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Lincoln welder

j3jm

Registered User
Canyon, Texas
I just bought a used Lincoln 175 TIG welder that does not have an operators manual. I have one on the way, but in the meantime, can anyone give me any settings to get started practicing welding 4130 with? AC? What amps and gas flow? Any other tips? Thanks Joe
 
Joe

For steel you want DC Straight Polarity, AC is for Aluminum. Basic rule of thumb is use...1amp per .001th of material thickness, add 30% for inside fillets, and subtract 30% for outside fillets.

Example: .049 Basic = 50 amps, Inside fillet (+30%) = 65 amps, Outside fillet (-30%) = 35 amps. So set your machine up to 65-70 amps and use your foot pedal to regulate the power as you go around the joint.

I like a 2% Lanthanated tungsten, but 2% Thoriated is used by a lot of people. Keep it nice and sharp...easiest was to sharpen is chuck it up in a cordless drill and sharpen while running the drill. Always grind the tungsten lengthwise...not around.

Get yourself a set of Gas Lens Collet Bodies, instead of Standard Collet Bodies, they will make life easier (you can stick the tungsten out further) Go to www.CKWorldwide.com and click on their technical page and you will find a bunch of useful info there, on Argon Flow, Tungsten size, etc. All good info for you to have. While you are there, check out their Superflex cables, they are great.

Do you Gas Weld? That's a good primer to learn puddle control for TIG.
A Class in TIG won't hurt either...bad habits are easy to learn and hard to change.

Frank
 
Joe,
One tip that I can give you; I have the same welder and I have found that the optional thumb control is very helpful in welding airframes. It allows you to start, stop and control the intensity of the amps.

Ron
 
Ron,

You don't use the foot control? I always felt the thumb control was too ackward. Then again I am a terrible Tig welder. Acetelene all the way!!!! I am curious as I would eventually like to convert to TIG

Bill
 
The Torch mounted control from CK Worldwide is a better unit then the Lincoln. Their straight pencil torch is also easier to use in tight clusters.

Frank
 
Bill

I like the thumb control because you don't have to drag another cord around and it is always handy. If you convert to tig you will never go back to gas.

Ron
 
j3jm, I got that same torch last year, and it's been a lot of fun. Make your practice fun by just using it and you'll find out real quick what will and wont work. I got about 3 times as much 4130 as I would need for a set of rudder pedals and chopped the extra up for practice. I made a funky cactus looking thing and a couple of space alien looking critters that are still rattling around under the shop bench.
I've found that the gas flow didn't need to be more than about 8cfm for the thinwall tubing while the torch is running. When it's off the gauge will spike back up to about 15. I use a dedicated grinding wheel for sharpening the tungsten rod. If your learning curve is anything like mine you will want the grinder fairly close to where you are welding, because you will be going back and forth to it a lot. I've heard some guys like to use a belt sander for sharpening also.
I was elated when I first finished a practice weld without having to clean the rod. There was also a lot of frustration and times when I would have to just walk away because things just didn't seem to be working that night. You will want to chop up a lot of your practice pieces after they are done to see how you are doing from the other side of the weld also.
Another thing that seemed to help me when I was just getting started (I'm still learning as far as I'm concerned) was to break up the monotony of trying to make perfect welds by just fooling around with it, seeing how big I could get the weld puddle before blew a hole in it, tacking things together without filler rod, etc.
I prefer using the smallest filler rod that the welding shop here had, and I think it was.035 ER70S-2, but I'll be switching to an ER80something (I forget right now, but Lincoln recomends it as the best for 4130 thinwall aircraft stuff) before I make any more pieces this winter.
 
Thanks, that's pretty much what I am experiencing too. What size tungsten do you use, 1/16th?
 
I would recommend a belt sander only for tungsten sharpening, when I upgraded to a larger belt sander in my shop I dedicated the 1 inch belt sander to tungsten only. It helps to use a cordless drill and sand the tungsten in a vertical plane so as not to leave "saturn" rings on the tungsten, this will get the best and shapest point. I use RG60 rod for TIG and RG 45 for ox/acet. A gas lens is a big help especially for a beginner.When you get into welding up landing gear a 3/32 collet and tungsten will work for the heavy wall tubing such as axles otherwise 1/16th would be the optimum size, I built my cub to the Northland print and used .028 wall in many areas to help save weight, the fine control of heat with the TIG make welding the .028 wall much more manageable.
 
I dont consider myself an "expert" but as many guys on this site I will give an opinion. Normalizing a weld is simply controling the heat , it is a long explanation, when you are welding a cluster such as on a fuselage the whole area is well heated up, if you are using ox/acet. welding process then you should slowly feather out the heat from the cluster to a dull cherry red state and allow the area just welded to cool natually. If you are using TIG process you will get as many opinions as Baskin & Robbins has flavors. Some welders believe you should "normalize" and some believe this is not necessary. others believe airplanes will fall out of the sky w/o it. I dont know what a major fuselage builder like Airframes inc is doing but I know that Aviat does not normalize the Husky and Pitts fuselages. Im sure this question will generate some opinions.
 
J3Jm I use the 1/16th tungsten, and I'm going to look into a better gas cup as I like to run the rod out as far as I can. I would also like to get a more flexible cable for the torch.
Now I'm not an "expert" but I thought normalizing was the same as anealing? In order to do that properly you have to heat the workpiece for an extended period of time (like six hours) as well as have a controlled cooling period. When you pull the heat slowly away from the weld in Ox/Act you are shielding the weldment from the air with the coolest part of the flame till the metal cools below the point that it will oxidize, cherry red or cooler. You use the gas flow from the TIG torch to shield/cool the weld, instead of pulling slowly away with the torch just hold the torch at the end of the weld and wait while the cool argon sucks the heat out of the weld.
 
Frank T said:
Joe

easiest was to sharpen is chuck it up in a cordless drill and sharpen while running the drill.

Frank


.......Seems I do things the hard way and burn my fingers to well done for 20+ years...... before someone points out the obvious, easier and better way... I usually sharpen 10 or so at a time so it would be quite convenient..

Thanks for the tip,
works well other than I need to find a cheap light drill for doing this......
 
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