you tungsten size and type, filler size, cup size, amperage settings, Polarity, Gas flow rate, and speed. The only thing I dont see is the High Frequency settings.

http://www.millerwelds.com/education/calculators/tig_amperage_calculator.php

awesome! thanks for that time saver.

Congrats.

I love the older TIG machines. Last shop I worked at, I used a huge late 70's Miller Goldstar... it mustve weighed 600 lbs and looked like hell but I swear it had the smoothest arc of any TIG I've used.

There seems to be a number of people who share the same opinion. One of the big chassis fabricators in town refuses to weld with anything other than his old Goldstar even though he has newer, higher tech machines as well.

I've only used my buddy's older tig so far so I don't have any experience with the newer stuff to decide which I like better. With any luck I'm hoping to acquire my own machine and take some classes by the end of the year. :D

There seems to be a number of people who share the same opinion. One of the big chassis fabricators in town refuses to weld with anything other than his old Goldstar even though he has newer, higher tech machines as well.

I've only used my buddy's older tig so far so I don't have any experience with the newer stuff to decide which I like better. With any luck I'm hoping to acquire my own machine and take some classes by the end of the year. :D

I have a 1970's P&H aircraft machine. Big yellow monster. AC DC TIG with HF, spot welding setup, weld timers, 2 to 400 amp. I love the thing, would not weld with anything else.

Congrads on the acquisition Dallas. My shop is filled with heavy, old, good quality equipment and I would not trade it for anything. For the hobbyist, you cannot beat these machines as they will likely never give you any trouble, they are good enough to do excellent work, and they are quality.

Congrats on that thing coming to life! Robbie sure was cool to come over and wire it up for you.

Yeah, he was pretty cool to do it. All I had to do was go over to his new house and install the wood flooring in his bedroom for him first :) If you saw the wiring you might be a little scared though. For various reasons it isn't exactly "finished". The biggest being that I needed the machine running ASAP, and I'm probably not gonna be in this shop much longer.

Good Luck with the Big beast, There is something about those old machines you just can`t beat.

But on another note it is nice to have something smaller. To bad a lot of the parts can no longer be had.

If you can get the code and serial number, I might be able to get a service manual, if your interested unless you have one.:laughing: