Your most recent welding pics

[Archer Fabrications]

Gamble=ebay extraordinaire

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Gamble=ebay extraordinaire

 

[compression]

I need some help! =(

i cant get any color out of my welds, longevity 200sx 50-120amps (tried all kinds of diff amps) 2%lanth 1/16 tung gas lense #8 cup 1/16th 308 filler

What i started with 304L sch10 cut with a chop saw and beveled

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A weld after brushed clean

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But before cleaning the weld it looks like

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i would think the metal just wasnt clean but i cleaned the hell out of it.. i havent sharped the tungsten today but it was still plenty sharp.

some more welds

all diff amperages and travel speeds , just trying to experiment.

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Theres almost like a dinjy coating over the weld that i can clean off , but still no color WTF

 

[Gamble97]

Want the trick to getting colors?








It's sooooo easy!

 

[compression]

huge pyrex cup/gas lens?!

a machine with a pulse feature would help too im sure, keeping as little heat as it needs i would assume helps.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

I know how to get good colors with a regular collet it's actually easy. You dont even need a gas lens.

You only need 12cfh. More gas flow could draw in air from the back of the torch like a vacuum effect (think sand blaster) after you finish the weld. Keep te cup and filler on the weld letting the post flow get everything until it stops (I'd say 9-10 second post flow is a good start.

 

[Gamble97]

Just turn up the post flow and let it cool. That is the trick to colors!

 

[compression]

i had the post flow maxed.

 

[Gamble97]

It's not about the flow, it's about how it cools.
Do a bead 3/4" to 1" long and keep the torch on it until the post flow stops and it will be colorful.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

The comors occur as soon as you remove the torch about 2 seconds after keeping the post flow on it.

 

[white92talontsi]

Colin at Toxic Fab has got this welding down to an art.

Here's some of his work

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The man is a Machine!

 

[DSMnoobsause]

Wow I would love to be half as good!

 

[compression]

It's not about the flow, it's about how it cools.
Do a bead 3/4" to 1" long and keep the torch on it until the post flow stops and it will be colorful.

Could it be my filler? er308/308L. i run a bead and let it cool for the full post flow then bump the pedal without an arc for another full pre/post flow and i get a weld with what appears to be some ugly gray coating. and brushes silver.
I tried just running the torch along the SS w/o filler and i can get a blue coloration along the bead w/o filler.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Too many amps then. How thick is material and how many amps are
You running.

 

[compression]

ive read the longevity digital readouts arent all that accurate, but i ran some at about 60 amps, then up to 120 and every where in between, i even tried to manually pulse the pedal, maybe 2-3pps... i was trying everything i could,

A question for gamble, the clearance knob ; does it affect dc tig? or only ac? i moved it around a little just for curiosity and it made little to no difference

And the left is more En, right more Ep right? ive read that it isnt a balance, its more like some sort of balance simulator, which i dont quite understand was just something i thought i read somewhere.

And how are my beads not as wide, or stacked as well as some of you guys? should i move slower and dab more? Pause and dab, or steady travel and consistent dab?

the material thickness im not sure off hand, its just standard 304l sch 10 ss pipe from acestainless.com

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Sounds like longevity is cheap for a reason . Sch10 i do at about 45 amps. My next welder will be the dynasty 250dx. I'm just sold on millers quality and support. I personally think it's the best on the market. I love my diversion 180 but i am out growing it. The dynasty is smaller and has stick capabilities, pulse, post flow control, wifi foot pedal option and water cooler option. I used linclon.. And I'm personally just more bias to miller.
I won't use anything else

 

[compression]

i really like the look and options the htp221 offers.

