(Video) Finally Finished My Exhaust - TIG / Cutting / Fabrication Porn.

[Drop Top Road Trip]

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I think my exhaust woes are history, thanks to local Home Brew Equipment Fabricator: Sully.

All stainless steel...should last...forever.

If you are in the St. Louis area and need some work like this done, I can put you in touch.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Stainless steel requires knowlege and equipment? He doesnt even know how to weld stainless. There is NO PURGE going on in that vid

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

Stainless steel requires knowlege and equipment? He doesnt even know how to weld stainless. There is NO PURGE going on in that vid

What is PURGE?

 

[Archer Fabrications]

You need a little lesson on welding? Lol

Purge: to replace or purge atmospheric oxygen in side of the tube And to replace it with argon.

You will see on the inside of the tube there is probably black crusty shit that is called "sugar" it's basically burnt oxide on the back side of the weld that looks like this.

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Photos curtasy of street or strip concept.

As you can see this will cause a premature failure over a period of time, also causes minor exhaust turbulance. In turbo manifolds you dont want to see this at all. If a piece of that sugaring broke off and flew into your turnine wheel you'd be having a bad day due to inproper welding, it's not as critical for post turbo piping, bit it will still fail before a properly back purged weld.

This is what it should look like when the inside of the tube's oxygen is replaced with argon. Aka "purging, or back purging" you see no black crusties, only a smoothe clean weld back side that looks similar to the outside bead. This is mostly important on reactive metals like stainless or tiranium. You do not need to back purge mild steel pipe/tube.

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The inside is as important, if not more inportant in some cases, then the outside.

Heres a pic of some collectors and one of the runners i made, the left you see all openings are blocked and an argon supply to the bottom right runner, the outside of the weld ideally should be a light gold straw color, or rainbows.

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[Drop Top Road Trip]

Thanks for the info...but next time, take a moment to calm down a little before posting. You may not have meant to in your initial reply, but you came off like a bit of a jerk.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Thanks for the info...but next time, take a moment to calm down a little before posting. You may not have meant to in your initial reply, but you came off like a bit of a jerk.

Sorry, when i see words like tig porn and special knowlege/equipment....with recommendations....
I'm just here to educate those that dont do it right. Mostly due to ignorance.

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

So, having paid $100 for the cutting and welding...how much more do you think I might have had to pony up for the additional gas to back purge these two pipes? I assume that the gas isn't cheap and I assume that we would have had to seal the pipes up and fill them. I'm wondering if I had known about the process, would I have spent the extra dough for it anyway.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Not much you only need 8 cfh inside

 

[biglady112]

None of our tig welds have ever been back purged and we have never had a failure. Some people are just ignorant and think there is only one way to do things. We are not building space rocketshere.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

None of our tig welds have ever been back purged and we have never had a failure. Some people are just ignorant and think there is only one way to do things. We are not building space rocketshere.

Do it right or dont do it at all....

 

[biglady112]

If your parts work and they are within your budget and meet your goals rock on with your bad self I say.

 

[CODE4]

If stainless is not going to have a full penetration weld with a purge, then do not waste your "budget" on buying stainless in the first place. Use mild or aluminized steel. Paint it.

Sugaring your stainless is removing the qualities that make stainless desirable in the first place.

 

[biglady112]

Even more of a reason we don't care to back purge. We don't do anything in stainless. Only mild steel or aluminum

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Even more of a reason we don't care to back purge. We don't do anything in stainless. Only mild steel or aluminum

You are either extremely uneducated or you didn't read my post before you repliedprobably didn't watch op's vid either or read his post? Were only talking about stainless. not sure why you even posted.

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

Jesus...you guys need to take a yoga class and calm down.

UrbanSmoker - You seem to know a thing or two about a thing or two, so what do you think (pragmatically), how long will these welds last? Two years? Ten Years? Twenty years? Is it really worth all the trouble to back purge the welds on a stainless steel exhaust? It's not like I had it welded up with a MIG, right?

Code 4 - "Sugaring your stainless is removing the qualities that make stainless desirable in the first place." While this may be the case, the areas that fail can always be cut and re-welded "properly" and the rest of the piping will not be affected, lasting a good long time compared to mild steel...so going with stainless is still a great idea, right?

Before answering remember: Be Friendly and Respectful, No Insults and Hostility, Stay on Topic, Add Value to the Discussion.

 

[DSM Chase]

Im actually with Biglady112 on this one, sure you can be anal and purge all your stainless welds but at the end of the day these are just DSMs. If this was going on a 300K show car where people inspect inside all your welds sure why not, but highly unlikely, Seeing as most people judge weld "porn" by the outside and never even think to look inside besides penetration, if the weld functions and seals...why does it matter?

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

DSM Chase and UrbanSmoker - Just to clarify - I only said "tig porn" because it was a video (I though it would be fun to watch - guess I was wrong?)...not because it's the best looking welds. I might have preferred (ideally) the welds to have ended up looking like the welds on my BMX bikes from the '80s...but this is going under a car, not where it's going to be seen on a regular basis. Truth be told, even if it was going to be seen from the top of the engine or something...I really wouldn't care so much how the welds look as long as they are functional.

 

[Nate355RS]

Geez, some weld snobs up in here. It's a post turbine exhaust on a DSM.. I bet at least a few things will break before those welds fail. It's not ideal, but it works.

