Tig Welders Bring Them Out.

[Clown]

Any One Own Or Use A tig Welder?
What kind you got what size tungsten do you use?
Lets See Some Of Those Projects.
Position welds
Aluminum welds
Stainless welds
Pictures Please
:)

[Clown]

Here is the one Everyone has allready seen.
Thought it was kinda cool
Welded it with 3/32
Never burned thru
Was Going to throw it away but took a picture before I cut it apart to check for porasity.http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/506/1222Tin_can_welding-med.JPG:D

[Stab-n-Steer]

I have a 250 amp Miller "Dialarc" with a Weldcraft water-cooled torch. Water-cooled is the only way to go if you weld aluminum. They are much smaller than an air-cooled torch. I've had the Miller for almost 20 years and it's been a great machine but I have a new Square Wave on my shopping list. It's amazing the difference especially when welding aluminum... Welding aluminum with a conventional machine takes a lot of talent. I do ok but when I want those perfect, symmetrical beads I take it to a professional. Stainless is by far the easiest material to weld. Stay away from 303 however, because it will usually crack when welded...
Here's one for you, has anyone ever welded aluminum with DC, straight polarity? Works great when welding 1/4" or thicker sections...
S&S

[victorfb]

thats awsome welding the two cans together. i went out and tried it after seeing that.. well, i guess i need alot more practice...lol i am having a hard time controling were the burn tip is. seems like it is too wide or something. i am so used to mig welding and seeing the wire right at the weld. maybe i am holding the tip too far away. i was reading a tig book last night and saw that you should hold it at the same distance as the size of tungsten your useing. i was holding it further than that. the arc was kind of eratic, not so pin pointed sort of speak. i think i may have had the tungsten a bit too far out of the cup aswell. i have the miller Syncrowave 180 SD. i saw the catalog for torches and it looks like i can run a watercooled one with my machine, or can you with any machine? not sure. but for now im gunna learn with the air cooled. how much are the water cooled torches with the whole set up deal? Christmas IS coming...:D

[Stab-n-Steer]

A 250A water cooled torch is about $100. It's the cooling system that's pricey... If you don't do a lot of welding you can run tap water through it but make sure to limit the flow becuase you can blow out the water lines... Heres a listing of Weldmark (not Weldcraft) torches. They are very good quality...
S&S
https://secure.ramweldingsupply.com/products-list.mcic?c=315&m=183

[Clown]

Here's one for you, has anyone ever welded aluminum with DC, straight polarity? Works great when welding 1/4" or thicker sections...
Really Never tried that but will run out to the old Garage and try it I have some 3/8 Aluminum laying around .
And As For the Pop Can trick I started out with the tungeston ground to almost a Point but not quit , It seemed to work very well after a while it di\d start to get the Ball on it and by then I had had the hang of it,
That was my First Atempt At welding the cans together
It didnt turn out bad at all ,
allthow I am working on getting the nice beads down path
Remeber if it starts to get to hot! Use the filler rod to take some heat away
You wont have to really heat the cans because their so thin just heat the filler after a bit.
I have a lincoln 175 a Square Wave
With air cooled torch
If I am doing aluminum I usally Pre heat the Piece
I have also helded NI-99 Rod to cast iron ,It worked awesome! But remeber Preheat!

[Racing Ray]

No preheating needed when welding aluminum DC straight polarity however a couple of tips. Use a mixture of 75% argon and 25% helium and sharpen your tungsten with 2 seperate angles about 60* starting angle and ending on the tip with a 45* angle. This will help pull the puddle together and a sharp single angle will tend to splay the puddle.
2% thoriated tungsten has a tendency to burn off when welding aluminum on AC try to use some 1% thoriated instead it will ball up on the end without having to use reverse polarity to accomplish this. It will not spit the tungsten into your weld like 2% will on higher amperages

[Racing Ray]

http://www.highperformancecars.com/highperformanceboating/pipes.jpg
Here is a set of 4" "S" pipes I made.

