iOnaBender wrote:Hi bluc,
I'm not a boiler maker but learned the TIG craft on many a nightshift when working for Kraft foods, as a result all my camping and camp oven gear is all stainless steel. Minimise space with water or a purging dam (hard on a boiler compared with tri clover fittings and SS pipe). The gun fitters/boilies used masking tape with 6-12 holes made from TIG filler wire. They used a second flow meter on a Y piece with around 7-8 L/pm (I think it was). Once setting up and starting purge gas flow it was time for a coffee before attempting the weld. When you first strike an arc, hang around to get heat and importantly full penetration to make your purge weld successful. Also when you have completed the full lap, don't just pull your torch away, roll your wrist to draw an increasing arc until extinguished (this eliminates pin holes). The larger the pipe diameter the easier it is from my experience, 20mm tube/pipe was a bitch to start and finish! For me personally the most important is to take your time, MIG & ARC are very fast in comparison to a quality TIG weld
Hope this helps or clarifies a few points for you?
scythe wrote:I'm only a machinist and not a boily...
But,
Slow down your movement to increase penetration.
Feed more filler rod to fill it more (strange but true).
You can absolutely just tack things and get it to seal, just takes longer.
Photo of your back purge is a bit blurry so can't see if it's actually sugared, but you will be able to feel it for sure.
Drag a tissue over it, if the tissue does not get torn to shreds by the weld surface it's all good.
LikkerSheWillLoveIt wrote:If you can, take a photo of the control settings on your machine, I may be able to help with setup. I’m thinking your amps are too high.
Are you using 2% Thoriated Tungsten (Red Tip)?
Now for technique,
#1 GET COMFORTABLE! Let’s face it, you are trying to melt stainless in a very specific spot with a tiny electrode sharpened to a needle point. Use a piece of anything you’ve got lying around to give yourself a hand rest that still lets you move your hand around the job. Start each weld in an uncomfortable position first, ending in a more comfortable position. Sounds stupid, but it works. It’s really hard to get really good hand stability if you aren’t comfortable, resulting in your hand shaking and the weld pool moving all over the place, worse still dipping your tungsten.
#2 GET COMFORTABLE!
#3 DONT RUSH! Like everything in this hobby. Shit takes time. Yes high amps means you can weld faster, if you have the skill to weld faster. If you can’t get full penetration and a nice clean weld with lower amps and moving slowly, how are you going to go when you are trying to speed it up???
Sorry if that comes across arrogant, I’m trying to channel my first Leading Hand!
When I first started, the scrap bin got put in front of my bench and I stood there for 45 hours a week for about 3 1/2 weeks until the Production Manager said I could start welding RHS brackets, and that was with about 25 different people giving me hints and tips.
By the looks of your welds you aren’t getting your tungsten close enough to the weld pool, the closer you are, the more concentrated the heat is, therefore the more penetration you get without over heating the surrounding material. Yes some people (and the textbook) say your weld should be 3 times the width of the material thickness you are welding, bullshit! Maybe for structural steel or high pressure pipe, but not in all instances. I weld a heap of 3mm and I can tell you now I have NEVER had a weld 10mm wide on stainless!
Practice, practice, practice! Which is easy to say if you aren’t paying for argon! BUT! You can get the “feel” for it, with the welder turned off. Watch the YouTube videos, watch how they move, now try it with the welder off and no helmet on so you can see your hands and know what they are doing. Hand Eye coordination is one thing, but then trying it blind with helmet and TIG torch, that’s a whole new thing!
Look at your torch angle. If you are doing a fillet weld, as you have, hold the torch at 45 degrees to the right angle of the 2 materials, now point your torch the way you want to weld at around 10-15 degrees and hold your wire 90 degrees to the torch. I’ll go into the shed later and take some photos for you.
Filling holes is hard, it helps if you can clamp a piece of aluminium or brass behind, stainless doesn’t stick to it and it acts as a heat diffuser.
If I was welding a 4” ferrule onto a keg like you have done, I’d be tacking every 20mm before welding, and doing those tacks as you would tighten wheel nuts, don’t just go around in one direction, make it random and let it cool.
It’s hard to teach someone to TIG weld when you are sitting beside them.
Don’t ever stop now, you will have a light switch moment.
The weld in your second photo looks nice and even which is good.
bluc wrote:I found this pickling paste and it claims you dont need a poison license wich I assume is for the nitric/hydrofluric version
https://www.hampdon.com.au/Able-Inox-St ... Paste-500g
Anyone have experience with it?
bluc wrote:I found this pickling paste and it claims you dont need a poison license wich I assume is for the nitric/hydrofluric version
https://www.hampdon.com.au/Able-Inox-St ... Paste-500g
Anyone have experience with it?
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