How do I do that? I'm using 308 filler rod on 304 stainless and I cant think of a way to do anything like that. I can get some colors in my welds when I use low heat, but not nearly enough to get it to penetrate all the way through the joint.

?

 

more colors:




Does this require something other than 304/308 mixtures?

 

I think it requires a robot doing it j/k I dunno ,but id like to know as well

 

What machine are you using? I just started tigging and am wondering the same thing.

I've done plenty of searches in other different forums then tried them myself without any success.

 

OT but where do you order T3 flanges like the one in those pics?

 

stainless I know you have to use a different filler rod, I can get colors from mild steel, works fine for me, blue green yellow etc... im not sure of what the rod is becasue I just use the ones out of the rod bucket at school so... im sure one of the tig gurus on here will tell us.

 

You will have better results with multiple low amp passes (especially if purged ), it will also help with penetration .... but if you are running just a sinlge pass you can run a lower heat setting and move slower.

 

Amps? Gas flow? Is the material prepped and cleaned? ontop of all the external factors its just something that comes with time and getting a feel for how the puddle is acting.

 

here is some nice colors ,

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PhoenixTurboJesse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Amps? Gas flow? Is the material prepped and cleaned? ontop of all the external factors its just something that comes with time and getting a feel for how the puddle is acting. </TD></TR></TABLE>

so does chemically cleaning the metal really help that much? I've been able to get some "coloring" but there is still some gray contamination. The way i prep the metal is just sand or grind it down then wire wheel it with a stainless wheel i have dedicated to prepping metal for welding but I dont use alcohol or acetone to clean it. Also my filler rod comes right out of the box and into the weld puddle... is there some kind of coating on that thats affecting things?

 

the most recent manifold we've built(only made 3) my buddy made a root pass, then a "pretty pass" over the root and his welds definitly have nice color, a few are overheated, but oh well. your best bet is to make multiple pass's

 

mabey you should try to purge...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pay2play killa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so does chemically cleaning the metal really help that much? I've been able to get some "coloring" but there is still some gray contamination. The way i prep the metal is just sand or grind it down then wire wheel it with a stainless wheel i have dedicated to prepping metal for welding but I dont use alcohol or acetone to clean it. Also my filler rod comes right out of the box and into the weld puddle... is there some kind of coating on that thats affecting things?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It may seem you are cleaning the metal with the brush, you are only cleaning it to a degree. The brush can leave behind a film or other contaiminants (use a stainless brush at least). They can get in the metal, making a weaker weld. Ever see small carbon deposits swirling in a puddle when you are welding? its from contamination or taking your rod in and out of the sheilding gas. Grey spots are caused by too much heat and or a combination poor argon flow/sheilding.
BTW.. improper nozzle selection/gas pressure can bring grey into the picture too.

 

I'm using a lincoln syncrowave(I think?) 180 machine. Its been discontinued for a couple of years now. It works perfectly fine though.

What kind of gas flow are you guys using? I've been running 12-15, too low, too high?

 

too low.. I run 20-25 psi on a 5-9 nozzle... at times I will turn down the pressure when using smaller nozzles 5 and below... 02 can get dragged in from the high pressure through a small nozzle

 

We nee Engloid back!

 

I've heard that a gas lense can help immensly as well, but I have yet to try mine out.

Do you guys keep the filler rod in the weld puddle, and just slowly dip in, and out? Or do you pull it out completely of the puddle, and then dab it back in.

 

When I switched to a gas lens setup I noticed a huge difference in heat control. You definately need to watch how much heat goes into the metal and turning down the amperage isnt always the answer. I found the best results keeping the amperage around 100amps. Making 2 to 3 passes and moving FAST. Backpurge as well.

 

Weld stainless hot and fast. There is no other way to weld on it. And when i mean hot, i mean higher amps. You cannot take your time with the puddle cuz before you know it you will burn the **** out of it "chromium" and other chemicals in it that give it the color that you guys are asking about.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by OH ISH ITS DAT FOOL JAMES &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">We nee Engloid back! </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bryson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've heard that a gas lense can help immensly as well, but I have yet to try mine out.

Do you guys keep the filler rod in the weld puddle, and just slowly dip in, and out? Or do you pull it out completely of the puddle, and then dab it back in. </TD></TR></TABLE>

b, i would say that has to do with the size of the puddle/location. i would try not to keep the filler rod in the puddle, but keep it real close, so its there when you need it. alittle dab-l-do-ya. lol

 

Sometimes I will leave the filler in the puddle all the time and constantly feed, other times I will dab-l-do-ya as Dturbocivic put it It usually comes down to preference, what type of weld you are doing, etc. I've noticed if you leave the rod in the puddle and move at a somewhat consistent pace with the torch the bead ripples will be consistent as well. They won't be as pronouced and spread apart as with dipping.
If you are doing a gapped weld with 2 passes, on the first pass weave back and forth and run over the rod that is set in the gap. It is very hard getting color on a second pass from what I have found. Much easier to get color only doing one pass. And that usually becomes the problem. Trying to get good color and still getting good penetration.
If you also look at that pic up top there are a lot of start and stops. Going a short distance and stopping to allow ample gas coverage and cooling of the metal. Something I didn't realize until recently.
You can see in this pic how many times he would stop. This is c jackson's pic by the way.



Modified by 5thgencivic at 6:52 AM 12/21/2005

 

like jesse said above, its all about feel and practice.
here's one from Rick(andy) @ PeakBoost:

 

damn, ou guys are making me sick with these pretty colors.

Ok, back purge, turn my gas up to 20-22, run around 100amps, and move fast?

Or should I be moving slowly? I'm seeing conflicting reports here....

 

from my experience the colors just come with practice and time. i took three semesters of welding at my local communitty college and it wasnt till the third semester that i started getting colors. you know that you have everything perfect when you see these colors im not saying that your metals and gas and **** has nothing to do with it but from my experience you get these colors its from experience and knowing what your doing. man give it time it will come to you.