Cheater, cheater.........

[WI_Hedgehog]

A weld position table is generally flat and the work is clamped to it via hold-downs that fit in the slots in the table. We tack welded a hub to one for a job where we weld something that looks like a brake rotor (and will grind the tacks off and remove the hub for the next job). The threaded spindle on yours hopefully unscrews.



We have a slightly bigger positioner too, if you're wondering.


As a note (in simple terms), welding in this context can be thought of as using an arc to melt existing solid metal in two different parts into a liquid puddle which when cool makes the two parts have a continuous seam, essentially making the two parts one continuous part; the filler wire is used to replace the metal that is vaporized. Stacking dimes is...generally bad; a lot of stress is introduced with the heating/cooling/heating when burning back in/cooling/heating when burning back in/cooling process. As far as I know it started as a TIG thing for looks (not strength), possibly to imitate the pattern of robotic welders. A proper weld is to maintain a liquid puddle, melt new donor metal from each part into the puddle, roll impurities out of the weld, and cool "slowly" well behind the weld arc so a low-stress junction is created. The feed rate of the filler wire is adjusted to make up for the material loss and not have undercut. (Notice there's no "stacking dimes" involved, a proper weld is continuous.)

Part of the problem I encounter is people think more filler wire makes for a stronger weld, but the opposite is true. Welding wire has more strength and therefore generally more brittleness than the material being welded, so structurally there is a transition from softer more elastic material to the less elastic weld back to a softer more elastic material making the weld seam a weak point IF the weld is "too heavy." It therefore makes sense to use as little filler wire as necessary, which as far as I've seen is what welding manuals state in general (there are formulas for this, and welder experience, but the bottom line is good penetration and a smooth transition is way better than using filler wire as cake frosting). For an incredibly strong joint there is such a thing as a 100% bevel, welding one side, air-arcing out the other side until 100% penetration of weld is reached, welding the second side, needle-scaling the flux off the first side, then making further passes on each side. Pre-heating, post-heating, and stress relieving (including sub-critical temperature stress relieving for some materials) is also "a thing."

https://forum.millerwelds.com/forum/welding-discussions/24336-stack-of-dimes post #4

 

[Runs With Scissors]

View attachment 129527

A weld position table is generally flat and the work is clamped to it via hold-downs that fit in the slots in the table. We tack welded a hub to one for a job where we weld something that looks like a brake rotor (and will grind the tacks off and remove the hub for the next job). The threaded spindle on yours hopefully unscrews.

View attachment 129528

We have a slightly bigger positioner too, if you're wondering.
View attachment 129529

As a note (in simple terms), welding in this context can be thought of as using an arc to melt existing solid metal in two different parts into a liquid puddle which when cool makes the two parts have a continuous seam, essentially making the two parts one continuous part; the filler wire is used to replace the metal that is vaporized. Stacking dimes is...generally bad; a lot of stress is introduced with the heating/cooling/heating when burning back in/cooling/heating when burning back in/cooling process. As far as I know it started as a TIG thing for looks (not strength), possibly to imitate the pattern of robotic welders. A proper weld is to maintain a liquid puddle, melt new donor metal from each part into the puddle, roll impurities out of the weld, and cool "slowly" well behind the weld arc so a low-stress junction is created. The feed rate of the filler wire is adjusted to make up for the material loss and not have undercut. (Notice there's no "stacking dimes" involved, a proper weld is continuous.)

Part of the problem I encounter is people think more filler wire makes for a stronger weld, but the opposite is true. Welding wire has more strength and therefore generally more brittleness than the material being welded, so structurally there is a transition from softer more elastic material to the less elastic weld back to a softer more elastic material making the weld seam a weak point IF the weld is "too heavy." It therefore makes sense to use as little filler wire as necessary, which as far as I've seen is what welding manuals state in general (there are formulas for this, and welder experience, but the bottom line is good penetration and a smooth transition is way better than using filler wire as cake frosting). For an incredibly strong joint there is such a thing as a 100% bevel, welding one side, air-arcing out the other side until 100% penetration of weld is reached, welding the second side, needle-scaling the flux off the first side, then making further passes on each side. Pre-heating, post-heating, and stress relieving (including sub-critical temperature stress relieving for some materials) is also "a thing."

https://forum.millerwelds.com/forum/welding-discussions/24336-stack-of-dimes post #4

That's a 'Big Ole" positioner for sure!!!

You clearly have a better understanding of welding, so thanks for pointing out some of those things.

What you point out about strength sounds like it has merit, but for a 'mostly self taught" guy, I think this sentence rings true, especially the bolded part in my case.

"As far as I know it started as a TIG thing for looks (not strength), possibly to imitate the pattern of robotic welders."

