Question for Tig Users

[aboard_epsilon]

I've just done some mig welding and it looks a bit beady in one place .
rather than grind it down and re-do it.
is it possible ...just to heat it up with my tig and get it to flow out more.

all the best..mark

[JRouche]

The real issue is not appearance but penetration.

I almost suspect a cold joint if you have "beading" or "bird turd" but thats just guessin if I cant see the weld.

Now, if it's just an overzealous application of molten metal an penetration is good but the build-up is excessive for yer likin you can melt the peak down abit with a heat source such as TIG. I have done it.

The preferred method for an unacceptable weld is to grind her down towards the root. I would grind until there will be no inclusions or voids. Basically down to base metal if necessary. JRouche

[jfsmith]

I would not think of doing this in the fashion mentioned, Don't weld a weld, it's bad form. It works for some folks, but I would do a new weld after preping the area by grinding or whatever

Jerry

[cntryboy1289]

I would grind it back to smooth metal and check the weld. If you had good penetration and are happy with it, leave it. If not, then weld it again. Check your wire speed and make sure you aren't spooling more wire than necessary or if you are just moving too slow. Practise on scrap and make sure you have it right before moving on to a project.

[aboard_epsilon]

It's over engineered and has a lot too much weld than needed already .
the only reason I want to do this is because I will be showing pics here of it ...and I didn't want someone pulling it to bits and saying this and that....
my camera has a habit of making things look bad as well ...it exagerates any faults ....when they are not faults .only barely noticable before I take pics.
It's my little crane doofor that I've constructed for my mill.
its ment to pick up about 150lbs ...but the way I've made it ......it could pick up a ton easily.
hope you see where im coming from.
all the best....mark

[aboard_epsilon]

Made the mistake of welding it when everyone was cooking there sunday dinner ....not good.......you can never work out the settings to set your machine at ....one min its great next not .
Tip for the tip book .
Never weld between the hours of 12pm and 4 pm on a sunday.
all the best.mark

[This message has been edited by aboard_epsilon (edited 07-04-2005).]

[wierdscience]

Old saying "when in doubt,grind it out",maybe it's just cold and maybe it's just crowned up a little bit heavy,you won't know until you look.

[JRouche]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by aboard_epsilon:
the only reason I want to do this is because I will be showing pics here of it </font>

If I see a weld that has been ground just for appearance sake I suspect the weld.

Leave it in all it's glory for the nit-pickers, umm, I mean helpful observationists (notta word) to examine.

Armchair machinists are similar to armchair football players. Alotta talk about the game but not much happenin on their field. JRouche

[John Stevenson]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by aboard_epsilon:
Made the mistake of welding it when everyone was cooking there sunday dinner
Tip for the tip book .
Never weld between the hours of 12pm and 4 pm on a sunday.
all the best.mark

</font>

Mad cow weld ???

John S.

[sandman2234]

Before I had aluminum capibilities, I was enlisted to build a gas tank for a generator on a Greyhound bus/motorhome for a friend. Making it out of stainless was cost prohibitive, so I farmed it all out. The welder I chose, mig welded the 1/8" aluminum, and it leaked. So he welded up the holes,and it leaked more elsewhere. After the 3rd repair, I took it to a welding shop, who did it 3 times, same story.
After I bought my TIG, I went over the whole tank one time, and it never leaked again. I could control the penetration better than they could with the mig, so it worked out.
No, I was not a better welder than either of those shops.
David from jax

[Your Old Dog]

"the only reason I want to do this is because I will be showing pics here of it ...and I didn't want someone pulling it to bits and saying this and that....
my camera has a habit of making things look bad as well ...it exagerates any faults ...."


Hell, that ain't a welding question, it's a Photoshop question! Duplicate the layer, give it some heavy gossian blur, erase all the layer with the gossian blur except the area by the weld! (feather the brush, cut back on the opacity) Hell, you can make that weld look like retouched photo of a pimply faced kid! Then, when you're done with that, don't give it too much "unsharpening" and your project should be beautiful! Email me the jpeg and I'll help you out! LOL

I also saved a shot of a good weld I once got that I can cut and paste into any project meant to be posted here !