Best regards,
Justin
Thermal Arc 186 TIG/Stick
Lincoln SP-180T with spool gun
Lincoln Electric Powermig 256
Longevity Forcecut 42i
Scotchman 275LT Cold saw
Milwaukee Portaband
HF 4x6 bandsaw
JET HVBS-710SG 7x10-1/2 inch Geared Head Mitering Horizontal Vertical Bandsaw
Evolution Rage 3 Dry saw
(OLD) Rockwell Delta 16 Speed drill press
29 Gal. air compressor with water trap and desiccant dryer
Longevity MW 140
Rage 3 Evoluton Dry saw
Table Saw
Radial Arm Saw
4" grinder
various hand and power tools
Ok, I am pretty sure I "need" to win the latest contest because I "need" a Longevity Plasma cutter. Feel free to translate "need" to "really really want" because they are cool and it would look pretty sitting next to my Migweld 140.
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Longevity MW 140
Rage 3 Evoluton Dry saw
Table Saw
Radial Arm Saw
4" grinder
various hand and power tools
With that translation i think we all "need"to win the contest
Millermatic 212
Lincoln 110 flux core
Best regards,
Justin
Thermal Arc 186 TIG/Stick
Lincoln SP-180T with spool gun
Lincoln Electric Powermig 256
Longevity Forcecut 42i
Scotchman 275LT Cold saw
Milwaukee Portaband
HF 4x6 bandsaw
JET HVBS-710SG 7x10-1/2 inch Geared Head Mitering Horizontal Vertical Bandsaw
Evolution Rage 3 Dry saw
(OLD) Rockwell Delta 16 Speed drill press
29 Gal. air compressor with water trap and desiccant dryer
Starting on my swing out tire carrier for my Jeep.
Feeling better about the welds
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Longevity MW 140
Rage 3 Evoluton Dry saw
Table Saw
Radial Arm Saw
4" grinder
various hand and power tools
I was looking at the last weld. Nice Job! Here is a tip to make it a little better. I had to learn it the hard way.
It looks a little too flat. I do those types of welds all the time. One thing you might want to do is make sure you tie in the horizontal tube's rounded corner a bit more. The rounded part takes a bit longer to melt (since it is more metal mass) than the vertical tube. I "aim" most of the heat into the rounded corner and it bleeds over to the cut tube easily without burning through. If you were to aim the wire at the middle of the two pieces at the correct heat setting you would likely burn through or have to move faster than would allow a good penetrating weld to occur. Aim more for the rounded part of the horizontal tube and slow down a bit and you will produce a better weld. I have marked up your weld with lines. Aim for the green line not the red one.
I personally put a small angle (maybe 10 degrees) in my mig gun to aim into the rounded corner. I never worry about overlapping the other tube. It ALWAYS fuses. And I never burn through. I can even run hotter and never burn through because that rounded corner sucks up all the heat.
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Last edited by JustinWC; 05-11-2015 at 08:33 AM.
Best regards,
Justin
Thermal Arc 186 TIG/Stick
Lincoln SP-180T with spool gun
Lincoln Electric Powermig 256
Longevity Forcecut 42i
Scotchman 275LT Cold saw
Milwaukee Portaband
HF 4x6 bandsaw
JET HVBS-710SG 7x10-1/2 inch Geared Head Mitering Horizontal Vertical Bandsaw
Evolution Rage 3 Dry saw
(OLD) Rockwell Delta 16 Speed drill press
29 Gal. air compressor with water trap and desiccant dryer
Right on, thank you for the advice. I will work on that. I must admit to having to fill a bit more gap than I intended to fill. The fitment was not as tight as I would have liked. If I were to lay a second pass, would I still focus on the green line?
Thanks again.
Longevity MW 140
Rage 3 Evoluton Dry saw
Table Saw
Radial Arm Saw
4" grinder
various hand and power tools
For a second pass I just hit the middle of the joint (Red line).
I admit I have less than ideal fit ups too sometimes. But anytime you are welding tube in that orientation the rounded corner automatically makes for a bigger gap even on a good fit.
For poor fits, simply aim for the green line as you normally would but use a spot time method. Think "overlapping tack welds". If the gap is big reduce the angle on your gun a bit closer to 90 degrees. Each tack should be about one full Mississippi count or slightly longer depending on thickness. (I do a lot of 14 ga and use a slightly short count). So to do that, I tack each corner, then alternating corners, overlap tack welds by about 1/3 until you reach the middle. (BTW there is a reason to start at the corners so do it exactly as described) When you get near the middle you have to let the area cool a few seconds before the next tack. And it usually produces a weld that looks just like the one you made. I let it cool for a couple minutes then place a nice bead over it, down the middle of the joint.
Also the method I described works well to repair where you have burned through and made a nice key hole. I never turn down my welder below the specified setting for the metal thickness I am welding. That is simply asking for poor fusion.
I hope that helps.
Last edited by JustinWC; 05-11-2015 at 11:34 AM.
Best regards,
Justin
Thermal Arc 186 TIG/Stick
Lincoln SP-180T with spool gun
Lincoln Electric Powermig 256
Longevity Forcecut 42i
Scotchman 275LT Cold saw
Milwaukee Portaband
HF 4x6 bandsaw
JET HVBS-710SG 7x10-1/2 inch Geared Head Mitering Horizontal Vertical Bandsaw
Evolution Rage 3 Dry saw
(OLD) Rockwell Delta 16 Speed drill press
29 Gal. air compressor with water trap and desiccant dryer
Here is how I would do my second pass over the weld you have there. You want to tie in the edge of the first weld with the full of the rounded corner.
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Best regards,
Justin
Thermal Arc 186 TIG/Stick
Lincoln SP-180T with spool gun
Lincoln Electric Powermig 256
Longevity Forcecut 42i
Scotchman 275LT Cold saw
Milwaukee Portaband
HF 4x6 bandsaw
JET HVBS-710SG 7x10-1/2 inch Geared Head Mitering Horizontal Vertical Bandsaw
Evolution Rage 3 Dry saw
(OLD) Rockwell Delta 16 Speed drill press
29 Gal. air compressor with water trap and desiccant dryer
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