Gotta crow a little

[Rustybolt]

For extra credit in my tig welding class, I decided I'd weld some 4 inch steel pipe. I grooved the pipe in the lathe and welded it in every position except undernieth. The instructor who used to weld for Ammaco oil asked me if I ever welded pipe before, cause he said it sure looked like I did.
On the down side; My alum. welds look like some kid hit the joints with a soldering iron.

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

My TIG class is over.. I've been playing with my TIG machine a lot since I got it a few weeks ago. I've used about 1/3 of my 300CF Argon bottle already. I wanted to make my TIG chair a little taller, so I cut it in half, and TIG'd 6 1/4" round bar extensions to the base to give me another 6" of height:



It's a little HOT, but I like it that way



One of my alum scrap that I've been playing with:



Some alum boxes I made from uneven scraps (I buffed/polished the small box):



-Adrian

[wierdscience]

Hey Adrian,weld a pipe boss to the cubes,add a tee and a guage,then you can do a DESTRUCTIVE test

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

Yup, I plan to build a bunch of small sealed air tight aluminum boxes and tanks that I'll pressureize until they explode..

-Adrian

[dp]

Pretty cool. I've wished to have the time and patience to weld but I rarely have the need. One time, though, it was critical. I used a MIG welder (like I know the difference) but did come up with a fine product. I mean, how hard can it be?

http://hawglydavidson.com/vbgstories...uld_it_be.html

And now that the deck is finished I need to get to work on the cobb oven to pull all this together.

dp

[wierdscience]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by 3 Phase Lightbulb:
Yup, I plan to build a bunch of small sealed air tight aluminum boxes and tanks that I'll pressureize until they explode..

-Adrian</font>

Explode? All they need to hold is 5psi and you can build barges and fuel tanks

[Evan]

"All they need to hold is 5psi and you can build barges and fuel tanks"

Done both.

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by wierdscience:
Explode? All they need to hold is 5psi and you can build barges and fuel tanks

</font>

Yup.. I'll be makling all sorts of things out of aluminum. Especially when I get my 16ga shear. I'll be able to even weld up my own square tubing, frames, tanks, etc.

-Adrian

[torker]

Hmmm...(yawn) it must be TIG night!
OK...I'll play! Here's the start of the second pass (3/16" wide V groove) on a hub I was welding tonight..

3Phase...you have your tungsten too far away from the puddle (and you may be going too slow)....thats why yer weld is so wide and the HAZ is sorta molten looking.
Russ

[This message has been edited by torker (edited 04-27-2005).]

[torker]

Damn...I just looked at that..I'm about 5 amps too cold...have to restart that in the morning

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by torker:
3Phase...you have your tungsten too far away from the puddle (and you may be going too slow)....thats why yer weld is so wide and the HAZ is sorta molten looking.
</font>

I had to fill large gaps everywhere because I was using scrap that I cut in small peices free hand on my bandsaw not knowing I was going to join them. I found it was a little easier to dab in filler rod building up small bridges over the gap, then re-flowing when I had enough material built up.

-Adrian

[torker]

3Ph...I was talking about the pic of the rods welded to the tubes. Also see some undercut there. Welding something round to something flat is a tough weld with tig. This one is even tougher because you have a thin round piece to work with as well. You need a very sharp angle to get in the gap under the rod and a small filler rod. A 1/4" cup works well for this. Cheat a bit on the tungsten stickout. Hard to use a gas lens for this joint as it's too fat for the angle. I know...it's only a stool! Tig on!
To add..be careful when welding up those sealed cubes (billets). The air can super heat in them and when you are doing the last few dabs, it can blow out and spray you with molten aluminum. I always leave the last little gap or opening, let it cool then sneak up on it and weld the last bit quickly before it gets too hot.

[This message has been edited by torker (edited 04-27-2005).]

[IOWOLF]

I have found that amum. tig welding takes alot of filler rod.
Those practice welds cost a bunch.

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by torker:
3Ph...I was talking about the pic of the rods welded to the tubes. Also see some undercut there. Welding something round to something flat is a tough weld with tig. This one is even tougher because you have a thin round piece to work with as well. You need a very sharp angle to get in the gap under the rod and a small filler rod. A 1/4" cup works well for this. Cheat a bit on the tungsten stickout. Hard to use a gas lens for this joint as it's too fat for the angle. I know...it's only a stool! Tig on!</font>

Yup, I totally agree.. I actually was going to MIG the round rod on because I didn't think I was going to be able to TIG 1/4" round rod onto thin tubing like that but I did one test joint and I was surprised that I didn't burn right through the tubing so I continued with TIG.. I was using 1/16" 2% Cer/Tung and 1/4" cup, and mild 1/16" 70S02 rod at 20 CFH Argon. 95% of my TIG has been on 1/16th alum so I'm just starting to do more DCEN TIG with steel and thicker materials.. I keep surprising myself though..

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by torker:
To add..be careful when welding up those sealed cubes (billets). The air can super heat in them and when you are doing the last few dabs, it can blow out and spray you with molten aluminum. I always leave the last little gap or opening, let it cool then sneak up on it and weld the last bit quickly before it gets too hot.

[This message has been edited by torker (edited 04-27-2005).]</font>

Thanks, that's excelent advice.. Now that I think about it, I'm probably lucky I had such a poor fit all around because I can see that being a serious problem.. I must have a small pin hole leak somewhere too, because now that I think about it, I would have expected it to implode a little bit as that super heated air inside cools after I completely sealed it.. When I get my shear, I'm going to make some more boxes starting with perfectly cut pieces so I'll definitely take your advice and close her up after she cools down...

Thanks again... great advice!

-Adrian

[torker]

Adrian... You'll get it. Just lots of practice. Thing about tig...you need constant practice to keep the rythmn you need.
I don't do it enough and can't see well enough anymore to be as good as I once was, when I welded SS in the pulp mills.
Takes a very steady hand and very keen eyes.
This is the start of the cap on that weld in the previous pic

See...I've got a couple of little missed tie ins and I had to use too big of a cup (I broke the 5/16" that I like to use on 1/4" wide caps like this.) More practice and this wouldn't have happened.
Russ