have a straight AC-only thunderbolt now. "not so great" on thin stuff,
like 2x2 by a sixteenth wall sq steel tubing. I get 'burn through' too
often to suit me. would an AC/DC model of the same machine be any better
on THIN stuff?

I realize a mig setup with a gas bottle would 'for sure' be better, but
there's an AC/DC thunderbolt used nearby...

thanks for comments, guys

toolie
:-)

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replies by e-mail, if any, please remove the weirdstuff from my address
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On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:45:36 -0500, dave
wrote:

have a straight AC-only thunderbolt now. "not so great" on thin stuff,
like 2x2 by a sixteenth wall sq steel tubing. I get 'burn through' too
often to suit me. would an AC/DC model of the same machine be any better
on THIN stuff?

I realize a mig setup with a gas bottle would 'for sure' be better, but
there's an AC/DC thunderbolt used nearby...

thanks for comments, guys

toolie
:-)

- -
replies by e-mail, if any, please remove the weirdstuff from my address
before you click send. thanks :-)

DCRP (electrode positive) will work a bit better than AC, but not
nearly as well as a wirefeed. Consider: you would probably be
running .023 or .030 wire but I doubt if you'll find .032 (1/32")
stick electrodes.

1/16" wall sq steel tubing is very easy to weld well with a wirefeed.
That's among the things a small 110-volt wirefeed box does best.

The DC option will work slightly better than the AC only but not by much.

1/16" is .062" or 16 ga, quite reasonable for a properly set up AC
thunderbolt running 3/32" or 1/16" 6013 rod. Keep in mind that your gap
should not exceed about 1/3 of the the thickness (.020") if you want to
weld straight through without gong into a "fill the gap" mode.

You will find that welding square tubing of .049" and up is not too hard
with either stick or MIG. MIG is nicer in that it does not have the slag
and flux issues of stick. .032" and down is another story. It can be
done with MIG but really thin is TIG territory.

I'd suggest some better fitup, some new 6013 rod in the very small
sizes, and a lot of practice.

dave wrote:
have a straight AC-only thunderbolt now. "not so great" on thin stuff,
like 2x2 by a sixteenth wall sq steel tubing. I get 'burn through' too
often to suit me. would an AC/DC model of the same machine be any better
on THIN stuff?

I realize a mig setup with a gas bottle would 'for sure' be better, but
there's an AC/DC thunderbolt used nearby...

thanks for comments, guys

toolie
:-)

- -
replies by e-mail, if any, please remove the weirdstuff from my address
before you click send. thanks :-)
- -

On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:45:36 -0500, dave
wrote:

have a straight AC-only thunderbolt now. "not so great" on thin stuff,
like 2x2 by a sixteenth wall sq steel tubing. I get 'burn through' too
often to suit me. would an AC/DC model of the same machine be any better
on THIN stuff?

I realize a mig setup with a gas bottle would 'for sure' be better, but
there's an AC/DC thunderbolt used nearby...

thanks for comments, guys

toolie
:-)

- -
replies by e-mail, if any, please remove the weirdstuff from my address
before you click send. thanks :-)
- -

I have sectioned many auto body patches with a Tbolt using
Lincoln 3/32 6011. Requires a bit of practice set around 45A dc. Make
a puddle and flick it forward, don't try and do a long bead. keep
it in small stitches. Fitted and clamped tight. Watch the puddle, arc
length, & position Not a lot of distortion, turnedout better than
Oxacy. The Lincoln 6011 3/32 is the only rod that works on
thin stuff that I've found. Quick freeze rod is nice if you know
how to run it.

Thin tube with good fit up is childs play in comparrison. The DC on
the Tbolt is an very good improvement, . The bead quality is much
nicer than AC. Plus you can run LoHi rod+++ ED