I turn up the frequency to prevent overpenetration. Yes, high frequency is pretty shrill and ear plugs are often in my ears (anyway from other shop noise). But I also use a 25’ cable so distance helps. I have a 25' cable also, but that doesn't help since the sound comes from the oscillation of the ...

"There are some other factors in deciding on frequency."
Our ears? The kind of stuff I usually do is fine with 90 Hz. And of course, we did everything with 60 cycles in the 20th century.
I turn up the frequency to prevent overpenetration. Otherwise, 90 to 120 seems to work fine.

I think basically all inverter machines are manufactured offshore. Show me a machine that actually says "Made in USA" on it. Legacy brands don't bother saying "assembled in the USA" because it implies foreign manufacture. I believe what the better brands do is, first, establish a...

Aluminum parts that I weld have mostly been cut with a CNC router. I don't tell them what to use, but it smells exactly like paraffin wax, so I'm assuming that's what it is.
It seems to clean up pretty well with a combination of 99% isopropyl alcohol followed by 120 psi from an air blow gun.

I could make one easily enough. There's plenty of aluminum angle and plate here. I'd just have to get an aluminum coupling to connect the gas fitting to. [edit] Actually after looking at a few examples, I should just get the proper tap size, drill and tap.

So, I can make a small one and move it around. What about gas flow? I'm guessing that you only need it to "breathe" on the back side of the weld you're forming. Probably very little if you can more or less seal off the back of it. We haven't done much stainless but we aren't busy right now...

I've used a Miller LPR-100 "half mask" respirator under a Miller Digital Performance shield. The shield stops about an inch from my chest when I close it, but I can use it. I tried it with a Lincoln 3350 and it seems about the same. That said, I usually have a fan circulating the air aroun...

There is an alternative method.

"Can I borrow a forklift?"

Is there a particular size of purge block that you've found handy? I figure a fairly small one could be just moved and clamped in position. A larger one might just waste gas.

It sounds like you could also use a local valve instead of the quick connects. But the quick connects would have the advantage of allowing you to set it up and put it away quickly. I wish we had scrap steel here. Plenty of aluminum, but I've brought scrap steel from my home shop. There was some stee...

For welding pipe, that makes sense. For welding tables, sinks and conveyors, it wouldn't. That's why these things are welded without purging. Not be a contrarian, but I’ve welded tons of sinks and counters and made purge blocks to suit the application. As I said, not always required or possible, bu...

Thanks for carrying out this investigation, really interesting. It confirms what I already knew but could not understand why. I have no experience with Everlast or lots of other brands on the market, but I have used quite a variety in the past and also owned a few that I moved on because I did not ...

For welding pipe, that makes sense. For welding tables, sinks and conveyors, it wouldn't. That's why these things are welded without purging.

I'll ask the company to get some SolarFlux. That's something we could use. There are stainless jobs where purging is unnecessary and ones in which it's impossible. I worked at a place that made stainless vessels and sinks for the pharmaceutical and vitamin industries. No purging was necessary, and n...

Thanks, cj.

My pre-flow was set at a little under a second. It's an analog control without a digital readout.
So, that's within the range you described.

Thanks for the info, cj. I was actually wondering about that as I was posting.

I've welded plenty of stainless without purging. Often you don't need to and sometimes you can't.
I can see that there are situations where it's a necessity, but there are many jobs where it isn't.

Oh, yes, this will be a functioning electric guitar.

The plate for the top can be changed to accommodate different pickup schemes (transducers in electric guitars are called pickups, or 'pups').
This plate is for a single Gibson P90 "soap bar" pickup.

The large access hole allows me to get my hand inside to place the inner electrical stuff.

Fusing .080 aluminum to 1/8" mill plate without backing or purging is a tricky business.

Keep your friends close and your tungsten closer.

This was a bit of a challenge.

1/8" aluminum mill plate and a couple of pieces of 1/2" to support the neck.

I don't know if 20 cfm is more gas than I need for this amperage, but it seems to work fine.
I'll check out what the pre-flow was when I get to work tomorrow.