Anything welding

Confirmed, 18g.

 

Aka straight doody to weld

 

At work welding but I got done early so I thought I would get a start on my bumper.

Just need to add those small vertical welds on the gussets.

 

Word. I just cut some thin backing plates to help with blow through. I ordered some 3M seam sealer which I'll run around the border and hopefully call it good.

 

Lol. Roofing tar had been used for seam sealer for years. My present Tacoma has roofing tar sealing up the patches. My next truck will too.

 

Non making fun, just showing options.

 

Same intent essentially. Create a barrier to prevent moisture penetration.

 

Progress. Passed the light test on the drivers side.

 

Ok, adventures with learning TIG continue...

Corners and butt joints are going splendidly, I will be able to tune them in with practice. Even the first passes look pretty good I think, at least compared to my problem joints...


The bad spots here are from wind gusts...


Uh oh...

But I can't for the life of me figure out lap joints! I've run 20 6" joints trying different approaches: grind angles, pedal, filler, etc. It's an absolute disaster!


Back-side CARNAGE!!!

I need some tips. As in helpful suggestions, luckily I have plenty of tungsten left!

This is DC tig on 0.05 stainless. I'm using 1/16 tungsten at 15, 20, or 30 degree grinds, argon at 50 cfh (too much i know but I'm outdoors and this works best, gas lens is on order to hopefully help?), 308 or 309 1/16 rod, and foot pedal to control current.

The problem is that the upper lap piece always balls away from the pool. Chasing its retreat with tons of filler can produce continuous beads, but totally cooks the part and is completely stupid. I'm doing something wrong. Any suggestions?

Too windy to weld for the rest of the day, but I'll try again in a few days.

 

Root is sugared. No purge gas on the back side. which i understand is hard on plate material. I'm just used to seeing this in my industry on pipe welds with out proper purge.

 

Thanks, a purge setup is out of the question here, but adding a copper backing plate gives adequate results on butt joints. I think the problem is the absurd heat I'm putting into the part on the lap joints, chasing the retreating material, trying to get a bead to span between the parts. I'm winding up with 1/8" of poop on the bottom of the plate!

 

ya without shielding gas you are going to run into issues with oxidation on the back side.

with the lap joint on such thin material you are going to adjust your torch angle to point the tungsten almost straight down on the bottom piece. as you have seen, the thin edge of the lap piece just melts away. be sure and keep your filler wire in the shielding gas as well. if you remove it from under the cup, it will get oxidized, and then when you dip in the puddle again all of that oxidation will go into your weld and get all up on your tungsten.

you will have to speed up quite a bit on such thin material.

one thing you can try is just run lines without adding filler. time yourself going across the plate pushing a puddle at three different speeds. then look at the back side and see if you need to speed up or down.

 

THIS @mk5

Took me a bit to realize I was pulling my filler rod away just a hair too far, as it oxidized pretty much instantly causing a mess once I dipped it back into the weld.

That's where holding and feeding the filler rod properly comes into play like mentioned earlier.

 

Thanks! Could you clarify "almost straight down?"

Wish my other arm wasn't in a brace! But I figured out a neat trick to always keep the rod in the shield gas: constantly freeze it in the pool!

 

the first one. the arc cone will barely overlap the top plate.

use a super sharp grind with a blunted tip. this will give you ability to get in tighter with the tungsten but not dip the tungsten in the weld puddle when you are welding at lower amps. speaking of amps, i didnt catch what you were welding at?


and a lay-wire technique can be used under certain circumstances (basically just putting the wire along the joint and melting it in as you move across the joint).

 

also what size cup and how far is your stickout?

 

Hey guys I am planning on getting my first plasma cutter soon. Does anyone have good recommendations? I don’t think I will be cutting anything thicker than 1/4 but having a multi volt would be nice. There are just so many options out there. I love my Hobart mig welder but don’t really want to spend 1500 for Hobart plasma cutter.

 

I have the HF Titanium 45, dual voltage, I’ve used it a decent amount cutting 1/4”-5/16” and hasn’t missed a beat, l haven’t tried anything thicker. I tried 3/16” on 120, I did it, but it was definitely at its max. For my needs, I’ve been extremely happy with it. But being HF, I bought the extra warranty.

 

If you think there ever will be a day where you want to build a plasma cutting table/robot, get a Hypertherm. They have a machine torch option that the others don't have.

 

Yeah it’ll more of just a hobby thing I don’t think I’ll make a cutting cable. Thanks I’ll look into the titanium. I’ve seen quite a few reviews on the prime weld and the yes welder but I don’t really believe all YouTube videos.