This doesn't seem right to me, but maybe he's welding beer cans? I read this, elsewhere: "...you can not start tig welding on thin sheet metal with out a foot pedal..." I never TIGged anything without a pedal, but was considering buying a machine without one. (No, no thumbwheel either...) 20Ga is about the thinnest I expect to weld, but can I weld thinner by striking the arc on a prepared filler or backer? I figure I can always use a backer or starter bar & snag it off later.
I think he is talking about aluminum. You can darn sure TIG all the carbon steel sheet metal you want without a foot pedal. You just need the foot pedal to start the puddle quickly on aluminum and then back it down.
"...you cannot start tig welding on thin sheet metal with out a foot pedal..." Every time you read this, just think of the person saying: "I cannot start a TIG welding arc on thin sheet metal with out a foot pedal." They are just admitting a personal shortcoming. Welcome that, because the first step is admitting that you have a problem.
Great! I've only done mild steel and food grade stainless with any arc welding before and have never tried aluminum. But I'm not actually wanting to weld aluminum at this point either.
I also think the guy means aluminium, I use a pedal as often as possible because it allows you more control, but you can still do it without.
tig welding with foot or thumb control is possible, but the best feature of tig is the instant control of heat from the foot pedal why go though all the trouble to avoid its best feature??
Yes you can do steel sheet metal without a foot pedal but unless you are a accomplished tig weldor there will be somewhat of a steep learning curve.You will also need a machine that goes down to very low amps to keep the puddle control in order.If you haven't done any tig I don't recommend this as your beginning session with tig welding.Why don't you mig it and be done with it.Sheet metal is mig welded every day in body shops.Very few body shops use tig at all. T
I bought my Miller Synchrowave 180 from some one else, who bought it from someone else. I got a practically new machine with Miller cart, consumables and filler rods plus stick welding attachment for $1100. Craigslist is your friend. You might have to drive a little but no more than you're going to use it, you will save a lot of money.
I bought my Lincoln 185 brand new for $1600. Granted, that was ten years ago, but it has never failed me, and I use it daily. No water cooled torch, but a foot pedal. If you want to really learn to do it right, Tig or Oxy Acetylene....
I have welded quite a bit with a torch actually. I can do sheetmetal OK, but I got to use a TIG machine and I'm spoiled. Also, having welded with stick and torch, I thought the TIG was a breeze. Now, granted, one of the old guys had set up the machine & all I did was turn the amps down a tad, pick up a filler, work the pedal slightly. I welded a nice bead on stainless pipe elbows, without practice, and I doubt it was 16 Ga. I was in love! While my hand might not be as steady as those days, but after that experience, I've always thought I should like to own a TIG welder. It was like welding had suddenly jumped from 1920 to the year 2000. This was technology that really worked. I believe that was a Miller Syncrowave machine, but it was fairly big. In fact just barely smaller than the war surplus Lincolns I learned to weld on in the 60's.
The size of the electrode is very important for sheet metal. also properly sharpened. You can not get a good start unless you use a small electrode.
I call BS: The attached pic shows TIG welding on 1.2mm ally done with an HF-start machine, by two guys on one of my courses who up to 30 minutes beforehand had NEVER TIG welded ANYTHING..... Does a pedal make it easier? Absofuckinglutely....but it sure isn't a necessity, much like it is perfectly possible to shape metal perfectly without a wheeling machine, planishing hammer or any other big machinery.. I learned TIG welding sheetmetal (without filler) on a cheap scratch-start TIG at Contour Autocraft in the UK - if it is good enough for their perfect Jag XK panels, it should be good enough for anyone. Sure the HF start makes it easier, and a pedal IS great, but it does add a layer of complexity that can actually make it harder for a beginner. This sums it up perfectly:
Yes you can weld without a pedal. Another great feature for a tig on thin sheetmetal is a pulse. This is an adjustment that lowers the current on a timed basis by a knob. Usually lowering the amperage very fast in spurts.
This Eastwood setup with plasma is starting to look very affordable if I forgo a acetylene cart setup for a while: http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-tig-plasma-and-cart-kit-48198.html Compared to other equipment I've been looking at (Hobart) it's half the price. For what I'm going to do, it's probably going to be perfect. But I worry about random sample defects. If I have to send it back to Eastwood, it would be a PITA. If the circuit board availability was nil, that would be a big PITA. (Most likely thing to fail IMO.)
I shoped for a tig years ago (before Cragslist) I would whatch the paper in the big cities but could never get there before they were sold so I call American welding supply in Texas and had one trucked in cost me 1200.00 bucks for a lincoln 300 tig with water cooled torch and stick set up this thing is a beast.
I tig all the time with my Lincoln 175, no foot pedal or thumb slide...I didn't like the feel of the foot pedal [dealer said nothing wrong with it] and the thumb slide I didn't like either as it has an "off" detent that is hard to over come to start causing torch movement, so don't use that either...someday I will take apart and make to my feel, but I always get by fine by just adjusting things at the machine as I go..
I work at a Job shop that has 6 to 7 tig machines, we put a micro swtich on the torch and start arc from it. It only takes two wires to do this works well.
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