welder show and tell

[GTijoejoe]

I want more.

[poopie]

Just got my Miller Diversion 180 a few days ago, and I spent sometime practicing yesterday and today. So far I'm pretty happy with the 180 although I have run into a few minor problems. I'm not thrilled with the small size of the pedal, it is difficult to make fine adjustments with most of your foot hanging off the end. At any rate, I'm having a ton of fun with it. I've been MIG welding for a little over 3 years now with a Millermatic 140 and while I would never give up my MIG, I'm finding TIG to be a bit more interesting and enjoyable. Here are some test beads from this morning for you to critique (1/8" carbon steel, 3/32 ceriated tungsten, 3/32 filler rod, ~105A).







Toward the end I started to find my rhythm while listening to the subtle 'click' sound made when the filler hits the molten pool. As always, advice/criticism is welcomed.

what torch cup size are you using and what is your argon flow rate? Some welds look too hot and some look too cold. I'm sure you can spot the difference. You are also cratering at the end. It could be too hot and you are leaving the torch there too long to end the weld or maybe your argon flow is too high and the cup is too small. It may help to introduce some filler rod just before you let go of the pedal. You will have to work on the timing of this to reduce the cratering. Sign up to weldingweb.com. They do a good job critiquing welds. If you haven't found weldingtipsandtricks.com you should check it out. There is a list of common mistakes by noobs for tig welding. I thought i had it all figured out until i saw that list. haha. If you want to work on the timing a introducing rod and puddle control, weld up some aluminum plate. You can just stack rows of dimes one after another with out much cleaning or prep between welds.

[vwangler]

Thanks for the input! The cup size I was using was #7 and my flow rate was ~15CFH. The craters/drop outs on a few of the welds was the product of me accidentally dipping the tungsten into the weld pool. I've been doing a good deal of research, I have read quite a few of the articles on weldingtipsandstricks.com and other great sites. I could definitely tell that some welds were too hot and some were too cold, this was partially due to me varying travel speed and the fact that I wasn't always giving the steel a chance to cool down. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get any practice in lately because I had to drop the welder off for service already... Thanks again for the tips!

[85vwcabby]

[snip]
latest project: rebuilding a free boat trailer to fit my boat. (and be roadworthy )
Thats about all for now.
Travis

You're running 122 amps on the old school buzzbox in the photo...

I also have a HH 140... good welder, if you change out that cheesy ground clamp they give you for a Tweco type 300 amp clamp...

Most recent project was my welding cart... (HH previously rode on an old coffee cart...)

Here's a few pics from that project...

Here's one of many, many welds on this overbuilt cart...


getting close...


Yippee-ki-ay MF!!!


I've done exhaust work on my brother's car (second generation CRX, sorry, forgot to take pics. turned out beautiful) and made my own fuel injector puller for the sometimes insanely difficult to remove VW CIS injectors... and will soon be making a winch bumper for my truck...

I run flux core wire... works pretty good. Right now, it's got a partial of a 2 lb spool of .035" flux core, but that will be changed out for a new 10 lb spool of .030" wire when I am going to start on the winch bumper... it's gonna take quite a bit of filler to get that welded up solid... the full 140 amps will be used on that project.

At some point, I plan on getting an Argon/CO2 mix tank and have that in case I need to do thin stuff where it'd be a PITA to brush and chip slag all the time due to the numerous tack welds used to keep stuff from burning through or warping...

[turtledub]

One day I will pick up a welder for doing some rockers and exhaust work. I don't need anything big. I keep scanning craigslist for something that would work. Any recomendations on a specific model?

[diive4sho]

Eastwood MIG 135
Lincoln weldpak
Hobart handler 140

[bmxdarcy]

Started fiddling with titanium tonight after work. One of the guys just told me how he sets up the welder and I was on my own after that. I can either make them look pretty or I can get the penetration but both isn't real easy.


Just the bottom two beads are mine.


I can only go a few puddles at a time without argon to follow up. We aren't worried about that though because we rarely ever do plate, mostly just tube.


Same weld but backside. When you get the material hot enough to penetrate like this the puddle gets a bit more difficult to control. Welding something new is exciting like the first day you ever picked up the torch

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

That looks pretty thin. How are you getting argon on the back side?

[bmxdarcy]

We have a little purge manifold built to do certain parts, I just cut the .063" sheet to the same width as the manifold

[nubVR]

Took the pic with my phone, wish it was bigger........ that weld is about 4' long just to give a size.......

I might post random weld pics here and there.......

[GTijoejoe]

Took the pic with my phone, wish it was bigger........ that weld is about 4' long just to give a size.......

I might post random weld pics here and there.......

I have to say, I've seen a decent amount of your work, and you have excellent Aluminum skills, your beads are always very very nice, straight, and even. Some of the best I've seen no doubt

[v-dubin@120]

Bought myself a Eastwood TIG machine for Christmas, and finally had the time to get my bench cleaned up and get a bottle of argon and other supplies to get welding. I took a 6week welding course when i was in tech school as a part of my Diesel mechanics program, and just loved tig welding. but sadly, havent been able to weld with one in about 4years.

the setup:


first weld, just a piece of scrap 1/8in aluminum i had, i think it turned out ok for not having welded aluminum in 4years.


after some more practice


only using the machine on 110v right now. need to get my electrician over to the house and get another 220v plug put in next to the bench. seems to work great on 110v though.

