Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
07-08-2006, 12:54 AM
#1
1.5 BAR
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,039
Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
This is pretty much copy/pasted from honda-tech. Main thing I wanted to point out was that I added a pedal to it. Ill try it out as soon as i find some gas in CO :-/
Here are some quick pics i took; keep in mind while looking at them i have ZERO tig experience and pretty much just picked up and ran with this after reading only a few articles on the net and it a few books. The uglyness is mostly the weldor not the welder. Cleaning and preperation of the metal was minimal at best; i mostly used just a wire brush; and on the mild steel in the last pic i didnt even bother knocking off the aluminum coating; with more practice and real prep i know this little welder will perform.
Overall i'm quite impressed with this little machine; we nicknamed it the "Rescue Toaster" after an episode of sealab 2021. My friend saw it and didnt think it was worth a ---- then i showed him and he used it and named it that :P
It's really not a bad machine; the scratch start is annoying but i've got to the point where i can start the arc with minimal effort and not get the tungsten stuck. It has a built in gas valve so you dont need to worry about opening and closing the valve on the torch and it has a 2 second post flow once you stop the arc.
For $200 i couldn't be happier with it
OK; So i finally got around to building a pedal; here it is:
Pedal look familiar? :P
Basically I took the potentiometer out of the welder and transplanted it into a set of N64 racing pedals I got from Good Will for $3. Three dollar pedal mod. Cant beat that with a ------- stick!
Here is the welders 10k pot in place of the old 25k ohm
I haven't had a chance to check it out with the TIG. I've haven't had a chance to find some argon here in Colorado yet so no tig =( I did try it out with some 7018 welding rods. That was a miserable failure; 7018 rods are significantly harder to use than 6011 for an arc n00b such as myself
Here are some quick pics i took; keep in mind while looking at them i have ZERO tig experience and pretty much just picked up and ran with this after reading only a few articles on the net and it a few books. The uglyness is mostly the weldor not the welder. Cleaning and preperation of the metal was minimal at best; i mostly used just a wire brush; and on the mild steel in the last pic i didnt even bother knocking off the aluminum coating; with more practice and real prep i know this little welder will perform.
Overall i'm quite impressed with this little machine; we nicknamed it the "Rescue Toaster" after an episode of sealab 2021. My friend saw it and didnt think it was worth a ---- then i showed him and he used it and named it that :P
It's really not a bad machine; the scratch start is annoying but i've got to the point where i can start the arc with minimal effort and not get the tungsten stuck. It has a built in gas valve so you dont need to worry about opening and closing the valve on the torch and it has a 2 second post flow once you stop the arc.
For $200 i couldn't be happier with it
OK; So i finally got around to building a pedal; here it is:
Pedal look familiar? :P
Basically I took the potentiometer out of the welder and transplanted it into a set of N64 racing pedals I got from Good Will for $3. Three dollar pedal mod. Cant beat that with a ------- stick!
Here is the welders 10k pot in place of the old 25k ohm
I haven't had a chance to check it out with the TIG. I've haven't had a chance to find some argon here in Colorado yet so no tig =( I did try it out with some 7018 welding rods. That was a miserable failure; 7018 rods are significantly harder to use than 6011 for an arc n00b such as myself
07-08-2006, 03:53 PM
#5
1.5 BAR
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,181
Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
i have the exact same welder bout it from someone on hmt for 175 shipped 
...never had a chance to play with it yet..i still need a 220 line in the garage and need to buy gas..but im glad you posted this because i know the machine actually can do the job good
...never had a chance to play with it yet..i still need a 220 line in the garage and need to buy gas..but im glad you posted this because i know the machine actually can do the job good
07-08-2006, 07:26 PM
#6
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,039
Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
Originally Posted by Turdbo
i have the exact same welder bout it from someone on hmt for 175 shipped ...never had a chance to play with it yet..i still need a 220 line in the garage and need to buy gas..but im glad you posted this because i know the machine actually can do the job good
...never had a chance to play with it yet..i still need a 220 line in the garage and need to buy gas..but im glad you posted this because i know the machine actually can do the job good 
07-08-2006, 08:51 PM
#8
1.0 BAR
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 209
Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
so does the wire from the pedal going to where the potentiometer carrry alot of current? would it eventually burn up on heavy use
im curious cuz if this is a safe set-up then im going to do the same to mine...sweet job by the way
im curious cuz if this is a safe set-up then im going to do the same to mine...sweet job by the way
07-08-2006, 10:21 PM
#9
1.5 BAR
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,039
Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
Originally Posted by excivic93
so does the wire from the pedal going to where the potentiometer carrry alot of current? would it eventually burn up on heavy use im curious cuz if this is a safe set-up then im going to do the same to mine...sweet job by the way
im curious cuz if this is a safe set-up then im going to do the same to mine...sweet job by the way
