started trying to weld again. came out well but not how id like. heres my welds im doing

setup is not the best

too many toys


first time trying to weld ss with backpurging and i failed bad. what do you guys use to backpurge a seperate gauge on the cylinder. im just running a t off the gas line after the regulator which i know i have to change. running 100% argon. 3/32 er70s2 and 3/32 2% thoriated tungsten.

one day it will be complete

shitty beveling job


heres what i used 80grit flapper

spot welds

ghetto setup as usual.

first pass

2nd

3rd

4th

 

ohh forgot to write that the backpurging seemed to help alot since im not getting the sugar coating inside. but i also dont see the weld penetrating through the pipe. very little spots i can see where it went through but for the most part it doesnt seem liek its going all the way

 

First, tour using the wrong filler rod. Er70 filler is for mild steel not stainless. Also, from what I reading, your purge set up is wrong, you can't just tee into your main line. You need a split regulators if you only have one tank, I use over 4 tanks and have separate regulators for purging. Another thing, what kind of torch set up are you using? Use the biggest gas lens you have access to.

Back to the filler rod, don't use it any more. Get some .045 or 1/16th 308l and use this for all your stainless to stainless welding, some like using 316l as well. For your mild to stainless welding use 309l. This will go a long way compared to the copper coated mild steel filler your using now.

Hope this points you in a better direction.
Collin

 

You can use a t-fitting it just sucks because you don't have much control but it's doable. I've see people pass 6GR sanity tube test like that.

 

wow i feel stupid. i have been suing er70 for the last year. thanks for the input appreciate it. i always heard a gas lense is not needed ill have to research that subject today
yeah im using a t and a clamp as a restrictor

 

Okay, but do you want someone who is learning to (learn) something you just said sucks? I'd rather point him in the direction that works very well for me and plenty of others. Just my 2 cents

 

For stainless welding, I'd highly suggest getting a gas lens, and at least a #8 cup. It will go a long way for what your welding. As for the help, no problem. I was once in your shoes sir. Search back purging on here. More then one thread how to make a good set up.

 

ok i went outside and check and i have some ss rods i dont know why i picked up the mild steel rods but i knew i bougth some ss rods. im just so used to welding mild it didnt even come to mind i was using a different rod

 

Also just to add, I don't see any point in doing 4 passes as all you are doing is over heating the metal. with the correct bevel and purge set up you should be able to just do it in 1 pass.

 

It wasnt 4 passes, its was 4 sections of the same pass. He is just showing the beads/color/uniformity of the 4 attempts on the same pass

 

just one pass but i cant weld pipe for **** so i have to stop and turn the pipe and then weld 3" beads
x2

on the other hand there is a welder on here that said to do 3 passes. i dont see the need. but who knows. i cant even do one because i got wondering arc

 

ok my bad.

If you are experiencing a wondering arc, it might be due to your tungsten not being sharp enough or contaminated. If you dip even the slightest then sharpen and clean it straight away.

 

It also could be of a gas flow being too high, correct me if I'm wrong

I would also suggest making knife edge bevel, kinda like this:



that way you would be able to use little less heat, and get good penetration everytime

P.S. Also, correct me if I'm wrong

 

Great advice from everyone. But also organize your work station. The cleaner your station is, the cleaner your work will be. Your off to a good start and have great people on here to help you through it.

 

I understand that but you said "can't" I was just pointing out that some people do. Anyhow

 

well right now im going to weld some more pipe. ill be trying 2 pass method. first with purge root pass than a filler pass. if this doesnt work ill just do one pass. ill gte some more pics

yeah i know my workstation is a mess but i have no room i the garage lol. building 2 motors on the side doesnt help and having about 7 motors in the garage doesnt either. i will eventually make a nice place to do all my welding.

i do sharpen my tungsten pretty often but i can see that being an issue. ill keep an eye on it.

ill try less argon too to see if makes a difference.
i just want a precision root pass so i dont have to purge the filler pass. im taking a class soon and ill try to show my skills on the other machines at school. i wish i had room for a miller 330ab/p those things are nice and simple.

i dont know about the knive bevel. but ill give it a try later maybe. i havnt had bad luck with my bevels. just needs more penetration i think its getting about 80% penetration

 

well here we go again. using 308l rod now. same setting other than that. still getting the flaky grey coating for some reason. under it you can see a clean shiny bead. it kind of bother me i have to clean it just to see a shiny bead.

at least i can say im getting better at the bevels



showing the sharp tungsten. how does this look. does the blueing indicate something bad


#9 cup. going to be buying a gas lens soon


root pass








first filler pass got me pissed. gas flow was too low at 10cfm

turned it up to 15 seemed to do alot better

pretty shitty today. it was like 100 in the garage

showing the shittyness again

once wire brushed





couple questions
the pipe is getting very hot. i let it cool down after the root pass. but when welding it turns red hot around the bead. is this normal using over 100 amps also. should i use less amps.
is it fine if i do like what im doing. stop and go. i cant go around the whole thing in one pass is this fine

 

You can stop and start around the pipe, just make sure your restarts aren't cold. Thats a number 6 cup. You need more post flow and less heat while welding. It'll all come together

 

I'm also just starting out tig welding, so if I'm saying something wrong, I hope experianced guys will correct me

Tungsten looks good, the blue color, as far as I know, is oxidation, to avoid that color, you need more post flow...

I would recommend more knifed edge bevels, to be able to use even more less heat...

about the welds... IMO they look cooked... way too much heat into them. you should be able to weld that pipe with knife edge bevel with 70amps for sure... I was able to weld my 1 1/2" "sch10" mild steel pipe with knife edge bevel even at 60amps.... using 1/16 filler it worked ok... I would recommend to try 60amps and move on from there, if 60 doesn't work with knife edge bevel, move to 65, if that doesn't work, move to 70 and so on

here is one more pic of the bevel



Hope something helps

Keep it up

 

Some good advice in here so far.
I would not try to weld the fill/cap hot at all without a gas lens. Too much heat in the pipe. Switch to a much cooler weave bead, or let the pipe cool completely.
You are for sure just cooking the filler in there.

 

ok cool. too hot. ill turn down the amps. what the hell is weaving, similar to walking the cup??

post flow is set at 10 seconds and i leave it on the weld for about 5 seconds usually or more. should i let the pipe cool by itself because i used water the last time. im cutting the welds off and re welding the same pipe over and over again, wouldnt that cause problems with heat cycles and stuff like changing the metal strength.

 

you would be better off using two pieces of pipe that will NOT be going on the manifold to practice your technique. that way when you actually go to weld up the manifold, it will be consistant the whole way through

 

what do you mean. ill have to cut the peices anyways since their way too long and figure since they are pretty pricey i should just weld the peices i dont need and cut them off until i have the length i need

 

you were just talking about problems with heat cycle. to prevent any mishaps within the manifold, weld two practice pieces together multiple times to get the technique down so you don't cause any problems. that way, you won't have to cut and re-weld pieces that actually matter

 

they dont matter though because im cutting them off. i dont need the peices im welding they are excess