Welding/Fab General Discussion

I was given the task of fabricating a trailing shield in order to weld titanium pipe, but i came across a road block. I am planning on using steel wool in the trailing shield to spread the argon as i weld. The problem is I can't use regular steel wool because is will contaminate the Titanium. I have looked for stainless steel wool in local stores but have had no luck. Is there any other material I can use that will be safe to use and won't cause contamination?

I don't get to do a lot of welding, so I'm always happy when I project comes along. In this case, I filled an old nitrogen tank with sand, oil and scraps of steel to make a nice heavy dishing stump. No idea how much it weighs right now, but I'm betting it's every bit of 300 pounds, if not more. The base plate is 1/8" mild steel I had cut just a hair undersize. The OD of the tank was about 9.125", so I figured having that little lip would give me a nice clean surface between the plate and the freshly cut end of the tank. I wasn't disappointed. Using 1/8" 7018 with my machine set around 116 amps, I went around the perimeter as good as I could manage. Shor…

Let us say we want to weld a nut in place against a piece of metal. The nut would then be used to receive a bolt to hold parts together. Do you position the nut by just placing it against the metal, or do you put the bolt in place with the threads only flush and weld, using the bolt to align the position and placement of the nut? Do you need to do anything to the bolt to keep it from sticking to the nut from the heat? Do you take the bolt out while the weld is still hot, or let it cool before you remove the bolt? Is it best to weld on one flat (one side) of the nut, two sides, or a full weld encircling the nut? Just trying to get some opinions on how YOU would …

hello I need some advice to make a gantry crane for my workshop long 3000mm wide 1500mm high 3000mm 2000kg capacity in steel beams with wheels at high flow rate could you help me thanks

anyone have any tried and true recipes or methods of removing discoloration from stainless steel after welding...especially on interior corners that dont allow wire brush or scotchbrite to get deep enough...my fingers arent that pointy either!!

I am really confused to how welders are welding in under the water?

Phoenix Rod Oven. New cost anywhere from $1200 to $1800 depending on where you buy one. I have been wanting one for a long time to store my 7018 Low Hydrogen rods. I live on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, out in the foothills, and the atmosphere is always high humidity due to the Maritime Climate. Moisture and Low Hydrogen rods do not get along well. Got this one for $250 near Seattle. In new condition. Gent that had it was getting out of welding. I added the thermometer on the front door. The thermostat is on the rear.

Is it possible to convert my Oxygen/Acetylene "Gassaver" to Oxygen/Propane ?

A nice piece of American Industrial History. Around 400 pounds of copper and iron laminations. Found it in our local classifieds in the newspaper: The ad said "SureWeld welder $20." I thought it was one of the little yellow SureWeld buzz boxes and headed off to buy it for my nephew, whom is learning welding. I already had a DC machine, a big AC machine, and a TIG unit. So I got there and saw this beast: Could not get it into the truck. Back to my shop for the ramp and two helpers. We barely got it up the ramp and in the bed of the truck. Darn thing works too, welds nicely for an AC machine. I m guessing it was made between WWI and WWII. Wh…

Quick question. I've been arguing with some rookie welders about when to use uphill welds. I've always been told that anything supporting weight, ( structural) needs vertical up welds. Right or wrong???

I was working on an old piece of farm equipment last night. The piece that I was working on was a plate welded on to patch some thinning metal. The particular piece of machinery is about forty years old. I've had it for two; so I have no idea when this plate was added. I was using a large conical countersink to add a taper to two bolt holes in the same plate. Explanation: This particular application uses conical bolts and nuts, similar to lug nuts. Anyway, I was countersinking both holes in the same plate. In one hole, the countersink brought out thin pieces of shavings, similar to short drill filings that you would expect in steel. When I removed the count…

Hi. I picked up some Arcos E410-15 stick rod at a garage sale. I thought it was Lo-hy, but the label was generic, and the end of the container had the real designation. According to their website, it is an air hardening chromium molybdenum deposit suitable for wear and corrosion resistant coating on steel. Obviously, this is not for fabbing up jigs or spring fullers. It might be useful for tangs on martensitic stainless knives, but these are usually part of the blade stock. Are there any uses, since this stuff seems like it is too specialized to sell?

