I always wipe down my filler with isopropyl alcohol, especially aluminum filler. Even if practicing its good to get into the habit and practice like its a weld for your customer. My main failure during practice. I know better, but don't often do it. Then I sometimes forget when doing real welds. Ri...

I think the name brands might hold up a bit better in storage.

I think you got a pretty good deal on that Dynasty. Congratulations. I understand that you have a pro teaching your son how to tig. Good move. I would suggest letting the instructor guide you on what to buy. They will probably suggest buying what works best for their style of welding. Once your son ...

That is putting the 'safe' in 'safety razor'.

Does that mean you can get cancer twice as fast?

So, which are they Brass, or Bronze?

That is considered a given. We are all dangerous! Some start unexpected fires, some burn themselves, some burn others, and some even manage to make welds!

What alloy of aluminum is the tubing?
That makes a big difference on the preferred filler, and how easy they will weld.

I think people make too big a deal out of exact settings. I end up tweaking known settings a bit just because of my mental state, or the temperature in the shop changes. I start out using the rule of thumb 1 amp per thousandth. For mild steel I add 10 to 15% for a faster puddle. For Aluminium, I add...

Richard,
You have been doing it a long time, so probably don't need to spend much time learning at the grinder.

Real progress in learning Tig only happens at the grinder while sharpening dipped Tungstens.

I don't want to jinx anybody, but for the first 18 months that I had my NEVERLAST, I was happy as heck with it. The real disappointment was their piss poor customer service. Hope it is better with the PrimeWelds.

When I got it, the AC worked as I expected. A few months back the arc would get unstable when tapering off. That has gotten worse, and now it is having problems starting the arc. Only does it on AC. The DC is still working like new. Today, I was doing steel buildup with .045 ER120 filler. It went ju...

I recall the 4943 having a bit less cracking issues than the 4043. Another rod you might want to consider is 4047. It melts at a lower temperature. Sometimes referred to as Aluminum brazing rod.
I did some playing last year using all 3 rods welding up a square. The 4943 worked best for me. YMMV

Yes, and when I told him that I wasn't buying it, he then started saying it was the ground clamp getting hot and causing high resistance. When I said that wasn't going to fly either, he said he couldn't help me because I was a 'know it all'. What a Lug-nut! It welds just fine on DC. Has real problem...

Is that 'Minister' buying any perfume, makeup, or beauty products. Does she have more than 3 pairs of shoes? If so, cut her budget. I have an Everlast 255EXT. Stay away from that brand. Their 5 year warranty is worthless. Mine is less than 2 years old and has a problem on AC. One of their excuses wa...

Thank you.
I understand about trying to Tig in the wind. I believe the 'i' in Tig stands for 'indoors'. Doing repair work means we sometimes have to do things the hard way.

She can't afford to wait for the sign. (No pun intended) Even if she starts to taper off just before the sign appears, she will have a heat mark on the other side. Hit it hard and get a puddle fast. Then dab, move, back off the pedal a bit. Dab, move, back off a bit more, dab, dab, start tapering of...

Curious which cup setup you were using. Looks like you was getting good EP cleaning. What was it set to?

I'll bet it takes time to get a good puddle going with those settings. The time you spend getting a good puddle, is also heating up the work. One thousand one, one thousand two. If the puddle isn't ready, you don't have enough heat at the torch. I would set max Amps to 225 or even 250. Get a good pu...

I wouldn't spend too much time trying to figure out what happened. My guess is you had a large puddle, dipped the electrode and it stuck, then you jerked as a reflex action. Some of the puddle was still molten and splashed up on the cup. It all happened so fast that you didn't think about it. I don'...

When a pregnant woman says she wants something, the NOW! is understood.

Normally I agree with Oscar, but this time I will disagree a bit with him. The #8 cup is ok, but a smaller one will save some gas while learning. Where I disagree, is #7 or 8 cup with 1/8" of stickout. It is just too hard for a beginner to keep a short arc (very important), with such short stic...

All of the AutoDark helmets expose your eyes to a very short time of arc flash. They react to the bright light, and then dim. A thousand brief arc flashes during a day of welding, has to have some adverse effect on your eyes. A wireless connected helmet could do the opposite. It could actually darke...

I'm surprised that Miller doesn't offer a wireless helmet, to go with the wireless foot pedal. They could even make it auto adjusting to the current flow.