[VA-Sawyer]

A week ago today, I spent the afternoon with LtBadd from this forum. I had sent him a PM, asking if we could get together, so he could give me some pointers on my Tig welding. I just finally got a TIG machine late last summer, and I'm a Noobie. I have watched a number of Youtube videos by Jody, and others, but wanted some live feedback. I was driving down to Florida to spend some time with my dad, and thought I would see about getting a few Tig Tips while I was there. LtBadd agreed to meet, so we made plans. First off, let me say, there is nothing bad about LtBadd. I enjoyed all the time we spent together that day. Second off, I want to thank him again, for taking the time to help me out. I really do appreciate it.
His actual name is Richard ( as is mine ), and he has a home welding shop in Clearwater, Florida. We started off by going out to lunch, where we talked about a wide variety of things. Some even related to welding. Then we went back to his place, where he set up some practice pieces of aluminum. He ran a few beads to verify the settings, then handed the torch to me.
My first attempts were UGLY! I was totally embarrassed. As a Noobie, I expected the different surroundings to have an adverse effect, but not like that. It seemed that my biggest problem, was the feel of his foot pedal. He has a nice Dynasty unit with the wireless foot pedal, and I have a 255EXT with the stock pedal. Everything felt different about it, the height off the ground, travel, tension, and the heel rest. His torch was a #20 like mine. The welding bench was about the same working height as mine. All of that felt fine, but that pedal....... wow!
After the shock, and awe, Richard had me try a few more beads. They were less ugly, but not by much. Still, it was enough for him to see what I was doing, and give me some pointers. I had a bit too much torch angle, and was long with my arc. He indicated that the long arc was the biggest problem I needed to focus on. We discussed a number of things related to tig welding, and then it was time to head back to dads place.
So, why a weeks wait to post this? Well, I just got back home late Monday night. Only had a couple of minutes to fire up the torch yesterday. I made a point of making time today, to get in some practice. The steel block marks where I ran beads today, compared to a couple of months ago. Can anybody figure out which side was done today?

[LtBadd]

Rick is a real good guy, and I enjoyed spending a few hours getting to know him, he's got a lot of skill in many areas including welding and fabrication.
Always glad to be able to assist someone if I can, plenty of people have helped me over the years, just passing it along...

[cj737]

Welding builds such deep Bromances...

You’re right of course, Richard, having someone who knows what they’re doing watch you is more valuable than years of learning it wrong. There’s little doubt that LTB is a great guy. He takes a lot of time to post productive and informative information to many threads. Giving of himself with knowledge and experience without the goal of celebrity status speaks volume to his character.

But I have a question for you both: how do either of you like the wireless pedal? I fully appreciate the convenience of it, but it has been my experience that both the height and sensitivity of it are a challenge for minute adjustments of the arc. I have and prefer an SSC pedal and like it immensely except the cord enters the housing on the wrong side for my convenience. I also use a TIG Button (finally broke down and bought 2 for my units) and have become quite enamored with these.

[tungstendipper]

Richard (LT) has that kind of heart. That was so nice he helped a beginner. Now, get your butt up here to Colorado!

Richard (VA),
Do worry about brands, use what you have, practice ,practice, and show-up LT. He would love it!!

I too like a pedal.
Mark

[VA-Sawyer]

"Welding builds such deep Bromances"

Of course it does, after all, it is a 'bonding' subject.

[LtBadd]

Welding builds such deep Bromances...

You’re right of course, Richard, having someone who knows what they’re doing watch you is more valuable than years of learning it wrong. There’s little doubt that LTB is a great guy. He takes a lot of time to post productive and informative information to many threads. Giving of himself with knowledge and experience without the goal of celebrity status speaks volume to his character.

But I have a question for you both: how do either of you like the wireless pedal? I fully appreciate the convenience of it, but it has been my experience that both the height and sensitivity of it are a challenge for minute adjustments of the arc. I have and prefer an SSC pedal and like it immensely except the cord enters the housing on the wrong side for my convenience. I also use a TIG Button (finally broke down and bought 2 for my units) and have become quite enamored with these.

Thanks for your kind words

The pedal just seems normal to me, I didn't like the old heavy metal ones Miller use to make, at least from a moving around POV. To the height, it's the same pedal I've used for more then a decade so, I'm okay with it until I suppose I can try something better.
I would like to try a SSC pedal, hope I'm not missing anything

Over the years I've used (a few times) the sliders, the button 6061 sells sounds intriguing

[cj737]

PM your address, I’ll ship my SSC to you as a “loan and see”.

