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What am I doing wrong?

I have a Miller 351 transformer tig machine (runs on 220 single phase) and find most tig videos are for the digital crowd and not much content on transformer machines.
 
Tom O said:
I have a Miller 351 transformer tig machine (runs on 220 single phase) and find most tig videos are for the digital crowd and not much content on transformer machines.
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I think it boils down to that you have so many fewer choices to make on the old-school units. Even on the fancy ones, it's usually pre-flow, ramp up, peak current, ramp down, post flow. With the odd other setting.

The hand skills are the same, though you don't have the options to pick through, as far as varying the frequency and all that. So you learn to deal with a lower current setting, for fine work, etc. <shrug> I learned on transformer machines, and that's what I have. As much as I would LIKE to have a new Inverter in the fold, it probably isn't the highest priority for me. Gotta get my wants and needs sorted. I WANT the $10K Miller unit, I NEED, well...probably less capability than I actually already have! LOL!

I get a lot out of Jody's videos on welderstipsandtricks channel on youtube. Unless he is showing what a particular machine can do, generally, his advice and experience applies to pretty much every guy trying to improve their work.
 
trevj said:
I get a lot out of Jody's videos on welderstipsandtricks
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Agreed (as an amateur, self-taught, pretend welder) I liked Jody enough that I purchased his full set of videos. There is so much BS on YouTube that I spend a lot less time there lately. Yea, Jody is selling stuff but there is very little BS and lots of good info. BTY: I now spend more time on the CHMW's forum than YouTube.
 
Good news! The new robust ground clamp solved the "occasional no arc" issue. And it is also more compact and easier to use than the clamp that came with the TIG welder. However, I have a question:

The new clamp, like the majority of quality ground clamps has a threaded screw that is tightened with a large diameter hex wrench. It also includes a slightly rounded "shim".

I tried using the shim between the screw and the approximately 1/4" diameter copper stranded grounding cable wire, but that did not hold the stranded wire at all securely - I could slide the wire cable back out of the clamp easily. So, I tried leaving out the shim and just letting the screw put sufficient pressure onto the wire to keep it from being able to slide out at all.

But, I suspect that there is a better, "proper" way to use that shim.

Can someone here tell me the PROPER way to make the connection between the stranded wire cable and the new grounding clamp?

Here's a photo:

Ground clamp.webp


Jim G
 
For a smaller gauge wire like this, with the curve up, larger gauge curve down, stripping twice as much as you need and folding it over works well with an oversized clamp (for your wire gauge)

Green is the wire, black is that curved shim

IMG_20230201_164553_253~3.jpg
 
Now look what you've started, maintenance wasn't my plan tonight, members here, such bad influences ;)IMG_20230201_171918_262~2.jpg
 
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