Hi everyone,

I have joined hondatech mainly for the fabrication/welding forum. I have been leakring around lots of threads and found big amount of usefull info in here. I never bothered registering an account in the past but it was time.

Here's a little about myself

-Currently studying mechanical engineering at ÉTS (École de technologie supérieur) in Montreal.

-Worked 4 years for a VW/Audi tuning company that is local to me. I mainly did CAD design for multiple platforms. (intercoolers, cold air intakes, exhaust, and other bits and pieces...) I contributed in the launch of their hardware line as before they would only offer chip tuning. I left them because it was time for me to move on and gain expirience in my field of study. (not that designing car parts wasnt related to my field just wanted to change backrounds)

-Right now I'm working part time at and aerospace component manifacturing shop. Knowledge and self improvements I have done for the past 8months ive been there were really worth the switch. I am also aloud to use the equipement in the shop wich is great for personnal projects.

-I have a reputation of starting too many things at once. Its a struggle for me to keep focus because i have ADHD. If things arent the way my mind thinks it should be done then I have to do it my way. This has been slowing down lots of my personnal projects but I still push foward to finish them.


My projects:

-2000 VW Golf 2l:
Car has been converted to a 1,8t with 4motion. Has all mechanical components from an 2005 Audi TT quattro (225hp version). Project is 90% complete, still need to do some wiring on the interior and paint or plastidip the car. (once finished it will be sold, i need to move on from this project)

-1992 VW Corrado:
Bought an extremely clean rolling shell. Solid base for a project, so plans are, 4motion, built 1.8t engine with PTE 5857, sidewinder manifold, shaved bay (shell came with bay shaved but will need some TLC). Plans are to get the car rolling then ill worry about looks body etc.

Here is what ive done so far in welding/fabrication.


Merge collector jig (homemade)






Here is the band saw in action



Here is how the jig works

Step 1



Then you cut


Step 2

Turn your pipe


Cut it.


Enjoy your work....






I will need to redo my merge collector. As it was my first I rotated the pipe by 90degrees exacly but it leaves gaps once you merge all four together. Correct angle of rotation will be 93-94 degrees (going from memory here, I think Markuu had specified this in a thread on here)


I designed my manifold in 3D before starting fabrication, from there I was able to cut all required material.

Marking the angles:


Cutting my bend angles i decided to tack weld my 90 degree bends to a straight piece and then cutting my angles by adjusting the angle of the vise:



Everything is cut, but beveling the edges is quite long on a belt sander. Schedule 40 is really too thick for a manifold in my opinion. But being my first i felt more confident to go the overkill route and the day ill improve i will have that much more experience in welding with the tig. (self learned with not enough practice under the belt...)



I also felt more confident doing a root/second pass than a single pass. Does consume more time and $ but gives me double the practice!

Here are some of my bests:














FYI on the TIG

I bought the machine straight from China. I know people are mixed between chinese welders and americain name welders but for a hobby this will do just fine and on top of that I did a huge amount of research before going foward with the purchase. I can order replacement parts in case it breaks down and it is built with quality components. I think overpaying for a brand name that is still built in china makes no sense. If my full time job was welding i would definitly have a different vision about this. (getting the machine repaired within no time....). But overall i'm happy with my welder because its 1000 times better then the miller diversion 185 i had at my old job.


Comments, tips and tricks are welcomed!

Cheers

Patrick TheDoor (Laporte for frenchies on here )

 

Get a 36 grit ceramic belt. They will last a lot longer, and cut really fast.
it takes me about 5 seconds to bevel the end of a pipe.

The rest looks good . Have fun.

 

Thanks for the info i will definitely get one and try it out!

 

some nice looking tidy work there thanks for sharing ive picked up some input and welcome to the site

 

What belt sander are you using?

 

One of these...

http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/...ws/reviews.htm

Not the greatest but fits the budget.

 

Nice job

 

I bad one of those too. They take a long time regardless. Still get ceramic belts. They will last a lot longer. But you will still be a minute or two to bevel the pipe.
The motors on those things are really weak.

 

I just graduated with my ME, and I know how it is to have to have everything your way in order to understand it. Sometimes the way other people do things, even if they're completely correct, totally baffle me.

Good luck, progress looks good so far.

 

Since my manifold will have a v-band junction at the merge collector and my turbo is a T3 flange I will have a intermediate pipe. Decided to go with 2.5" x .065 SS for that section. I will be positioning the turbo over the transmission and its weight will be supported by braces.

Started with 6inches of straight 2.5" tubing. Then a bit of love with a Vise and C-clamps. We now have a transition for a T3 flange :




I was now in a dilema for welding this up. I was thinking going this route:

-Insert the tube halfway the flange thickness (3/8")
-Weld the inside of tube to flange and then smooth it out
-Weld the oustide completely also.

I was wondering if having a bigger heat affected zone due to 2 weld beads would be prone to eventually crack. Consider it wont support any weight.

Please help me if you ever had experience with this.

Thanks

 

I would think the HAZ from the outside of the flange to the tube would be the only point of contention. I can't see why what you do past that point would matter from a structural standpoint especially given its short length of ~3/16".

 

True i haven't looked at it that way...

I will proceed this way then, the inside weld will help me make a smoother blend on the inside. Keep you guys posted with pics once its welded.