Made this last night, I think it looks pretty good, havent had my welding critiqued in a LONG time...

 

woow! talk about penetration...

how did you go about back purging

 

penetration look damn near 100 %, if not right on.. couldn't tell from the pic's

look awesom as ever...

anyway! wasn't expecting less than that from you ! lol

Kranked

 

that looks good

 

looks great cody ! what kinda gas are you using ? just 100% argon ?

 

I don't think cody is going to tell. At least if he knows whats good for him.

 

The cap on the weld looks nice. I'd try to get a little LESS penetration. It's hard to tell, but if the flange is a fillet weld, you don't need to burn through the inside.

It looks like you were walking the cup on the cap. Try something (if you havn't before)... take 2 pieces of the pipe, butt them up with no bevel, and walk the cup around it, keeping a bead about 1/4" wide. It should take about 75-90 amps, depending on the speed. Just walk around the seam without adding any filler metal. You will probably get a much smoother root inside it. If you get good enough at it, you can actually do this in one pass and have a bead that pushes about 1/64" inside, and about the same on the outside. Although this sounds impossible without adding filler metal, it's the shrink in the length of the pipe that will account for this.

All things considered, it looks pretty good. I've seen many "professional" welders that couldn't do that.

Oh, and I'd bet anything that this was done with Argon, inside and out.

 

It was done with pure argon, a little more than double the amperage you suggested using "pedal pumping" that you seem to dislike Engloid.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Rocking the pedal is an absolute NO NO!!! I have been welding for a living for man years and have not yet seen a professional welder pump a pedal to make a weld. That outta tell you something... it's a half-*** technique that simply is the result of a person trying to simulate a weld appearance they have seen made by other means.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

From my experience if done right(ie, backtracking each bead), its been proving to be very strong(havent had any cracks in over a year on customers manifolds).
I will try your suggestion though, take some pictures of the differences in weld appearance inside and out.
I know exactly what youre talking about with the pipe "shrinkage". It really gets you when jigging things that are pre-welded, then you tack them together in the jig, weld up outside of the jig, and it ends up being 1/4" too short Nothing a lil bit of extra heat, cross stitching, and filler wont fix though.


Modified by Tinker219 at 5:35 PM 12/17/2004

 

so these welds where made with a root pass and then a cap ???

 

Is a cap just the finishing weld over top to make it look good?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C1CYA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so these welds where made with a root pass and then a cap ???</TD></TR></TABLE>
nope, single pass.

 

thats what i thought , do you have to travle fast ??

 

nope, each weld takes about 10 minutes. I went out and tried what Engloid suggested, not too shabby.
I like the interior weld, nice and neat. Pictures suck, but they are truly a mimickry of the outside weld. No filler, 79 amps.

 

looks sweet , what gauge is that tube ????

 

CLOSE UP'S PLEASE.

 

16 guage, and that's all my camera will do.

 

Yeah, when you're pumping the pedal, it will take a lot more heat (peak), than if you're running steady and not pumping the pedal.

Pumping the pedal is like doing the hunt and peck on a keyboard....it will SEVERELY limit your potential, because you're learning things the wrong way. Think about it, if you hunt and peck with 2 fingers, you aren't EVER going to be typing 60wpm. If you keep your fingers on the "home keys" and just type whatever speed you can, you will keep getting faster and faster, since you're learning with a form that provides the better potential, by using more fingers and locating them close to the keys they will type.

Likewise, the proper technique is to USE WIRE FEED INCREASES AND DECREASES to give the rippels to the weld...or use a REAL pulsing option...and I don't mean that POS feature on the PT185. It's junk.

For example, look at the following pics:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/...e.jpg
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/...3.jpg

Both of the above welds were done with consistent heat (with very small and smooth adjustments along the way). The ripples in the weld are put in by feeding wire, then stopping the feed. Both welds had a nonstop forward travel speed with the torch, and consistent heat...only the wire feed "dabbing" put in the ripples.

I have NEVER seen anybody get anywhere near ripples that smooth, by pumping the pedal...and if they do, they will take about 4 times as long to do it.

In short...learn the right way and your limitations will be farther away. Learn a half-*** way and you will only have to learn the right way in the future...or accept lower limitations on your abilities.

I notice that in the ones you tried to weld without wire, the weld looks better...but still pumping the pedal. QUIT THAT!!! It's worse than making circles That's also what is giving you so many dark lines across your weld.

Try it, though...making very small circles, but otherwise as you did. You may need a little less or little more heat, depending on your speed. WHen you fire up, stay in one place and slowly increase heat until you see the puddle just barely drop below the original surface...then move with it. If you can consistently get it so that it sinks in just slightly on the outside, the next step is to recognize when you are just before that heat, at the point that you're burning through but not sinking it in. You can also use a clear plastic lens over the end of the pipe and have somebody watch it and let you know if you're melting it on the inside. The goal is to break down both pieces, not push a weld into it...as the more you push in, the more you will disrupt the flow when it's in use.

 

I didnt "pump" the pedal, but adjusted as necessary to keep from blowing through. I DID have to start/stop every 1/2" to 3/4" to prevent oxidizing the weld, thats where the colors are coming from(crappy pictures suck dont they?).
Mind you I spent about 30 seconds on this weld, if I have time today, Ill try one non-stop, go slower, see what the outcome is
Engloid for MOD!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kranked91dx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">penetration look damn near 100 %, if not right on.. couldn't tell from the pic's

look awesom as ever...

anyway! wasn't expecting less than that from you !

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i cant wait to get it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tinker219 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I didnt "pump" the pedal, but adjusted as necessary to keep from blowing through. I DID have to start/stop every 1/2" to 3/4" to prevent oxidizing the weld, thats where the colors are coming from</TD></TR></TABLE>
I don't understand your worry about oxidizing the weld and why you had to stop so often. You should be able to weld as far as you can reach, without stopping and have no problems with the integrity of the weld.

 

Well, if I dont pause, it looks like Im burning the weld on the outside because the Argon coverage isnt sufficient enough(Ive tried varying torch angles, no change). I dont think Im TOO hot because the inside of the weld is a beautiful silver w/a touch of opaque green(could prolly use more argon), but its definately not burnt.
So, in a word, I guess Im trying to be a pretty-boy with pretty-welds. The other option is that Im moving along the weld too fast, but it doesnt really feel like it(nor look, theres no "river" effect).
slow down my torch speed then? I havent tried any new welds since the picture was posted, having TERRIBLE dental issues this weekend, of COURSE when the dentist is closed

 

YOu may want to try a gas lens if you don't have one. And turn up the gas to about 30cfh.

 

I was double(tripple actually) the heat, and half the purge. Ill try this out as soon as I get back from the dentist(only 12 hours of pain left! yes!).

 

damn those are some nice welds

 

wow, verry nice. 98ctr