9bells

Some progress on the GT500 exhaust. Got to the axle today.
Some welds that came out better than the ones on the x-pipe. Better colour and closer to flush. Got rusty on vacation I guess.


Inside shots are not perfect, but close enough for exhaust I guess.


And a real close-up on the bead.

Tjabo

THAT is truly amazing!

So just to confirm, this is with a backpurge then, right?

9bells

Yeah, I purge all the stainless stuff.

Tjabo

Do you use any pulse, and do you have a dip and move rhythm? It kind of looks like you make a really smooth movement process on that stainless like in those last pics...

9bells

Dip while moving for stainless. I think my dip looks ok, and any time I've tried pulse I couldn't better it. It's one of those things I really haven't found a pressing application for.
When I teach autogenous at work, I show pulse, and it works great. I don't do much autogenous on the car stuff, except tacking, and quad tips. I do use pulse on the rare occasion I build stainless quad tips. I teach all the theory behind pulse during our TIG and MIG lectures, but with filler I haven't been able to make it worthwhile. In my experience, in order to see the benefit, constant feed is needed.
Alot of the bike frame welding I see is pulse, and it sure is pretty. As I mentioned in Toxic's thread though, if you weld basically the same thing everyday, you had better put out some killer welds.

ToxicFabrication

Yeah I agree with you on pulse. I only can find it useful to me on turbo flanges or head flanges. As for bike frames, I think almost everyone pulses them. I used a foot motion on mine rather then pulse. The tubes are very thin so i would do this to keep the heat out of it. Worked out well. As for your welds 9bells, your a mad man. I come into this thread everytime I need motivation keep it up. What amps were you welding the tube above at?

9bells

Thanks.
I had it set to 45, and was maxxed most of the time, just let off when getting close to tacks so it doesn't wander too much. I weld with .035" on the butt joints, and .045" on any fillets etc. I do the fillets at around 65 amps.
When I think I may have done a good job, I look at this pic, and remind myself I have a long way to go!!
Just sick.

sanchoem1

Your work is an inspiration to me! I can only hope to weld halfway as great as you.....
That Bike frame is just awesome to look at. I am always observing welds wherever I go now that I have started taking my Tig class.

9bells

Quick pic showing clearance of 3" exhaust

FabChild

Man I have been lurking on this forum for so long looking at your work, it's an absolute inspiration! I'm in college for an A.S degree in Welding and I'm the student instructor for the Tig class and I appreciate all the information you have to share! I have a question hope i'm not cluttering you thread, when stainless sugars I was always under the impression this is carbide Percipitation but someone at school insists that you don't see the percipitation that it's the carbon moving the chromium out to the HAZ. Can you tell me what the "Sugar" is made up of? Thanks in Advance!!

SD_Lurker

iTrader: (4)

I'd love you be your friend, or better yet, your neighbor. I'd love to hang out with you and be your bitch making cuts and so forth just to learn some of your tricks. Not just you but any good fabricator. I have 0 friends local to me that fabricate. I'd love to do more of it I just wish I had someone there to keep me company.

9bells

I can't sleep so I'll tackle this.
The coarse, grey protrusions inside a stainless tube or pipe evident after welding on the outside without an inert gas purge or protective flux compound is simply oxidation.
It is the atmosphere reacting with the chromium, nickel,etc. Besides the fact that it is hard and brittle, it makes any such weldement unfit for sanitary or close tolerance applications.
Inter granular corrosion, as a result of carbide precipitation is completely different.
That someone at school is correct. Carbide precipitation exists without any visible deviation in the appearance of the affected area to the naked eye.
In corrosive environments, the damage done to the area which is affected is visible to the naked eye. The damage presents just at the edge of the HAZ, often 2 troughs of varying depths. The general idea is that over a specific temperature range, the chromium and carbon join to form chromium carbides. These carbides consume a disproportionate amount of chromium, leaving much less chromium in solution to combat corrosion.
This temperature range, roughly 800-1400 F if my memory serves me, is best minimized in terms of exposure time. This is why rapid quenching, small electrodes, and stringer passes are often recommended on Austenitic Stainless Steels; to minimize the time any metal is exposed to that temperature range. Since the Austenitic series is not hardenable by heat treatment or manipulation, there are basically no side effects of any consequence.