Drop Top is obviously excited to have his exhaust done and he got a pretty decent price for the work. Guess some people enjoy pissing in other people's Cheerios.

 

[dexterholland04]

Where decent welding setups cost more than most of our cars anymore...

 

[bradikus7]

Why not just bolt on the cat delete downpipe and forget your cat like the rest of us?

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

Why not just bolt on the cat delete downpipe and forget your cat like the rest of us?

I have to have a cat for inspection...and it's a high flow Random cat, so it's not like it's choking the car much. That, and I'll admit...I'm a tree hugger to some extent.

 

[wishihadatalon]

Jesus...you guys need to take a yoga class and calm down.

UrbanSmoker - You seem to know a thing or two about a thing or two, so what do you think (pragmatically), how long will these welds last? Two years? Ten Years? Twenty years? Is it really worth all the trouble to back purge the welds on a stainless steel exhaust? It's not like I had it welded up with a MIG, right?

Code 4 - "Sugaring your stainless is removing the qualities that make stainless desirable in the first place." While this may be the case, the areas that fail can always be cut and re-welded "properly" and the rest of the piping will not be affected, lasting a good long time compared to mild steel...so going with stainless is still a great idea, right?

Before answering remember: Be Friendly and Respectful, No Insults and Hostility, Stay on Topic, Add Value to the Discussion.

That is a question that he can not answer. The longevity of such a weld is subject to too many variables such as operating temperature and what elements the tubes will be exposed to. The issues that you will see from this will more than likely be prolonged for quite some time (years would be my guess). Additionally the issues you will eventually see will be in the heat affected zone next to the weld on either side. The base metal there will be depleted of chrome and will not be able to form the oxide layer that is resistance to corrosion.

With that said, I agree with Urban. While his delivery and lack of tact is quite off putting, he's is right that putting terms like "weld porn" on a video where improper techniques are being used, is not the greatest idea. Most professionally welders are highly skilled, hard headed, extremely proud, and love to point out the mistakes of anyone attempting their craft. It's best not to "poke the bear" as they say.

Regardless, you're obviously excited and that is great. I'm glad your local home fabricator could provide a solution for you that made you happy. That is ultimately the most important thing here.

 

[AndrewD5418]

I just wanna know why no gloves. .

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Im actually with Biglady112 on this one, sure you can be anal and purge all your stainless welds but at the end of the day these are just DSMs. If this was going on a 300K show car where people inspect inside all your welds sure why not, but highly unlikely, Seeing as most people judge weld "porn" by the outside and never even think to look inside besides penetration, if the weld functions and seals...why does it matter?

Why does it matter? Same reason you wouldnt want to throw a chineese turbo on your car, same reason you wouldnt want to cheap out on other things with your car, sure you can, and sure it may work for some, but theres always others where it bites them in the ass. Biglady said he doesnt even use stainless so his point is moot. And it's not like purging is expensive... 300k car? It comes down to do you want it done right or do you want to cut corners.... Bottom line.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Jesus...you guys need to take a yoga class and calm down.

UrbanSmoker - You seem to know a thing or two about a thing or two, so what do you think (pragmatically), how long will these welds last? Two years? Ten Years? Twenty years? Is it really worth all the trouble to back purge the welds on a stainless steel exhaust? It's not like I had it welded up with a MIG, right?

Code 4 - "Sugaring your stainless is removing the qualities that make stainless desirable in the first place." While this may be the case, the areas that fail can always be cut and re-welded "properly" and the rest of the piping will not be affected, lasting a good long time compared to mild steel...so going with stainless is still a great idea, right?

Before answering remember: Be Friendly and Respectful, No Insults and Hostility, Stay on Topic, Add Value to the Discussion.

Doesnt mater what it's welded with, mig tig, stick if it sugars you are taking the corrosion resistant properties out of the meterial, so like code4 said, (who is a professional pipe welder) why bother using stainless in the first place if you dont care to keep the corrosion resistance of the material or are on a budget. Might as well use mild steel, and no need for backpurge because mild steel does not sugar. I couldnt tell you a lifespan on a part that i havnt seen, and and even if it's in front of me it would be hard to tell there is a lot to consider.. Unless it was done really horribly and cracking off the get go.. It could last a year, it could last 10, like i said origionally.. It's not AS big a deal for post turbo piping because if there is sugar it won't harm your turbo and will go out the exhaust, in a turbo application with mass heatcycling its something id worry about, you will notice over time your welds will rust though. I weld turbo manifolds for a living so what do i know. Lol


The best compairison i can think of is this. Mandrel bend vs crush bend. Sure crush bend will work. But it's not the preferred method for power. So people would rather do it right if they are going to be spending the $. I'm not your average cheap dsmer, I'll spend good money for good products because in this day and age, you get what you pay for, and why not choose a method proven to last if your gonna be throwing down the $. I'm not trying to piss in anyones cheerios. It's the same reason a lot of people would rather buy US made products then chineese.

Some people * cough cough* are just ignorant and are stuck in their ways and dont care if it's the right way or not, as long as it's their way, it could be thrown together with duct tape, "itll work" and op I'm not directing this to you. It was a good video and i watched all of it. Just figured I'd give you some education on the matter seeing as you were talking about all stainless and requiring special equipment and knowlege... All of which i didn't see from "sully" thats all. Not trying to be a dick, I'm just passionate about my trade, i wouldnt give you shitty product even if you asked for it.