I wasn't busting on you ... I was just making a observation based on your other work. Nothing wrong with multiple pcs. but it does give it other places to leak. I know you've seen my tanks & I (personally) like as little seamwork as possible. Works for me. Yours looks great ... your welding skill is what shows. Keep us posted on the bike project progress & you're the man for having another operation right after you recovered from this one!! Good luck with that recovery too. PACO
Right on! My original idea(Which I think I'll still try sometime) was actually a "patchwork" look. Exposed welds are gonna be a big part of this bike. I practiced my butt welds for a week before doing the tank, wanted to get 100% penetration and welds that looked good! Definitely a challenge for someone who doesn't do this kind of aluminum work with regularity! I definitely appreciate your insight. Thanks! I feel bad when there's too many posts without pics....here's one I threw up on Instagram earlier(@welderassassin if you're on there), close up of the tank. Can't wait to get back to this project. #panicattack #weldporn #alooominum #triumph by Brown Dog Welding, on Flickr
No shame in those weldments! I have more people, when doing tanks, that want the larger roll of quarters vs. the smaller dime rows ... maybe it's more "industrial". I don't grind any aluminum tank welds & if it's requested I refuse. I like the patchwork idea. It gives it a more ... fabricated look. I just started working a race car fab shop - hopefully they'll get lots of aluminum stuff ... I need to brush up on C/M welding ...
This one I walked through making a belt buckle. Some pretty cool welding shots here too, watch in HD! <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oaIehqDGl9M?list=UUTRI9Us8zLiywY29vsW3kKg" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe> Sucker Punch belt buckle by Brown Dog Welding, on Flickr
I just picked up a miller diversion 180 and have been trying to get the hang of this, I'm pretty shakey but have finally gotten the knack of not touching my tungston with the filler rod or dipping it in the puddle, and I'm starting to make some decent looking welds. One question though, my welds all come out with sort of a dull gray finish rather than being shiny colored welds like is seen on this thread, what needs to change? Is this just cosmetic or is there going to be an issue with the integrity of the weld?
^^^ Too much heat, also good gas coverage makes for better looking welds, rainbow color on steel and stainless.
So basicaly I need to turn down the heat and just allow a lot more time to form the puddle and move it? This setup came with just a pressure regulator and no real flow gauge I started with it around 25 psi and then tryed 20, 15, and 10 I deally didn't notice much difference. is there a good rule of thumb for where to set it?
Let first state, I am NO expert welder. Getting the cup as close to the weld or tungsten sticking out to a minimum as possible, and or a gas lense helps to get more/better gas coverage. I have mine set at 15, more when I have to stick the tungsten out to reach into a tight spot to get full coverage, I turn it up. Also clean metal makes for a better looking as well as structural weld, although I have/do weld on less than clean metal at times. I dont set the amps for what i'm welding on, I have the setting high and just push the pedal down to the amps required, others do it different.
Not so great. Set the pressure just high enough to get coverage. Adding more pressure is just gonna cause more turbulence and waste gas. One of the reasons I often use a gas lens, it smooths out gas flow and lets me use lower pressure, thus saving gas too. Like was already mentioned, chances are you were running too hot....which pry means you're running to slow. So don't necessarily turn the heat down, just regulate the heat input with speed.
Hey Justin - sorry to hear of the trouble on the rehab. That's gotta suc. I have a Q in a miller mig welder. I don't use it often but when I do I need it to perform well. Whats been going on is the wire sputters out of the torch at lower gas pressure. WHen I turn it up (to 30 lbs.) it clears & welds fine. Never had another machine do this. It's a millermatic challenger 175. It's not that old & I don't have anyone use my weld equip. I had the gauge recently rebuilt as it was leaking but ... still kind of does it. Any thoughts? Paul
Never changed the liner but maybe has only a couple hours use overall. I tig weld everything ... Yes ... have changed collet recently along with new tip. I use it ONLY when doing sheetmetal reapairs ... trans tunnels, tacking for fitment, etc. I use .035 wire & haven't even gone through a complete spool since I've owned it.
Light use doesn't mean the liner isn't bad. Troubleshooting machines is always funny...so many things it could be. The fact that it sets so long between uses could be problematic. Wire oxidizes, which can cause use issues. I usually don't mig at much less than 25lbs anyways. Tig you can get away with lower gas pressure, I've never felt that was the way to go with mig.
OK ... so I don't feel as bad cause I was using pressure similar to my tig work. I'll check the quality of the spool. Perhaps it's not so good. I'll order a liner too. I appreciate the thoughts & suggestions. I'll MIG to see how it did when alls in. Again - thanks for the info & perspective. Paul
I've had wire rust/oxidize on the spool inside the machine when the machine sat unused for a long time. That filler wire is coated (something copper colored), so you'd think it wouldn't oxidize that easy, but nothing worked to clean that welder's output up, until I changed the spool. It ain't a guaranteed fix, but it's something you can check pretty quickly to eliminate it from the list of possible causes. Your problem is probably caused by poor gas coverage though, 'cause as you've said, it clears up when you turn the pressure up.
Here are a couple of a tank I made for a 63 Ford custom at work. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Some of these are great...but I wonder how well they would x-ray. There is a LOT more to a good weld than aesthetics
Good looking welds come with experience and knowledge, I'm sure they have good penetration and not just aesthetic.
S.S. flange weld on a still column. Pretty common but this is how I do them. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I love when the weld-critique Nazis come out of the wood work.... go look on any production car chassis... more than a few welds will look like pure crap compared to the ones we see here. Bob
I love looking at high quality craftsmanship. You guys inspire me to keep trying to improve. The more I do, the more I am amazed at what the guys accomplished decades ago with the equipment they had. My grandfather used to weld train car hitches with two Arc welders running to one cable using 1/2" steel rod and no flux but some sort of a shielding gas nozzle blowing in it. He also did a lot of work on ship drive propellers and pressure tanks. It would bother him if he had a single pin hole when testing. Amazingly, most tanks had over 50' of weld, and it all looked consistent and even, rivalling most of the tig welding seen today. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