[huichox4]

nice man, those look pretty good, how are you setting the machine up? how much argon are you using? etc.

[euro-sudaka]

It's time to upgrade my helmet.

[Racer16]

I know this may be a bit off topic but what would you guys suggest as far as welding machines go for someone trying to learn to weld??I doubt I will be welding any aluminum any time soon.Looking for a good beginner machine for some strong welds.suggestions appreciated.

[Ld7w_VR]

This thread really makes me want to buy a welder. Been to long since I have done any welding.


Racer16 I take it you have never welded? I learned MIG first. Was not to bad place to start. Would like probably start with stick If you have to buy a machine. Only because it's cheaper and more forgiving since your learning. Then you can move up to MIG and then TIG over time.

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

Here's some more industrial action for you guys. I was flown up to Minnesota to refurbish two valves at a power plant. The robotic welder **** the bed at the 90% mark on the first valve, so we had to set up the cwf and do it by hand. 26" diameter, 300 degree constant pre-heat using induction coils, sitting inside the valve. Three faces were done, the seat, the face, and the backside (locating face for another internal part). It took four 12 hour shifts to get it done. 215 amps, no foot pedal control, no hf start, and just a constant speed 0.035 stainless steel 410 on a wire feeder. The back side was done with inconel 1/8, 150a.

It ain't pretty, but after you sit in an oven for an hour, welding below your sitting surface, your welds will start to look rough as well.

After a couple days of post weld heat treating, machining will begin.

[Eganx]

Pat.....that is awesome! What is inconel like to weld?

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

Inco is interesting. The puddle is gummy and sluggish, but it isn't too bad. It gets a really really pretty straw color when the heat input is right. If you overheat it or roll out of the puddle (to break the arc) wrong, it looks like pidgeon **** (literally). You have to be careful with it cause it picks up trash on the surface easily, if you force too much rod in to the puddle it will develop microscopic voids, and its extremely easy to get microscopic cracks in your starts and stops.


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[nubVR]

Holy $hit!

[CDJetta]

Holy.... mother.... of.... god. That's a crap ton of welding. That's probably more welding than I've done total.

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

Forgot to mention, that was the second valve, all done by hand. The robot welded one was already insulated for pwht. 4 layers on the top, one in the back, and three in the seat. Last time these valve were worked was in 89.

And for a size refrence, each bead, except for the corner beads, are almost an inch wide

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[stevem589]

what is the thickness of the piece being welded?

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

The weld prep left 2.5 at the top, and at the bottom, its about 4, but the way the valve chamber is designed, its probably closer to 10.

[Jckl]

Don't mind my shaky line.. I don't currently have a table in my garage and was not in a good position for this.. Ran a 3/32 tungsten and rod at ~180A with a #7 cup

[Racer16]

sorry dont mean to hijack the thread.Im looking to buy A MIG what would be a good machine to start on. perhaps weld pak 3200 hd from lincoln?

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

Hobart Handler 140. With a spool gun it'll do aluminum. It's cheap. And it runs off 110. It's the perfect hobby mig.

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

More industry work.

This time it's a gas turbine plant in southern Alabama. An expansion joint baffle in the exhaust keeps cracking, so engineering gave this to us as a temporary fix. Two units. I didn't get to play as welder much. Night shift got most of the welding work. I got most of the cutting off the old panels and prepping the new ones.

The black lines are the cracks, where the baffle is falling down. One unit was still held on at the top, the seconds was completely broken.




The plates we had to put on




A few of the welds I did. Left handed weld, done with the right hand. It was supposed to be a 3/16 fillet, but some of the plates had a 1/4 gap between the plate and the base metal, thanks to the fallen down baffle.









It's SS347, no foot pedal. It does not like to overheat. The one or two wavy spots are where I overheated it, being out of position a little. I had to do three stringers and a fillet, before the base metal would reach the bottom of the plate and I could tie it in together.

[stevem589]

where in Alabama? , I am in mobile ..

[Pat @ Pitt Soundworks]

I flew out of mobile yesterday. That damn thunderstorm left us waiting on the runway for a good half hour-fourty-five minutes.

[galil762]

.
My Millermatic 210, also have a Millermatic 135 XP, Miller Maxstar 140 Tig and a Miller, 375 X-treme Plasma Sorry for the cell pic. Ill post up a better one sometime. Im a pretty fair Mig welder, but just learning the Tig!!

[euro-sudaka]

bling bling platform

[tripwalking]

Part of a brew stand I'm making for a friend.

[bmxdarcy]

tripwalking that looks nice! do you 'set the ceiling' when you set up your welder or is that all in the foot?

[tripwalking]

It's all in the foot.