Welding Tips and Tricks

I have only seen this two places on the internet: (1) in a 6061.com YouTube video, which was an E6011 on pulse TIG, and (2) on Jody's website, which was an E7018 where he said to make sure and turn off the HF start (lest the arc would blow through the flux and flash you before you were ready) and make sure that the water cooler is on if using a water cooled torch.

The reason that I want to try this is because it sounds like fun! SMAW is by far my favorite process of the four that I have learned so far (MIG, TIG, stick and oxy-fuel). I have a huge collection of electrodes: 6010, 6011, 6012, 6013, 7010-A1, 7014, 7016, 7018, 7018AC and 7024. I am saving up for some 7028, too! I really want to try all of them in the WP-20!

Obviously, I can do what I need to do (make stuff) by doing things as I was taught, but I won't be able to resist sticking both a 1/16" and 3/32" stick electrode in my (standard) TIG collets.

Here's the kicker: I have a Dynasty 210DX and I don't want to damage it. So would I turn off the Argon (at the cylinder) and set the Dynasty to "Stick" or turn on the Argon and choose "Lift Arc TIG"? I am not sure how well the arc would start in Lift Arc.

I think the water cooler (a Coolmate 1.3) comes on even when I choose "Stick" because I accidentally shot water out one day when I was stick welding because I completely disconnected my WP-20 torch. After that (when I would use the Dynasty for stick welding) I would leave the WP-20 water lines connected to the water cooler, and I could hear the water cooler powering on and off (cooling the unused torch that had its Dinse connector unplugged).

So, like I said, I really don't want to hurt the Dynasty. Could this be rough on the gas solenoid or circuit boards? I know not to run the stick electrode down too close to the TIG cup (as if I'm worried about a nozzle!).

I would probably start with DCEP across the board and the "Stick" function. Looking at it that way, it doesn't sound too extreme.

My WP-20 is no spring chicken, so I am not worried about the torch.

I would absolutely not do this. Sure it will work and it's novel. But your dynasty cost big bux and you would be using it in a manner not recommended by the manufacturer. Not worth the risk.

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afaik its known to kill machines. i would not bother, its just a crap party trick.

I know, why don't you switch the dynasty to smaw mode and use the stick stinger it came with?

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Coldman wrote:I know, why don't you switch the dynasty to smaw mode and use the stick stinger it came with?

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It doesn't come with an electrode holder, but I bought a real nice 300A one that is almost ready to be replaced (only because I ran the electrodes down too far).

It sounds like I should not do it, so I won't. Not surprisingly, the Dynasty does such a nice job with the WP-20 or electrode holder.

I have a Thunderbolt 210 which is so much fun. Gosh, I am at my happiest while stick welding! The Thunderbolt 210 doesn't run 6010 so well (as confirmed by Miller when I called them about this), but I could not find that info anywhere online while researching the Thunderbolt 210.

My financial situation has changed since I bought my Dynasty. I would not be able to replace or repair it at this time.

Thanks for the help. You guys may have saved my Dynasty from disaster!

Also, the only arguable reason to ever do this would be to use pulse or vary the amperage. If you were looking for a constant current, you would use "Stick" mode on the machine, and providing current to the rod via an electrode holder or TIG torch accomplishes the same result (at the arc).

So if you choose either "HF TIG" or "Lift Arc TIG", you have chosen a situation where the machine is engineered to plumb in shielding gas. The electrode will be at least 12" long, so any sized cup that you use would fail to provide shielding gas coverage for 90+% of the rod burn. Turn off the gas and you are really inviting a situation that could damage the machine (for example, accelerating wear on the gas solenoid).

All for a party trick or curiosity, so not worth it.

The only remaining question that I would have is: does the shielding gas passing through the machine provide any meaningful (or significant) cooling for the machine? I don't know, but I would guess that the engineers who design the machines do not factor in any such cooling.