[victorfb]

hey Ray, great tips, thanks. oddly enough i was just in the shop playing around and found that i was sharpening the tips wrong and even more stupid was that when i would contaminate the tungsten with the aluminium, i was trying to clean the aluminium off by grinding it. just trying to save the tungsten as it aint cheap and i only have a couple. i noticed that the tungsten was heating up way into the gun were i had tried cleaning it. i then just snapped it off clean, resharpened the way you just mentioned and woohooo, what a differance.:D i also noticed that i was letting the tungsten stick out from the cup a bit too far. i started welding test plates without filler, with filler, thicker material, differant angles. man i was stoked. and im even get the hang of adjusting the heat with my finger (no foot control). i was so confident that i ended up welding one half of the cool throttle linkage i am making for the buggy and it came out bitchin. still have to machine another part for the other carb and weld the arms to that one too. man, with a bigger lathe and a mill id be in hog heaven. you machinist have the life!!! get to play with that stuff all day... :D
after the linkage its time to make a breather dump can. damn i love this stuff...:p

[Stab-n-Steer]

Originally posted by Racing Ray
No preheating needed when welding aluminum DC straight polarity however a couple of tips. Use a mixture of 75% argon and 25% helium and sharpen your tungsten with 2 seperate angles about 60* starting angle and ending on the tip with a 45* angle. This will help pull the puddle together and a sharp single angle will tend to splay the puddle.
2% thoriated tungsten has a tendency to burn off when welding aluminum on AC try to use some 1% thoriated instead it will ball up on the end without having to use reverse polarity to accomplish this. It will not spit the tungsten into your weld like 2% will on higher amperages
Excellent advice Ray. Obviously you are a welder. I have always used straight Helium when I weld DCSP on Alum. Is the 75/25 mix better?
S&S

[Racing Ray]

Much better the argon burns much cleaner and the weld will have even less porosity and contamination. Not only myself a welder for a long time but 2 of my sons have worked for me for close to 15 years. We now specialize in Stainless Steel for the Food, Dairy, bio-tech and such industries.
Our hobbies besides boating (they both have their own boats) are Drag Racing and building/ modifying our race cars. Welding comes in handy for that too.

[Racing Ray]

http://www.highperformancecars.com/highperformanceboating/polish2.jpg
Here is a blower belt cover I made for Racing Rascal a year or so ago. This was after I polished it and before I cut the flames in it.

[Havasu Hangin']

But where are the "food grade S pipes"?

[Racing Ray]

Originally posted by Havasu Hangin'
But where are the "food grade S pipes"?
Jeff your Browser broken? Just a couple of posts back! LOL!

[victorfb]

yep. and those things are awsome. :D i do have a bender but its for smaller tubing, like buggy frames and such. the largest die i have is 2 inch. but i am thinking of making some headers. just to see if i could pull it off. does anyone know how they bend the double tubes, like jaketed headers? i have an idea but havnt tried it yet. heres what i was thinking.... taking the smaller tube and sliding it into the larger one, welding it centered at each end but allowing an area to fill the void between the two with sand, and capping it it so the sand cannot come out. i think this will allow me to bend both tubes and the sand will keep the clearances between them. after the bend then just cut the caps and empty the sand. what do you guys think?

[Racing Ray]

Those "S" bends were assembled with standard 4" tubing 90s there are 4 welds in each pipe. I have a section on building headers on my website. Might want to check it out.
Headers (http://www.highperformancecars.com/headerpage1.htm)

[Unchained]

I couldn't let this thread go by without putting up the picture of my turbo headers again.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/504/220DSC01631-med.JPG
After a season of use on them now I can say that they have worked out excellent.
Locating the turbos behind the engine was a great location for getting the valve covers off.

[Havasu Hangin']

Originally posted by Racing Ray
Jeff your Browser broken? Just a couple of posts back! LOL!
Well, I feel like an idiot. Maybe I was blinded by that shiny blower belt guard.
Where's the pharmaceutical grade stuff (pardon the expression)?
BTW...if you feel like making another cover, I may have a customer.

[Racing Ray]

I just got back from a year in Maryland. Looks right now like I am on a project here in Phoenix for maybe as long as the next year. I should know for sure in the next couple of weeks.
Expect to see a new dairy product on your local grocers shelves soon. If I told you more I would have to kill you!!!LOL!!!

[Kindsvater Flat]

I use straight argon for my all my tig welding and mix gas for the mig.
Hey Stab.... we have the same TIG welder.
http://www.v-drivevideo.com/mike/weld1.JPG
http://www.v-drivevideo.com/mike/weld2.JPG
http://www.v-drivevideo.com/mike/weld3.JPG
http://www.v-drivevideo.com/mike/weld4.JPG

[Kindsvater Flat]

Anyone ever weld with magnesium? I tried and failed. Thats an art!!

