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So if anyone is interested?

You can convert a MIG welder to TIG, I converted a DC MIG Lincoln MIG 140 to use DC TIG. All the parts are on line and I did it for just over $200 cad. So if your into big savings and can't afford a AC/DC tig like me this is an option, and DC TIG welds copper just fine, if your super cheap like me you'll even strip electrical wire for filler rod. I would say you can convert any MIG to TIG, your duty cycle might be an issue on some models like mine but it does a great job. One note to mention, it will be a "scratch start" rig so will gain yet another skill, it will open up your welding of different materials 10 fold and super clean welds too, and yes at first they will look like dog shit, mine were. :D

I should be able to whip out a few pictures if anyone is interested, might even attempt a video if I get balsey enough.

cheers,TL

Sounds interesting would like to see some pics :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Why not just go buy a Lincoln i130 amp caddy welder, DC arc welding and also the DC scratch start TIG. I bought one to replace my ol' trusty Lincoln 140 amp caddy I bought in '03 which went out in style throwing 1 metre long blue arcs and it melted the top of the welder, also took out my 5Kva genset too with a hole in the secondary I could fit my little finger in.

Now with tig welding copper with the old welder it was like 100 amps with with new welder it's like 15-20 amps and go bloody quickly or find nice holes in your weld. Now with the i130 it has a 100% duty cycle @100 amps and with building my 6" jaw crusher it will burn 3mm TC16's all day without stopping due to overheating. Also this new welder works nicely on my 3Kw sinewave inverter doing arc welding where the old one would surge out the inverter when striking an arc.

Also with a Lincoln caddy they are designed to run off a genset where other brands will just let out the magic smoke when you strike an arc

cheers Bryan

Yeah I would not go converting a MIG to a TIG.
Just buy a multi process welder.
They are getting cheap nowadays.
He'll even a caddy DC lift tig is about $300, so unless you must have a MIG just get one of them

Any arc welder can be a scratch tig with a 17v handpiece - it has an argon knob built in, $60-120au
Arc welders can usually be had for the $50 region for an old one, a bit more if you want one the tig handset will attach to easily

But for the cost of a cheap Chinese one, hardly worth it. HF start seems like a very good option to have for tip life

The Lincoln sounds good for the long haul

I would still be intrested to see what has to be done though
You might be pushing the forums safety rules - add appropriate warnings :handgestures-thumbupleft:

So the point of starting this thread was to offer a "CHEAP" alternative for someone who has a mig already, as I think most of us buy as a first welder as I did. I couldn't afford to drop the dollars on a ac/dc tig a few years ago but wanted to learn how to tig or use it in still building. It's not about going out and buying a welder to convert to tig it's about making due with what you have. There are so many arc and mig welders out there people just give them or trade them away.

I'll put up some pics in a few days....

RC Al wrote:Any arc welder can be a scratch tig with a 17v handpiece - it has an argon knob built in, $60-120au
Arc welders can usually be had for the $50 region for an old one, a bit more if you want one the tig handset will attach to easily

But for the cost of a cheap Chinese one, hardly worth it. HF start seems like a very good option to have for tip life

The Lincoln sounds good for the long haul

I would still be intrested to see what has to be done though
You might be pushing the forums safety rules - add appropriate warnings :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Totes still wanna see pics :handgestures-thumbupleft:

So what sort of TIG did you end up with?
AC or DC?
You said DC but then mentioned AC when saving money.
Definitely wanna see build pics and welds from it.

So here is a quick video on the ease of turning a MIG into a DC. TIG

https://youtu.be/_BZ2nBWCcXk

USE THIS LINK, I NEEDED TO EDIT THE POST BUT AFTER 15 MINUTES YOU CAN'T



https://youtu.be/Ir4XEx4OGdA

video NLA

THELEGION Hasn’t logged in since April 2020