 

[all_motor_mike]

compression


u need to bevel that pipe more, the bevel helps control the bead for starters. u also need to back the amps down, i set mine at 70 for sch but i may only use 55-60. u need much better gas coverage also, get a gas lense dont waste ## money with the expensive pyrex and run a #10 or 12 cup.


mike

 

[Gamble97]

Sounds like longevity is cheap for a reason . Sch10 i do at about 45 amps. My next welder will be the dynasty 250dx. I'm just sold on millers quality and support. I personally think it's the best on the market. I love my diversion 180 but i am out growing it. The dynasty is smaller and has stick capabilities, pulse, post flow control, wifi foot pedal option and water cooler option. I used linclon.. And I'm personally just more bias to miller.
I won't use anything else

I thought I was out growing the 180, but I probably shouldn't have sold it. Good machine, but the pulse options of new machines are just cool to play around it. I don't find it useful on most things. My teacher said if you are good enough you dont need those options, he said in the 50 years he has been welding he probably used pulse 5 times. I would agree with him. I like to manually pulse the pedal if I need to.
The postflow option and balance control are where other machines shine IMO.

ive read the longevity digital readouts arent all that accurate, but i ran some at about 60 amps, then up to 120 and every where in between, i even tried to manually pulse the pedal, maybe 2-3pps... i was trying everything i could,

A question for gamble, the clearance knob ; does it affect dc tig? or only ac? i moved it around a little just for curiosity and it made little to no difference

And the left is more En, right more Ep right? ive read that it isnt a balance, its more like some sort of balance simulator, which i dont quite understand was just something i thought i read somewhere.

And how are my beads not as wide, or stacked as well as some of you guys? should i move slower and dab more? Pause and dab, or steady travel and consistent dab?

the material thickness im not sure off hand, its just standard 304l sch 10 ss pipe from acestainless.com

Clearance is for AC only.
More to the right is more cleaning (EP) and more to the left is more penetration (EN)
The width of the bead depends on the heat.
Keep that knob at 9 o'clock (i think it's -1?) and it's a good all around setting.
I do a steady travel and dab, but on occasion I do pause and dab. It all depends on YOU. People say your weld is your signature. Everyone does it different with different results, there is no wrong way. It's what works for you.

i really like the look and options the htp221 offers.

I love my htp 221.

I would pass on the stainless for now, it's not easy to learn on.

 

[compression]

compression


u need to bevel that pipe more, the bevel helps control the bead for starters. u also need to back the amps down, i set mine at 70 for sch but i may only use 55-60. u need much better gas coverage also, get a gas lense dont waste ## money with the expensive pyrex and run a #10 or 12 cup.


mike

Sorry i forgot that, i have a gas lens, and as far as i know there isnt a 10 or 12 cup unless you go to a jumbo gas lens? or a larger tig cup like a pyrex or champagne cup or something designed for titanium.

I have two different types of gas lens, one from riverweld on ebay and another from my LWS they seem a little different where the tungsten comes through, like one has a tad more screen surface area, and the other is thicker around the tungsten and a little less screen area.. not sure if it matters.

Thinking about a jumbo gas lens and a 12 cup or something, i just love the size and maneuverability of the ck9 with a standard gas lens.

I thought I was out growing the 180, but I probably shouldn't have sold it. Good machine, but the pulse options of new machines are just cool to play around it. I don't find it useful on most things. My teacher said if you are good enough you dont need those options, he said in the 50 years he has been welding he probably used pulse 5 times. I would agree with him. I like to manually pulse the pedal if I need to.
The postflow option and balance control are where other machines shine IMO.

Clearance is for AC only.
More to the right is more cleaning (EP) and more to the left is more penetration (EN)
The width of the bead depends on the heat.
Keep that knob at 9 o'clock (i think it's -1?) and it's a good all around setting.
I do a steady travel and dab, but on occasion I do pause and dab. It all depends on YOU. People say your weld is your signature. Everyone does it different with different results, there is no wrong way. It's what works for you.



I love my htp 221.

I would pass on the stainless for now, it's not easy to learn on.

Its really the only scrap i have laying around to be honest, and i want to learn stainless first because i will be welding my header in the somewhat near future, ive tried aluminum, meh, not yet. And ive tried mild steel, and it seems easy enough to weld, i guess i could use more practice with aesthetics on mild steel, since the rod and material is alot cheaper.

What role could my actual welder play in the lack or coloration? Could it play a role at all? I've heard pulse helps alot with keeping the heat down alot while providing excellent penetration.

When welding tubing like this, Would normal practice be to weld ~1" at a time? letting it sit for 20-30 seconds in between welds? or can you just weld an inch, reposition weld another etc?