[Racing Ray]

Magnesium is just like aluminum right?? I have heard that from so many welders over the years I just laugh. Actually welding it is just the opposite. Although you set your machine up the same, AC /high freq. the technique is totally different.
When welding Alum. you dread even getting close to the puddle for fear of the old vacuum cleaner effect or in other words it will suck that puddle right up on your tungsten. So with alum. you want your tungsten just barely if at all protruding from the cup.
This is the whole trick to Mag. is do just the opposite!! Stick that tungsten out 3/16" or even 1/4" and literally bury the tungsten in the puddle while welding, trying to stay out of the puddle will only let your shielding gas create some of the most wicked porosity you have ever seen. The Mag. will not suck up on the tungsten like alum. does.
You choose your gases based on welding application each gas has a distinct advantage and disadvantage. At times in my work as a welder I would have 3 bottles next to my bench all flowing into my torch with "Y" setups. This was easier than trying to buy so many possiable combinations of gas in bottles.
Helium.......The most heat and most costly welds very "dirty"
Argon........Welds the cleanest of all but also costly and hard to build heat.
CO2......... The cheapest way to go better heat than argon but dirty and lots of splatter with MIG.
You combine these gases to get the properties you need for a shielding gas.
Got something thick and having a hard time getting enough penetration try Helium you will think you just added another 50 AMPs to your machine. Welding to dirty add some Argon to clean it up a bit. Costing you too much for gases try blending just a bit of co2 as filler gas.

[victorfb]

Hey Ray, thats some awsome advise man. i just learned more from your post than i did reading my tig books. i wish you would have posted that last week about welding aluminium and tungsten location. i had to learn that by trail and error. went through some tungsten on that lesson. :p but im definatly gettin it down. havnt tried the helium yet. argon only so far. i ran out a while back and tried the mig mix just to see what happens and it didnt work. or atleast i couldnt get it to work. great advise on the magnesium. i am definatly going to have to try it. if i can save some of these VW cases id be stoked.:D not only do i absolutly dig welding and fabricating, but this tig machine is going to save me so much money. the pontoon boat is going to get alot of bitchin upgrades and repairs. then again, all the toys are...:D

[Racing Ray]

VW cases were always made from Aluminum, Porche cases were Mag. has that changed?
You have to watch the mixes with aluminum you don't want any Co2. Commonly refered to as "Blue Shield" mix contains about 2% Co2. For aluminum keep with about 75% argon and 25% helium. Add more Helium if you need more heat.
Co2 is more for cheap Mig welding steel, It is used also for Mig welding Stainless in a 75% Argon, 23% Helium, and 2% co2 mix.
Also ceramic cup size is important. For general purposes a size #6 usually works best. On steel try dropping to a #5 or even #4 to keep the shield focused more and prevent porosity. Personally I use a gas lens whenever I can. In real tight places a straight cup will be best.

[Stab-n-Steer]

Originally posted by Kindsvater Flat
I use straight argon for my all my tig welding and mix gas for the mig.
Hey Stab.... we have the same TIG welder.
I see that we also have the same MIG welder as well!:rolleyes:
S&S

[Stab-n-Steer]

Racing Ray,
Thanks so much for all the advice!:) I use 75/25 Co2/Argon for my general MIG welding. Mainly I just weld mild steel with the MIG. Is this gas a good choice?
S&S

[victorfb]

all the Vw cases ive seen have been magnesium, the heads however are aluminium. you may have that backwards as i am not familiar with porche cases. its been a long time tradition to bring out your old junk VW cases to glamis and burn them. you need a nice hot fire and set the case in, let it get really hot then pour a little water on it. it will catch and be one of the brightest lights youll ever see. lasts about 10 minutes. its highly toxic and illegal to do now. though i do still see one go off every now and then. i have actually scrapped a little off my case from the buggy to start a camp fire. the Vw case has a weak spot behind #3 cyclinder that alot of people have welded a plate over the webbing on the back of the case. it works well, but its tricky to do as it is magnesium. ive even heard people starting them on fire when grinding on the case too much. but never saw it.
as for the gases, i would like to try the helium. like you, my book also says its a great gas to weld with.
the cup size deal is good to know. i have two sizes now but will surely get more as time goes on. practice practice practice..:D i am almost ready to try and repair some VW aluminium heads aswell. thought i would have to junk em. i am loving this aluminium welding deal...:D

[Racing Ray]