The button is actually made by “www.tigcontrol.com”, Aaron resells them.
****Disclaimer
I am not one to argue with or second guess the preferences of someone as skilled as Aaron, and I don’t wish to interfere with his income, but...
When you purchase the button through him, it ships to you with the button on the inverted side of the circuit plate. This means that the shroud to cover it, won’t fit because the wires are soldered to the top side (where the button is) instead of beneath and running in the natural channel the shroud creates. (Hard to picture, I know). If you look closely at some stills of him welding, you can see he runs the button without the shroud. Which makes sense why he wants the wire on top, so the button lays flat against the torch handle.

I sent an email one Sunday morning to TIG Control with a picture and asked, “is this right?”. The owner, a very nice man named Dave, called me about 45 minutes later. Go figure! He disclosed that the configuration is how Aaron prefers them, though it is not their standard configuration. So he offered, and fulfilled his promise, to ship me a replacement which was even a newer upgrade. Said, “keep the one you have for a spare, we consider them consumables anyway”. Now that is service with a capital S in my book. I was so freaking appreciative, I ordered another for my MultiMatic.

So now I have the new one, installs “as I would prefer” and the thing works great. I don’t know why I ever waited so darn long to get one and abandon using my pedal being kicked, dragged, and slid around my shop. Old dolt I must be...

I do prefer the SSC pedal over the Miller that I have. It’s slimmer, more natural to stand on, and feels smoother to me. I’ve done quite a bit of Bass fishing, so operating a trolling motor pedal is second nature to me. I keep waiting for a decent bite while I’m laying wire

[ljdm1956]

As you said, hard to picture the wiring, any chance of posting pics of both configurations?

[cj737]

As you said, hard to picture the wiring, any chance of posting pics of both configurations?

Scroll down a bit and you can see how Aaron wraps his with just the button, board and an elastic band.
https://6061.com

Here’s the “standard” configuration with the shroud in place, wiring running beneath
https://tigcontrol.com

[VA-Sawyer]

Please don't think I was saying that there was something wrong with Richards foot pedal. It worked just fine when it was under his foot. It just has a different feel than what I am used to. The difference made me focus on my foot, and I'm not experienced enough to let my torch hand run on automatic pilot. It is all about getting 'hood time'.

[LtBadd]

Please don't think I was saying that there was something wrong with Richards foot pedal. It worked just fine when it was under his foot. It just has a different feel than what I am used to. The difference made me focus on my foot, and I'm not experienced enough to let my torch hand run on automatic pilot. It is all about getting 'hood time'.

No worries Rick, some say tomahto and some say tomayto

[cj737]

Please don't think I was saying that there was something wrong with Richards foot pedal. It worked just fine when it was under his foot. It just has a different feel than what I am used to. The difference made me focus on my foot, and I'm not experienced enough to let my torch hand run on automatic pilot. It is all about getting 'hood time'.

None taken.

[VA-Sawyer]

Cj737,

When you are tig welding, sitting at your bench, and waiting on a nice bite. Are you by chance wearing a PFD?

[cj737]

Cj737,

When you are tig welding, sitting at your bench, and waiting on a nice bite. Are you by chance wearing a PFD?

You’ve obviously seen me weld! I swear, I’m not that clumsy, it’s the frickin’ stool I made YEARS ago is wonky

For the record, I DO wear fishing shirts regularly. Not because I’m hooked on fishing (see what I did there), but because I like the pockets for convenience, and more importantly, the tops I wear have SPF protection. Being a fair-haired son of the Gaelic empire, the Sun and I are not very compatible. Hence, protection from UV excess is a constant thing for me. Where I live here in the mid-Atlantic, the sweltering heat and humidity do make it difficult to always want to wear a proper jacket or sleeves when TIG welding. But if I don’t wear something, I get burned. If I forget to button up the shirt front, or have gaping holes due to movement, welding aluminum, I get scorched. So I will often wear one of those offshore gators around my neck to protect it and I can dip it in cold water to offer some additional comfort.

So if you’re new to welding, KNOW about the real dangers of welding (fumes, arc burn, etc). When I see dopes on TV welding in T shirts, I just shake my head. Or you see folks talking without a hood by simply closing their eyes. These are very self-destructive habits. Stick welding without a respirator if you’re not outdoors with decent ventilation can kill you over time. The fumes are significant contributors to Parkinson’s. Never use Brake Cleaner unless it’s the Non-Chlorinated type. Read the label carefully, and don’t even buy the other stuff. Racing up on a piece of steel cleaned with a chlorinated Cleaner can kill you promptly under the right circumstances. Same is true for Galvanzied. Grind it, chemically strip it (the backside and interior are also treated) before you ever think about arcing up on it.

Welding is a blast, even after all these years. It’s a skill more people should learn as it’s liberating and creative and very useful. But the hazards are difficult to self-learn. And the hazards are real. So use care, get lots of hood time, and take pride in what you do!

I return the podium to less vociferous patrons of this thread...