Welding Tips and Tricks

I have a Lincoln PT185. It's about a decade old and while it has some bells and whistles, it doesn't have all of them.

For example, I can control AC balance and increase my cleaning action or my penetration. I can also pulse.

But I can't control frequency and all the other fancy things that modern welders can do. And from what I have read, this seems to make a difference.

But my question is: Does that matter? Are these guys who turn out these awesome-looking stack of dimes (Jody, Kane Kid, etc.) use the same gear I am using or do they have at their fingertips the tools to adjust that arc any way they want to?

I get that a lot of this is practice. And I'm working on it.

But is it worth investing in a machine that will give me the ability to fine-tune my arc? Or is all that really unnecessary.

I know that a good weld is better than a pretty weld. But a good and pretty weld is a decent goal in this industry I think.

And if you think that I should invest in a new machine, give me some suggestions as to which one. Realize that my PT185 limits me to 3/16" AL and I'm wanting to go thicker.

THKS!

Jon

Frequency adjustment is only relevant to AC welding, so considering the capabilities of your Lincoln versus new, modern AC TIG boxes, it’s like comparing a Schwinn to modern carbon fiber, cassette bike. Both pedal and roll and brake, but one does it with much more efficiency and comfort.

Good TIG welders could probably produce similar results with a frying pan, honestly. But, producing their best results is easier with a modern machine. The new HTP TIG boxes get great reviews and are full-featured, the Everlast are very reasonably priced, but the Dynasty still wins in my book. They’re pricey (nearly $5k for the Dynasty 280 with the software package) and that will allow you to weld ally up to 3/4” pretty comfortably. Has every adjustment known, and very tuneable for arc characteristics...if you need it.

Personally, in your situation, I’d have a go with the HTP. Less money, also an American company for sales and support, and a nice product. I’d also be using a water-cooled torch.

I use frequency adjustment a great deal, but seldom if ever use pulse on AC, nor the sequencer. Balance adjustment is my number one adjustment. Having different waveforms is nice, but I stick with squarewave for AC because I haven’t found a need. I’m sure I’d use others if my box (it’s nearly 15 years old and still kicking like a rented mule) had the option.

That’s my opinion.

I have a Dynasty 210DX, but I have never used the SD card functionality as mentioned here https://www.millerwelds.com/support/sys ... g-software and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaN-fVqgGL4.

It says here https://store.cyberweld.com/midy210mecai.html that the $547 SD card "allows EP and EN amperages and waveforms to be set independently to precisely control heat input into the work and tungsten electrode". I am pretty sure that I don't need these expanded features. Jody, Jonathan and Roy had a podcast where Mike Zanconoto was taking advantages of some of these features for welding thin aluminum tubing.

I wonder what percent of Dynasty 210 and 280 users ever buy and use these expanded features. Weird that Miller would charge $547 for an SD card rather than just including it in the Dynasty in the first place. Maybe all of these features would overwhelm many of the customers.

I have thought about trying a triangular waveform for outside corners, but one doesn't need the SD card for that.

Thanks to the both of you for your feedback.

I'm going to save up and probably get one of those HTP machines.

In the meantime, I'm back at it. With no excuses!

Thanks again.

Jon

Jon,
All the bells and whistles are nice to have and do come in handy, it's not to say that a ole tried and true transformer machine can't be used to put out nice looking welds. A couple of friends have Syncrowave 250 and 351's and I swear some of their welds look robot like, like you said it's more practise than anything. I have had a couple of Syncrowave 250's and currently use a Dynasty 300DX, did the Dynasty make me a better welder, I wish!! Practise, practise, practise..

pgk wrote:Jon,
All the bells and whistles are nice to have and do come in handy, it's not to say that a ole tried and true transformer machine can't be used to put out nice looking welds. A couple of friends have Syncrowave 250 and 351's and I swear some of their welds look robot like, like you said it's more practise than anything. I have had a couple of Syncrowave 250's and currently use a Dynasty 300DX, did the Dynasty make me a better welder, I wish!! Practise, practise, practise..

Now here's an honest post!

Yeah - I think at the end of the day it's the bad workman who blames his tools...

And all the best welders started out with whatever they could get their hands on, right?

So I've got my hands on a Lincoln PT185 and should be happy that I've got a machine at all.

So, my butt is going back in the chair for as many hours a day as I can take it!

Thanks all. Feeling more and more at home on this forum the more I post.

Jon

I've actually recently just gone through this personally,

I've used a Lincoln Precision Tig185 now for rough guess 3-4 years, The shop's work in the beginning was aluminium AC condensors and it worked great for that, Then we started getting into heavier aluminium and it just didn't quite have enough ponies to get the job done proper.

Fast forward a bit and I finally convinced my dad to get a bigger tig (It took getting a demo model into the shop and showing him the difference first hand),

I settled on a Miller Dynasty 400DX, now I can tell you it has alot more features than my old transformer, did they make me put down better welds overnight? Not really, the only difference I can really tell is that when I get into thicker material I have enough amps to get my puddle in a proper amount of time and I don't heat soak the material which does make getting the weld done easier.

As far as all the fancy settings go....I've hardly touched them on any real jobs, I've played around with them on test pieces etc and I don't feel like they make me weld any better, I've done welds with my old transformer that look perfect then I've also done welds with it that look terrible, Same goes for the new Dynasty it's still more about my skills than it is about the machine.

Long and short of it, I don't think the fancy features will make anyone a better welder overnight,

However I will say if your like me and wanting/getting into thicker material then do yourself the favour and invest in something bigger rather than spending years like I did messing around trying to make things "work".

If you have any specific questions on what I've noticed for differences feel free to ask and I'll answer as best I can, I also still have the Precision 185 in the shop so I could even do some comparison welds when time allows if you'd like.

Toggatug wrote: Long and short of it, I don't think the fancy features will make anyone a better welder overnight

True, however the new features allow the tool (welding machine) to be used when the situation is right.

I believe the 400 allows independent adjustment of EN and EP amperage, this would be helpful with thicker aluminum in combination with the balance control. If you haven't seen the video Jody did talking with Mike Zanconato check it out.

LtBadd wrote:

Toggatug wrote: Long and short of it, I don't think the fancy features will make anyone a better welder overnight

True, however the new features allow the tool (welding machine) to be used when the situation is right.

I believe the 400 allows independent adjustment of EN and EP amperage, this would be helpful with thicker aluminum in combination with the balance control. If you haven't seen the video Jody did talking with Mike Zanconato check it out.

Yes I believe it does let me do that. As well as control of % of background amperage on the low side of the pulse if I'm understanding it correctly,

Definitely quite the machine that I've got a lot more to learn about and teach myself. But it will be just like with the old welder and any weldkng machine for that matter....practice practice practice and lots and lots of test welds.

Sent from my S60 using Tapatalk

Toggatug, Thanks for your input. Nice to know that there's someone out there who has (or had) the same machine as me.

Frankly, I think that trying to weld 1/4" AL is maxing this Lincoln out. cj737 already pointed that out but I've had to keep trying because I don't see a new machine on the horizon just yet. But yeah - I stomp on that pedal at 185 and sometimes wait up to 5 seconds for a puddle to start. By then the whole piece is so hot you could fry eggs on it and I've lost half the battle.

I'll see if I can get a demo model like you did - just to see what it does for me. And you're not the first person to say that the extra bells and whistles are great, but so is a whole lot of practice. I think once I can get a decent bead (which I can, just not consistently) and I've mastered that THEN I can start looking at ways to fine-tune what I'm doing.

Thanks again. And seeing as you have that PT185 in the shop still, I might take up your offer on some comparisons.

Jon