Custom Fighter Welding School

8587 Views 231 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Smoker, 22 d ago

Smoker

Discussion Starter · Jan 24, 2022

May as well get the welding talk out of my build thread.

This will be a good place to organize my welding projects, show my gear, and post my progress.

Have less than a month before I get into 2 open lab classes. Pretty sure I can do whatever I want, which is TIG welding my custom bikes & parts. Need to learn how first, but I should get my projects in order ASAP and develop a plan.

Even if I don't get good enough to do the finish welding, I need to fabricate and tack together the parts. Looking forward to making some progress on the bikes!

Reactions: 4

141 - 160 of 232 Posts

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #141 · Apr 17, 2022

Stainless Test.

Setup like this. I left a small opening on the right side of the stainless coupons.

Top is with no purge Argon, bottom is with purge Argon.

Front:

Back:

Looks like the mini purge box is working.

See less See more

4

Reactions: 2

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #142 · Apr 17, 2022

Stainless setup for a corner weld.

Above the corner weld (penetration) on the backside, there is a gray-looking bead with a small bit of sugaring. That was done without purge Argon.

Nothing to see on the outside. I used filler rod on the corner, but didn't get much penetration. So, I went over the corner again with a fusion weld.

Got some 1mm and 2mm Titanium and cut my own coupons. No school next week, but will do more testing soon.

See less See more

4

Reactions: 3

MikeGyver

· #143 · Apr 17, 2022

Looks good man! I envy your patience to practice so much!

Toast

· #144 · Apr 18, 2022

yantosh said:
you get flow meters on oxy/acetylene torches ? I never seen one .... every day's a school day

Never ever saw meters on a torch but once you find the proper look of that blade you'll never forget it and your hands will do what they do to makes your eyes happy and then your all the way in there.

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #145 · Apr 18, 2022

Toast said:
Never ever saw meters on a torch but once you find the proper look of that blade you'll never forget it and your hands will do what they do to makes your eyes happy and then your all the way in there.

I disagree 100%.

The look of the flame is completely subjective.

Numbers on a meter are completely objective and repeatable for all, regardless of what you think is good looking.

I am a man of science.

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #146 · Apr 18, 2022

MikeGyver said:
Looks good man! I envy your patience to practice so much!

Thanks, Mike.

Not sure that it's patience. More likely, desperation. If my local welder didn't retire, I wouldn't be doing this. I don't know how long I should keep practicing before giving up and finding someone with skills like dimestak. As long as I'm enjoying it, it's okay, but bikes aren't getting done.

Keeping busy with welding definitely reduces the bad thoughts in my head. This is the best reason to continue on.

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #147 · Apr 21, 2022

Want to get back to the torch tomorrow. It's Spring Break, so I'll just be welding at home this week.

I'll repeat the coping weld with the home torch, and compare to the school TIG.

Been trying hard to come up with other fun projects.

Definitely need to work on my tack welding. I've been doing a quick blast, sometimes with a bit of filler rod to prevent burning a hole. Works great for practice coupons, but isn't going go cut it for fabrication. I need to tack using minimal rod, and also melt a minimal amount of the parent metal. That way, I can cut the tacks and reuse the pieces. Will take some practice.

Planning on doing a Razor Blade Challenge. Should be fun.

Planning on welding some nuts & bolts together. I've see it done a lot for different reasons.

Would like to weld some motorcycle cast aluminum. Need to get some trashed aluminum side covers to practice on. No idea where to find them, though.

Wasn't able to get scrap titanium. The titanium coupons I made were from brand new retail stock. I've already started dipping into my good stuff, too. Grabbed some nice 1/8" aluminum to practice on:

The aluminum half pipe was really fun. Moving the torch from the top, to the side, I wasn't maintaining a proper angle, or tight arc, or both. The fillet welds look a bit shoddy, but strong. Fillet welds are hard for me, so I'm happy. Had a good run on the other side.

See less See more

2

Reactions: 3

ToadofToadHall

· #148 · Apr 24, 2022

Here's a couple of things I've learnt about trying to weld cast Aluminium....
1.) Don't get it blast cleaned. The blasting drives minute particles of grit or blast media into the surface, and this affects the weld. Badley.... get the parts in to a strip tank and then clean with acetone and a stainless wire brush. Dont be tempted to use a mild steel brush even if its handy.
2.) Cast Alumimum isn't pure Aluminium - it contains more alloying elements - probably to improve the casting properties by lowering the melting point. This isnt nice when welding as the casting can collapse before a weld puddle forms.
3.) I've done it. Twice. So its doable even for novices like me, even if the results needed to be dressed up with a flap disc to make them presentable....

Reactions: 2

FlyingWrenches

· #149 · Apr 25, 2022

TURNIP said:
I picked up a ~1K tig that'll run on my piddly 110 recently so I will be piggy-backing on your experience like hell. 🤣

youtube videos out there of using that small welder to deflake the sulfation from spent wet cell batteries....you will never have to buy another vehicle battery perhaps.

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #150 · Apr 25, 2022 (Edited)

Yeah, still not sure where I can get some cast aluminum scrap to weld, but have a couple of ideas to try.

