Any suggestions as to how you cap the ends of the piping and how you hook up an extra line to the tig welder? anyone have pics of their setup? thanks
-Eric

 

First if the ends are not going to get hot use duct tape on the ends but it melts if close to welds,if that's a problem get some AL tape.
next use surgical tubing it works good you can get a Yconnection at welding supply
to fit connection on your gage and also get a connection for your tubing for other side with 1/4 nipple to fit tubing.
On part with tape cut small hole install hose with a piece of 1/4 steel tube or gas leses be sure to seal around connection of tube and tape so it can't suck air in
now at other end cut a hole in tape about 1/2 inch to let air out.use about 15psi to start give it about 15 min then if you have found a Y connection with the on off noobs turn your backup down to around 5psi you may have to mess with that untill it stops blowing your arc around.
If you have any gaps in your joints
you will have to tape them also .
If you have a second bottle of argon it would be a lot easier.
this is kinda long winded but hope it helps

 

http://www.ioxygen.com/pdf(1)/...S.PDF
Scrool down to 3YBR or 37-R also see nipple same page this will do the job but i am sure you can find cheaper ones

 

I would recommend going to your local chemistry shop or hospital supply hospital whereever you can find them and get a assortment of rubber stoppers put a whole through one and feed the line in from there.

As far as the line id run a regualtor with 2 outlets or just y the line with a valve in it

 

or use Solarflux.

 

yeah we always back purge or when welding o2 bungs when you cant back purge solar flux is used and it works great

 

Just use masking tape and any type of hose you already have. Surgical hose, rubber plugs and duct tape aren't necessary.

Also, solar flux sucks ***. I guess it's better than nothing, but it's **** compared to an actual purging of the inside.

 

maybe you are not using the solar flux properly every professional fabricator i knows likes it.

I'm glad sucks *** describes the quality of a product

LOL rubber stoppers are 50 cents spend the money and make it nice not ghetto

 

What he said ^. Solarflux was recommended to me by a professional welder and race car fabricator. He has no problem using it... and neither did I... so...

 

What kind of heat tolerances will be needed for these rubber stoppers? I understand how you say to do it, the only thing i would fear is as you weld obviously the pipe will increase in temperature(depending on the material) and the rubber stopper may melt causing all sorts of problems.

 

my tubes get hot but you dont want them that hot otherwise the material is gonna be so pre ehated your welds are gonna turn that dark color

 

Actually you should use a separate flow meter and set it at 3-5 cfh with a 3/16
exit hole at the other end.I use rubber ***** .They are easy to find and cheap.Just
take a short piece of steal or copper tubing and shove it through the ball.Hook the hose to one end .And the other end is the bleed hole.I don't know how tight your
tacks are but if you have any more pressure than that it will push the weld out to far.If you weld it 100%.It should look like you welded the inside also.

If your worried about melting the stoppers just tack another piece of tubing on the ends .Just dont weld em by mistake

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eLusive ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">maybe you are not using the solar flux properly every professional fabricator i knows likes it.</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kb58 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What he said ^. Solarflux was recommended to me by a professional welder and race car fabricator. He has no problem using it... and neither did I... so...</TD></TR></TABLE>I never said it was a problem or difficult to use. In fact, it's the thing to use if you want a half-assed job.

Take it from a "fabricator" or take it from a professional welder...that being me. Sure, it's fine for race car frames, but it sucks compared to purging with argon. If you want it to look nice you don't use solar flux!!

As for purging stuff that gets hot, just use balled up aluminum foil. You can also use it just pressed over the ends, but be careful that the purge doesn' build up and blow it off. Make sure your vent hole is large enough to prevent this.

The rubber ball idea sounds great for stuff that doesn't get hot.

3-5cfh is usually enough to prevent oxidation on the inside, but you will get nicer color if you purge with a higher flow rate. Likewise, you will need a larger vent hole to keep from building pressure.

 

I have two regulators already and a bunch of extra line as well as a plethora of rubber stoppers...thank you Linfield Chem dept! I'll try it on the header im making this weekend and see how it turns out. thanks guys.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Take it from a "fabricator" or take it from a professional welder....</TD></TR></TABLE>

I did, he is both.

Lets say you purge the insides of the header tubes, and now you have beautiful welds... inside the tubes that aren't visible. Well... okay... why is that important?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kb58 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I did, he is both.

