tig was similar to oxy- easy to start but hard to get great welds til you practice.

i sucked at oxy and at tig- lucky theres mig

great you got instructions for it.

Well I got a users manual for it in email today.

The Arc Force knob is for stick welding and not Tig,which is why it does nothing in TIG mode.

Aparently you can adjust the penetration rate without increasing the amps. According to the book, it works similar to pulling the rod away and back into the weld pool. By pulling away you lessen the penetration without changing amps and pushing in will increase penetration at the same amps.
This knob allows you turn this up and down. At 1, changing the arc distance wont change the penetration. At 10 it is very sensitive to arc distance.

Pretty advanced option for stick welding. Never seen a stick welder with that as an option before. The manual says thats its really good for vertical and overhead welding, for changing direction eaisly, root welds and fillets.

Mystery solved.

Now just to teach myself TIG welding

No instructions have come with it. nature of second hand i spose.

I have contacted Cigweld Thermadyne, and they didnt have anything readily available, but said that they would email me what they had in the archives as it is not a current product line.

No email as yet from them.

Hopefully they email me an owners manual tha tells me what it does.

We are men, apart from forcing things(like issues or round pegs into square holes ) if ut works and it's making strong welds- go for it. No instructions?

Quote:

Yeah very ture. I havent tried it, but from all accounts you can TIG with and ARC and ARC with a TIG.
Ive even seen pics of an ARC rod put into a TIG handpiece and used.
Nah its not one of the old crank handle type ones. Ive got aphoto of my unit on the previous page. Ill relink it here so its not lost.




the knob on the far right is the confusuing one. (arc force)

The large one at the top is the Amps (1-10)
The second row as three. Pre flow, post flow, and then Arc Force

Maybe its a AC alloy feature as it seems to work alright on mild steel.

If it's the old cig act welders, didn't the huge crank knob just increase or decrease the amps? Played with an old arc like that at tafe course, and any arc could be converted to tig with gas lines etc

Not me sorry - just answering I don't know and no one else answering.

I'd loves plasma cutter one day- they are fun and easy to use too

anyone?

CIGweld now sell two different ranges.

The
Cigweld - professional (real stuff)
Cigweld - Weldskill (home/hobbist range)

The Weldskill stuff is rubbish aparently. Cheap stuff aimed at the home user. The boilermakers up here bought a Weldskill TIG DC unit and curse it every day. It just doesent work like it should. Poor duty cycle, finicky and cheap internals. They hate it. They even look cheap aparently.

The professional range is the way forward, but you pay for that.

Speaking with my local welding repairs shop, he supports the Weldmaster brand and says that they are a good home user/hobbist unit. Comsumables are eaisly available, good adjustments, parts are available, and well priced. I tend to believe him as the style of shop he runs and his demeanour suggest that he is a trustworthy character. He sells the CIGweld stuff, along with Lincon, and other big brands. the oly cheap brand he sells is the Weldmaster range in welders, but he didnt like their plasma cutters so he sells another brand of them (forget which one now). He follows the best of breed policy.

I was considering one till I cam accross this older Cigweld unit.

Anyone have any information on the Arc Force knob and what it does.

never buy a TOOLEX 180AMP they dont last,
yeah looking to buy again...been told CIG your better off buying those units they last the distance, yeah sure you pay more but the quality's there