Thanks for the advice on cast aluminum. I remember when I wanted to weld billet machined parts and extruded tubing to a cast aluminum section of an Aprilia frame. I saw Roger the welder do a beautiful job every time, no problem whatsoever. Not sure about the type of filler rod he used, or details. If I fail miserably, I'll give him a call. He's retired from work, but still a friend.

Titanium filler rod arrived. Got Grade 1 titanium in 3 sizes to try out.

See less See more

Reactions: 1

ToadofToadHall

· #151 · Apr 25, 2022

Smoker said:
Yeah, still not sure where I can get some cast aluminum scrap to weld, but have a couple of ideas to try.

Thanks for the advice on cast aluminum. I remember when I wanted to weld billet machined parts and extruded tubing to a cast aluminum section of an Aprilia frame. I saw Roger the welder do a beautiful job every time, no problem whatsoever. Not sure about the type of filler rod he used, or details. If I fail miserably, I'll give him a call. He's retired from work, but still a friend.

Titanium filler rod arrived. Got Grade 1 titanium in 3 sizes to try out.

I'm sure Rodger will have been able to establish the weld puddle much more quickly than I can, and by working quickly and accurately is able to weld cast better than I'll weld plate. If he's a friend why dont you ask him for a few coaching sessions. A case of beer would be a decent imvestment in return for a couple of evenings 1to1 after all

Reactions: 2

XxGRYMMxX

· #152 · Apr 26, 2022

my teacher used to tell us to run hot and fast(er i guess, dont go too fast..) rather than slow and steady. reason being, the hot arc makes a puddle faster and when moving faster with the hotter arc, the HAZ tends to stay smaller. I only did alu a couple times but this has worked for me with steel.

Reactions: 2

yantosh

· #153 · Apr 26, 2022

XxGRYMMxX said:
my teacher used to tell us to run hot and fast(er i guess, dont go too fast..) rather than slow and steady. reason being, the hot arc makes a puddle faster and when moving faster with the hotter arc, the HAZ tends to stay smaller. I only did alu a couple times but this has worked for me with steel.

agree there

Reactions: 2

CK 187

· #154 · Apr 26, 2022

XxGRYMMxX said:
my teacher used to tell us to run hot and fast(er i guess, dont go too fast..) rather than slow and steady. reason being, the hot arc makes a puddle faster and when moving faster with the hotter arc, the HAZ tends to stay smaller. I only did alu a couple times but this has worked for me with steel.

Agreed. Hotter and faster to keep the HAZ small

Reactions: 1

Larry02ACR

· #155 · Apr 27, 2022

Smoker said:
Yeah, still not sure where I can get some cast aluminum scrap to weld, but have a couple of ideas to try.

PM me an address where you can receive packages. I've got a couple of engine side covers I can send your way. You'll have to fucking clean them though!

Reactions: 1

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #156 · Apr 27, 2022

I understand that more amps + faster travel speed is better. I've used mostly 1/16" steel, and it warps easily with too much heat.

I'm just going as fast as the puddle allows. I know it'll go faster with more amps, but I think I still have some more pedal with the amps I'm using. I also would like better quality beads before speeding up much.

My big problem is, I still can't see where I'm going. The only thing wrong with some of my beads is veering off line, or stops & restarts so I can check where I am. Might be the way I'm holding the rod. Tomorrow I'll leave the machine off and try to figure out wtf is going wrong.

Reactions: 2

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #157 · Apr 27, 2022

Larry02ACR said:
PM me an address where you can receive packages. I've got a couple of engine side covers I can send your way. You'll have to fucking clean them though!

Thanks, Larry!

Will do tomorrow. Appreciate that much. I'm happy to pay for shipping and whatnot.

I think cleaning them properly is an essential part of the learning process.

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #158 · Apr 29, 2022

The 2 videos I saw showed razor blades being welded end to end. The utility blades I have are 0.021" thick, so that isn't so impressive. I decided to try edge to edge.

Tried TIG welding and TIG brazing. Unfortunately, I didn't have any ER70S filler rod in 0.035". Tried some .045" rod, but it didn't want to melt. It worked, but not well. The welds you see here are fusion welds (no filler). Pretty difficult on the edge.

Will try again soon.

See less See more

2

Reactions: 2

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #159 · Apr 29, 2022

Watched a couple more razor welding videos.

Next time, I'll use aluminum chill blocks and a needle grind on the tungsten.

Tried to figure out why I can't see where I'm going when welding. Bad news is, it's not my hand position. I can see the puddle clearly, but everything outside the arc light is black.

I'll check the shade setting on my helmet, but I know I didn't set it very dark. I've always had poor night vision.

Smoker

Discussion Starter · #160 · May 9, 2022 (Edited)

I posted pics of my DIY purging fixture, and how I do the corner weld setup. Here are a few more.

Purging flat tacks on titanium:

Used the top plate to hold and cool titanium for corner weld tacking:

Purging stainless for vertical corner welds:

My clamps don't fit through the holes in the welding table at school, so I have to clamp near the edge. I use the purging top plate as a shelf to support my hand/wrist. Here, I set up titanium corner welds with aluminum chill blocks. The ends are sealed with heavy aluminum foil, and a purge tube goes through one side.

Figured out a setup for razor blades. Need all the help I can get, for a good outcome.

See less See more

5

Reactions: 1

141 - 160 of 232 Posts