I try to weld as much as i can cover in one pass before having to reposition, which leads to very awkward positions and ugly starts and stops/inconsistent bead

 

[Gamble97]

Its really the only scrap i have laying around to be honest, and i want to learn stainless first because i will be welding my header in the somewhat near future, ive tried aluminum, meh, not yet. And ive tried mild steel, and it seems easy enough to weld, i guess i could use more practice with aesthetics on mild steel, since the rod and material is alot cheaper.

What role could my actual welder play in the lack or coloration? Could it play a role at all? I've heard pulse helps alot with keeping the heat down alot while providing excellent penetration.

When welding tubing like this, Would normal practice be to weld ~1" at a time? letting it sit for 20-30 seconds in between welds? or can you just weld an inch, reposition weld another etc?

I try to weld as much as i can cover in one pass before having to reposition, which leads to very awkward positions and ugly starts and stops/inconsistent bead

It doesn't have anything to do with the welding machine really. It's about person under the hood.
AMM is better to answer some of these questions as he has way more experience than myself.
But if you notice other manifold welds, they are in small sections, maybe 1/2 to 3/4" or maybe 1" at a time. Then jump to another section of the manifold or go to the other side of the pipe. Stainless stays hot pretty long so it's a good idea to give it time to cool.

I am curious to know how to weld a manifold flange without it warping.

Pulse will help keep the heat down, but like I stated, I think it's not necessary. At the point I'm at I rather have full peddle control and pulse on my own. I haven't found a good place to use pulse yet.

Work on the starts and stops because you will have a lot of them.

AMM- How many amps do you use to weld the flange to the runners? And only 70amps, wow. Do you butt the pipes together or use a gap? I can't see getting full penetration with only 70amps.

 

[compression]

Well, that toxic fab's pictures ^ up there, it looks like all the heat that was put into the piece was so concentrated in the bead alone seeing as the haz is like entirely in the weld, with some small gold/straw color right outside of it, Whatever method he is using could probably be the same thing you looking for, if the heat is concentrated in only the bead, the flange wont take as much heat while welding and get less warpage.. Total guess.

I have those two different gas lens's, i used the one from the lws tonight and it seemed to work alot better, just by switching them out and they are supposedly the same thing, but where the tungsten comes through on the riverweld it kind of overhangs over the gas screen probably blocking some of the gas flow. idk, just happened to notice it..

Few more beads tonight, i moved my travel speed up a little , lowered the amps, and switched gas lens. and went from about 22-25 cfh to about 12-15ish

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This section here, i brushed in the middle of the beads to see the difference, just a very light brushing

Towards the end of the bead i was in kind of a awkward position, so it looks like crud. but there are two starts/stops on the bottom bead, so the first one tied in quite well i think. The coloration was from the top beads HAZ reaching onto the bottom bead.

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Started getting some inconsistencies , maybe from lack of argon?

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[Gamble97]

Could be because the pipe was hot after many passes.
Try putting the torch more up/down and see if it changes. It will take a LONG time to be able to get colors, but once you do you will realized you can't go back to not getting them. It's just practice.

 

[all_motor_mike]

I'm not lucky enough to Get full penetration with every bead..... I butt them up against each other and run the bevel all the way through to where there is no flat. The flange welds I set the machine to 150amps but don't use all of it, so I really don't know what I weld them at. .... probably around 130 or so.


Mike

 

[spoonman]

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You want as little color as possible. But you do not want any dull, grey/black


This chart, shows PPM of oxygen in the welds.




I wish I was welding titanium or Duplex at work. I would take some pictures of a purge chamber for tit for you guys.


With 304 stainless the base material temp should be kept below 300*
High inter pass temps also causes discoloration.





Why does color matter????????


You are burning off an oxide layer that is extremely thin and invisible that exists on SS pipe. As well as burning out the chromium and nickel content. The composition of the heat tint layer varies but is essentially a mixture of chromium and iron oxides. The heavier the oxide layer, the darker it appears. Underneath, the base metal is left depleted in chromium by oxide formation and therefore its resistance to corrosion is diminished.