9bells

I hear ya. It is lonely work for sure. I tried a servant for a while. Hand picked by me from school. It was a lot better talking and teaching, but ultimately slowed me down too much.
I would love to apprentice somebody on somebody else's dime. There is so much I can't pass along in school. I have a lot to learn yet myself, but I've been lucky to have good mentors in the trade all through my career. It all started with my first employer who taught me aluminum TIG first, to get puddle recognition and hand skills when I was 12.
I was never able to do much until many years later, but that base sure helped.
I was working the brake, shear, plasma,ironworker,drill press for 99% of the time, but when there was time, he would teach me. Then, when he was comfortable, he would let me do a few small pieces. He wouldn't let me touch Mig until I was 17.
I'm going to teach my daughter, and she can use it or lose it later in life.

Tjabo

I've seen references to "Solar Flux" in the context of TIGing stainless, is that the protective flux you're talking about? Whatever the flux is that you would use, I'm guessing the results are inferior to backpurging, or everyone would just use the flux instead of the hassle and expense of the backpurge, no?

This cracks me up because I'm constantly thinking about what skills I can pass on to my daughters. Life seems to be a little harder than it was when I was a kid, and I have come to the conclusion that being about to productively contribute to society (and thus have "stuff" you want) has a lot to do with being able to do something, i.e. skills. Even as much of a total hack welder as I am, I have thought about teaching my older daughter at some point. I'm just not sure that is better than getting her initial training from someone who actually knows what they are doing... But that may never happen if I didn't get her interested by starting her.

5.0 Killa

I'll be in AB in a month or two and I'd love to come buy with some beer and watch you lay a few beads. I'm not learning much from people saying "that looks good".

9bells

Sure. It would be great to meet another HT guy.
My ph # is on the website, give me a shout and you can pop out for a visit and we'll wreck some stuff.

FabChild

Cool, thanks alot for the info!

9bells

Yeah, Solar Flux is a common one. I would not really say that the protection from atmosphere is less tha with inert purging, it just comes with a few small issues.
It does have a very small effect on the puddle, and it is not recommended to be left on the surface once used. The removal can be difficult depending on location.
The main benefits are cost, and speed. You just apply and weld.
I have seen it mostly used on larger water pipe applications. Saves a bunch of money, and is faster. The removal is easy on larger diameter short run pieces and flanged connections.

Tjabo

Thanks! So if it's the inside of an exhaust does it really matter if you remove the flux? I.e. is it for the long term integrity of the material, or is it more for sanitary purposes?

9bells

Solar flux claims to be inert after use, so it is mostly just for visual appeal of any visible welds. I know in the piping industry, it must be removed to avoid it coming off and flowing with the media, and to ensure proper finish. Even on the water(usually grey water) stuff, they want it removed to inspect the roots.
In exhaust, you could leave it on non-turbo or post-turbo applications. Not aware of any issues with 02 sensors.
Have they tested it to ensure it does not form anything detrimental with combustion gases?
Not sure. I know Burns are big supporters of the stuff, but I'm not sure if it's more for sale than use, or what.
The one thing I could see as a major advantage is using it to protect the outside of a product that requires welding inside, like collectors, WG flanges,etc.

Tjabo

Thank you very much, you're a huge asset to this forum!

TinyT

what size and type of filler would you recommend for sch 10 304 ss? what size tungsten as well. and ballpark, how many amps would you weld a butt joint of sch.10 304 with? Just picking your brain

9bells

I'll defer you to this thread. It covers most aspects pretty well. Any other questions, just post up after the read through and I can go more in depth if you need.
https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...2817492&page=2

TinyT

Perfect!

one more thing, is this overkill?
http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?ma...c6mtdsrrvksm24

I was going to get a #12 cup for my lens, but was also considering this

9bells

I have a few of those. They are great, but require a ton of flow to gain anything over teh #10,12's in alumina. Mine gets more use at the college than in my garage. It is an excellent visual for the students who are new to TIG, and to show how it benefits flow. I always tell them it works like your kitchen tap with that little screw on screen, and when they get to see and touch it, they totally get it.
They are ok for things like Ti when you can charge more for the flow, but for stainless, overkill IMO.