 

[armylifer]

Those buckets of rifle and pistol brass in your first picture look good. It looks like you need to spend more time reloading. Those buckets are too full.

Nice progression in your welds. You appear to learn quickly.

 

[lugbolt]

TIG is more an art than a task, in my opinion. I have one, and I SUCK at it, no matter how much I do it, never seem to get any better with it. Really wish I could afford a school specifically for tig welding but it'd be for hobby welding, nothing for the job so that money would not be well spent (mainly because I don't have enough of it for hobby stuff).

 

[SAR Tracker]

"Hammered dog shit".... hadn't heard that one since Navy welding school in '77!

 

[Runs With Scissors]

TIG is more an art than a task, in my opinion. I have one, and I SUCK at it, no matter how much I do it, never seem to get any better with it. Really wish I could afford a school specifically for tig welding but it'd be for hobby welding, nothing for the job so that money would not be well spent (mainly because I don't have enough of it for hobby stuff).

I am lucky enough to have a local Community College that has a welding program, so I took the beginning TIG course.

I learned more in that course than I could have imagined.

Very well spent $175.

Hell, the instructor gave me probably $200 worth of metal as "homework", so I could practice more at home.

 

[woodman55]

When I took my welding course MANY years ago, the instructor said welding is 10% theory and 90% practical. But that 10% makes a world of difference. He was very correct on that.

 

[Henro]

I am lucky enough to have a local Community College that has a welding program, so I took the beginning TIG course.

I learned more in that course than I could have imagined.

Very well spent $175.

Hell, the instructor gave me probably $200 worth of metal as "homework", so I could practice more at home.

20 years ago I did the same thing. It’s a really great way to learn something.

About then, I put together my own top and tilt setup for my B-2910. Not that I ever could TIG very well, but I accomplished the goal and nothing has broken between then and now.

Couple pictures from back then, taken from a thread I posted at TBN at the time:

 

[Henro]

The thing I like about TIG is there are no inclusions and actually no smell when you actually do the welding so you can actually do it in the house with minimum ventilation as long as you’re aware of the fact that you have the argon gas going into the space where you are.

Also, no sparks flying around… You’re melting the base metal and you’re adding filler so chances are pretty good you’re gonna end up with a really good mechanical joint.

For run of the mill stuff, I still like stick welding, though…

And then there is Tig brazing, using silicone Bronze rod (I think that’s what I have), which is another kind of neat thing to be able to do.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

The thing I like about TIG is there are no inclusions and actually no smell when you actually do the welding so you can actually do it in the house with minimum ventilation as long as you’re aware of the fact that you have the argon gas going into the space where you are.

Also, no sparks flying around… You’re melting the base metal and you’re adding filler so chances are pretty good you’re gonna end up with a really good mechanical joint.

For run of the mill stuff, I still like stick welding, though…

And then there is Tig brazing, using silicone Bronze rod (I think that’s what I have), which is another kind of neat thing to be able to do.

Nice looking welds above.

Yep, my "TIG shop" is in the basement.

I have never stick welded yet. My TIG machine downstairs is capable of 'Stick', and it looks interesting, but the amount of smoke it produces makes it "problematic" for welding in the basement.

I did try brazing one time, but the results were "poor" at best.

So I TIG in the basement, and MIG in the garage...(typically)

 

[Henro]

Nice looking welds above.

Yep, my "TIG shop" is in the basement.

I have never stick welded yet. My TIG machine downstairs is capable of 'Stick', and it looks interesting, but the amount of smoke it produces makes it "problematic" for welding in the basement.

I did try brazing one time, but the results were "poor" at best.

So I TIG in the basement, and MIG in the garage...(typically)

I might have used the wrong term when I said Tig brazing. What I was referring to is using the TIG torch arc to heat the metal and use the silicon bronze rod (which Melts at a lower temperature) in place of the normal rod that you would use for welding.

You don’t melt the metal you are joining, but rather heat it hot enough with the arc so that the net effect is the silicone bronze rod flows like solder when it melts.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I might have used the wrong term when I said Tig brazing. What I was referring to is using the TIG torch arc to heat the metal and use the silicon bronze rod (which Melts at a lower temperature) in place of the normal rod that you would use for welding.

You don’t melt the metal you are joining, but rather heat it hot enough with the arc so that the net effect is the silicone bronze rod flows like solder when it melts.

I think you used the correct term.

I just watched a 'welding tips and tricks" video on it. (Good video, I like Jody (sp?))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf-Cq5eQmt0

I did try brazing one time, although now that you mention it, it was with a "regular torch" not the TIG torch.

This was years and years ago though.