A 75/25 mix for MIG is a good choice for steel. Maybe on a wrought iron fence where splatter is of no concern you can get by on straight co2, cheaper but looks like the 4th of July. I hate those little balls of molten metal running around the insides of my ears, or one rolling down your head and into your shirt! LOL! (Especially when on a ladder). 30+ Years of welding lots of memories but not too much vision left.
Years ago I used to repair Porche cases, those flat 6s were hard to come by at one time. We mostly built up the main bearing webs.
The first time I repaired Mag it was a very big dock plate used to bridge from the cold box to the truck and trailer for loading pallets of milk with a forklift. It was cracked about 3/4 the way across the very middle. At first I used an air chisel to gouge a groove to weld the plate up, thinking this was taking way too much time I grabbed a 7" side grinder with a hard wheel and went to town.
Well the dust keeps building on the front of my shirt, building and building, with the heat finally building to the point one of those grinding particles "Lights up"
The front of my friggen shirt looks like the worlds biggest sparkler!!!! Strike up the Band its the 4TH Of July!! You never seen anyone get out of a long sleeve shirt and T shirt so fast!

[Danhercules]

Originally posted by victorfb
Hey Ray, thats some awsome advise man. i just learned more from your post than i did reading my tig books. i wish you would have posted that last week about welding aluminium and tungsten location. i had to learn that by trail and error. went through some tungsten on that lesson. :p but im definatly gettin it down. havnt tried the helium yet. argon only so far. i ran out a while back and tried the mig mix just to see what happens and it didnt work. or atleast i couldnt get it to work. great advise on the magnesium. i am definatly going to have to try it. if i can save some of these VW cases id be stoked.:D not only do i absolutly dig welding and fabricating, but this tig machine is going to save me so much money. the pontoon boat is going to get alot of bitchin upgrades and repairs. then again, all the toys are...:D
Where did you get that mix?!?!:rolleyes: :D
Am I gonna have to take my tool box back to you so you can weld them up better??? Its holding, but you know what it looks like!:D I am glad you are getting the hang of it. I will be using you soon agian!! If you need a bigger lathe, let me know, I have acsess to big stuff. Mills too.

[Clown]

I have always been told that if you need Deep Penetration ,When tig welding Use a Tri Mix Gas.
Will Take some more pictures Of some projects Tonight.:)

[Clown]

All so
When I watched my Old Boss Weld up Aluminum Boat heads ,We would put the bare head in an oven bring it up to 450'
And then weld it Allso would take a chipping hammer and BEAT it during and after welding then put it back in the oven to cool down.
Never had a come back.
Is that just over kill, Or is that the
proper way of welding a cylcinder head??

[Racing Ray]

Peening with a hammer is a form of stress relieving or stretching the material back out after welding. Pre-heating aluminum is always a good idea the other option is waiting until the torch heats it up enough. On a big chunk of aluminum welding AC is impossiable without pre-heating, thats why I prefer DC Straight for heavy stuff, no need to preheat.

[victorfb]

when welding DC straight, do you basically use the same techniques and all? its just setting the welder differant right? just switching to (DC +). do you change anything else? flow rate of gas , etc.

[Racing Ray]

You should use 75/25 argon/helium mix. Sharpen your 3/32 tungsten with 2 angles starting about 60* and ending with a 45* it doesnt sound that critical but it helps most people control the flame better. Weld at a much faster travel speed than normal, cause that baby is melting!!
http://www.highperformancecars.com/collinsracing/tungsten.gif
Taking these steps and learning how to weld fast and I have even taught my son how to use this method welding as light as 1/8" and 3/16" We built some Barrel stands for TRW's explosive division (Air bags) out of cylinders just a bit larger in diameter than a 55 gallon drum and rolling an angle welded to the bottom as an anchoring ring. It had 2 support rings on the OD and an enclosed top. All welded straight polarity DC. The angles were 1/8" thick and the cylinder 3/16" thick.
Back in the early 70's working for Castle Industries in Montclair a sub-contractor to General Dynamics I got the Goverment inspectors to approve this method of welding for attaching subframe members on MX Mobile missle launching systems. The best fenders they ever got! LOL!!