Lets say you purge the insides of the header tubes, and now you have beautiful welds... inside the tubes that aren't visible. Well... okay... why is that important?</TD></TR></TABLE>

one sec . listen to your self .. please .. u get sugar if u dont purge .. nasty sometimes bubbly grainly crap .. u whant that INside the header/mani.. dont think u do .. even if its not visable . its a weaker weld and ultimatly can cause some flow turbulance (not saying huge diff but im shure its there) .
the hole reason u back purge is to make a stronger weld with no voids or contamination on both sides .. not for looks .. looks is just the reward for doing it right ..

 

I use a separate bottle for purging, better control for both. I also use the caps and tape but I like the ball idea.

Ok, how do you guys do something as simple as sharpen the tungsten? I chuck it up in a cordless drill and run it on a disc sander with very fine paper. Works like a charm.

 

I was right in the middle of saying that. Thanks now i dont have to


I use A 20" sander to sharpen mine .And I do my nails at the same time

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SMSP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I use a separate bottle for purging, better control for both. I also use the caps and tape but I like the ball idea.

Ok, how do you guys do something as simple as sharpen the tungsten? I chuck it up in a cordless drill and run it on a disc sander with very fine paper. Works like a charm.</TD></TR></TABLE>i use the drill too, its classic!
solar flux b is fine if your on a buget and dont have the means of back purging but i do agree that back purge is the only wat to go. you guys need to check out engloid's welds he definately knows his hit!

 

hey RMF
Two ways to save your fingers, this may sound strange but try it cause it works good,get a draftmans pencel the one with button that opens the jaws that hold the lead, it will hold the tunsten also.
the best way to hold tungsten is a 6 inch piece of 5/16 or 3/8 s/s rod and drill a hole stright down the center of one end about 2 1/2 inchs in and ream it a hair bigger then your tungsten. If you have a buddy in a machine shop it will only take a few minutes.
Be sure to have some water close because it spins very fast and gets to hot to touch,but you will get a perfect point in a few seconds with your belt sander.
It is also good to brake the tungsten in half and have two 3 1/2 in pieces and sharpen both ends

 

You guys say you put your tungsten in a drill? I think its best to hold the tun still . And place against a rotating sander of some sort without rotating it. The grain of the grinding marks are so possed to go with the length of the tun. You have to sharpen it to a point one angle at a time.

 

Oh ,I was only joking about the nails thing.But thats A good idea.Ya know what I
use is one of those real small drill chucks with a quick release instead of a chuck key.Do you know what i mean?The kind you put inside another drill chuck for useing I.B.M.F. drills. Oh I dont sharpen both ends becouse you have to take out
the collet if you mess up both ends.and sometimes the collet holder

 

i base sharpen on a 20 " face sander and finish on a fine fine belt sander

Engloid is a professinal welder and all but evryone has there preference, i have no problem with solar flux neither do most people


Modified by eLusive ek4 at 4:38 PM 11/24/2004

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kb58 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I did, he is both.
Lets say you purge the insides of the header tubes, and now you have beautiful welds... inside the tubes that aren't visible. Well... okay... why is that important?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Some people like to the best they can do, work they can be proud of. Others are only concerned with doing the minimal amount required.

I agree with Turbo Gli. If you don't purge on the inside, you can get "sugar" or oxidation that can protrude 1/8" or more inside the pipe. I'm sure I don't have to explain why you don't want that. Also, if you had 2 pieces of plate, butted them up and welded them, full penetration with no purge, it would sugar up the back. Then you could put that plate on a mill and machine down the sugared part, down to base metal thickness. Then bend it and see how many holes there are in it. There's a lot more reason to purge than appearance.

Solar flux is like JB Weld....it has its place in this world, and that's where you have no electricity or welding machine (and no lives on the line). Solar Flux is for certain places that you can't purge with argon...or where some cheapass, no welding **** in management tells you it's as good as using argon.

I still say that solarflux sucks ***. It's cheap half-*** bullshit. I have worked on very few jobs that they considered it acceptable.

 

Hey ,didn't you have another reply? Anyway you said break it in half.Do you mean
break it into 3 or 4 pieces,when you only want 2.That **** can be a bitch sometimes.If you hit it with a grinder sometimes it'll break in two.But I dont worry
about that,Because I sharpen mine about once a month or so.Do you guys have to sharpen yours more than that?(I wish)