[sidewound]

This is no shit!
I used oxy-acetelyn to weld aluminum for years. The bakery where I worked had lots of aluminum repairs. My boss was too tight to buy anything so I was introduced to the procedure. What a pain in the ass. A flux coated filler rod was used. I quicky learned to build forms and supports after I watched my first attempts end up in a puddle on the floor.
Tech. kicks ass! Out with the old and in with the new!
Peace Man!:cool:
CESAR

[Stab-n-Steer]

Racing Ray,
Again, your advice is great! When I was in college I worked as a production welder and that's where I learned DCSP on Alum. You can haul ass compared to AC... One problem I've always had with DCSP is ending the weld with a nice bead. The last bead always seems to have a void in it. I weld with a conventional machine so it's a little hard to control the heat perfectly, but do you have any advice?
Thanks again,
S&S

[Racing Ray]

It is pretty hard to explain but one of 2 methods usually work with practice. Try to "Trail Off" or after the last puddle you added rod continue past letting the heat die off slowly or try to push a little extra rod in the last puddle and be sure to let it "Gas out" either by adding some extra post purge if your machine is adjustable or by manually staying over the puddle for a few seconds of cooling time with the gas on. Do Not draw the heat away too quickly.

[Clown]

I Finally Tried the DC+ Welding aluminum
Did not care for it , It has a scatered Arc, witch is something I guess I'm Not really used to .
I'ts Probally that I didn't give it enough time to master.:)
But will keep it in mind for future projects.
:eek: ??Has any one welded NI-99 Nickel-99 To cast iron Yet??:eek!:
Check it out , It welded just as nice as aluminum and stainless for me.
But I Didnt say I was a Proffesional.:rolleyes:

[victorfb]

i watched a show once about welding cast iron blocks and they used a stick welder and 99% nickle rod. that was bitchin. but got me thinking, can you do the same with cast iron exaust manifolds? i once had to weld a cast iron intake with a small 110V mig machine. took a bit of doing but it got the truck back on its way.:D

[Unchained]

I've repaired some large castings and brazing was always the method we used.
You would have to grind out the joint to a large V shape, preheat the casting to almost red in an oven or a charcoal fire and then go at it with a large torch and brazing rod.
It's not a fun job but if done right the weld was a lot stronger then the base material.
I've seen huge repair jobs done on stamping press crowns this way. Where someone has put well over 100# of filler weld in.
I've tried welded on castings with stick rod but the heat differential wants to make a crack right next to the weld.
Cast iron doesn't take to expanding and contracting rapidly.
Sometimes castings can be welded with stick by putting it on one dot at a time and letting the weld cool to room temp before putting on another dot.

[victorfb]

another tig/aluminium question for ya. i wanted the bead to be smooth instead of the ripples so it had a smooth transition from one piece to another. instead of grinding and sanding i just melted it smooth with the tig torch. is this a bad thing to do? does it heat it up too much and weaken it? it worked great. was able to melt the bead wider from one peice to another and make the weld smooth and have a rounding affect.

[Racing Ray]

Nice thing about aluminum you can heat it all day and it wont bother it. Melt it, melt it again! I will bet some of the original aluminum Coors cans are still sitting on the store shelves today in some form. Aluminum dissapates heat very quickly as I am sure you noticed. Heat a big block on one side and it will be almost as hot on the other side. Another nice thing about it is when finished welding just drop it in a bucket of water to cool it and it won't harm it. Try that with steel or cast iron and you will find pieces in the bottom of the bucket. Stainless steel will actually anneal (soften) by doing this.
Cast iron metals are not all the same, I use several different methods for welding. Pre-heating is always best for almost any metal as any heating causes expansion and cooling shrinks it. NiRod arc welded after pre-heating is the best method. Small items like cast manifolds can be cold welded in 3 different ways. One is use a silicone bronze tig rod. It is a very soft and forgiving material for vibrations, I also use this a lot for small cast machine parts. Eutectic Castolin also makes a tig rod especially made for cold welding cast iron. Many engine builders use this for heads and blocks. Oxy-acetylene with brazing rod will also work in lots of applications however once the flux has contaminated the metal no other form of welding will work until ALL the flux has been ground back out.
Most metal does not like the expansion and contraction of heat.
An example I can give you is the 2" thin wall stainless tube I put in every day when heated from an ambient temperature to only 180* a section of tube 100' long will expand 2" in length. This constant stretching and shrinking causes metal fatigue and "work hardening" Making the metal brittle and crack prone.

[victorfb]

why didnt anyone tell me how bitchin welding mild steel is with a tig machine? holy crap is that cool. so precise and easy to do its almost like it should be illegal. fixed my girlfriends spare shifter for the banshee and it came out awsome. damn that was fun. i swear i was looking around the shop for anything to fix that needed a small precise weld.:D

[Clown]

Thats Pretty Funny $hit!!!:rolleyes:
I have done the same thing Welded something for someone and found myself looking around the garage for something that needed the same kind of weld.
Thats actually when I welded up the Tin Cans.:D