Practice before showing others. (grin)

Hello, i recently found an old turbo torch in my dead grandfathers workshop. The torch works fine and i also found a sparker with it. The problem im having is, i dont know for sure what gas it is. I know its either propane or acetyline. The sticker on the tank is old and rotted mostly off. Is there a way to check for a difference? Some of my friends tell me its acetyline and some of my friends tell me its propane. I dont know much about welding but i know the basics. I mostly only do blacksmithing.

Hello, recently I have found an old blow torch in my dead grandfathers workshop. Its a turbo torch air/propane and Map pro brazing and soldering torch, hooked up to a propane tank. If it matters the tank size is larger than a hand held one but smaller than a 20LB, [very strange size]. But anyway it's a Manuel start but I'm having trouble starting it. I turn the gas valve a little bit and I strike it and it lights a huge fire ball all around the torch, burning my hand. Then it goes out. So I tried barely turning it at all and it lit and stayed at a very low flame. So I tried to slowly open more gas into it and it popped another fire ball and went out. I don't have any exp…

I got a couple barrels at the low price of free. I needed them for water and oil for quenching. Asked my father in law how best to get the top off... He suggested a hammer and chisel.... Did that, then thetops wouldn't fit... Oops. So iI took some 1/8 inch flat stock and made braces and cold bent some handles. My first ever attempt at stick welding in my 31 years of life. What do you think? Go easy on me.

Morning - I bought this welder on eBay for cheap. It might be a load of old bobbins but I just wanted something for welding rebar to flat stock for making knives. I was wondering if it would be able to do much else? Welding up a sub frame for a big grinder is one project I have in mind. Fabricating a solid bench with wheels (I store my stuff away from my work area) is another. Both projects would be built from about 3mm thick box section. Will this be much use for that sort of thing?

Hello all. Does anyone have an idea on how to clean of the white flash left on steel by stick welding? Obviously a brush works, but it's in an area I can't reach. Thanks!

OK, so i have an older Lincoln 225 AC/DC buzzbox, and the power switch has gone bad. it turns on fine but wont turn off properly. when you push it down into the "off" position, instead of turning off it snaps back into the ON position. If i try long enough it will lock in and shut it off but it takes a bit. has anyone else had this issue? do i need to replace the switch or can it be fixed? if i do need to get an other one, were can you find them? i was hunting online with no luck. thanks.

In general, if one were doing a root weld with a back-up strip on mild steel using dual shield with 100% CO2 for shielding gas that was to be UT tested, would it be possible for a needle scaler to "pound" in flux that would show as inclusions on an inspection? I can probably give more tech specifics and some parameters but it was years ago at a barge builder I worked at and there was a big debate over grinding it out vs using a needle scaler. I used a grinder and think you can see pinholes and other junk while grinding but not so much when just "chipping it off". It seemed the guys that used grinders always moved on and the needle scalers headed for the nearest air arc…

Hi there, can anybody recommend suitable torch alternatives to oxy acetylene for isolating heats for the likes of riveting and some scrollwork? Set-up costs for oxy acetylene are very high here because bottles have to be taken on a lease basis. I have a small butane torch but it doesn't have the heat required for anything larger than a 6mm (1/4") rivet. Up to now I have been heating in the forge and cooling with water where required but it would be nice to be able to get really accurate heats at times. I don't have much interest in gas welding so oxy propane was a consideration, but the oxy bottles still need to be hired. Are there any propane torches with enough power fo…

I just saw this posting and needed to share. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-12-manganese-welding-fumes-neurological-problems.html Time for a different mask with filter and an exhaust system in my shop. Ric

I'm looking for a quench tank, specifically for knife and sword making. I have a large barrel (wooden) for general cooling (water), but would like something smaller for specific purposes. I'm thinking about some type of tank (oxygen type, or something without internal "stuff"). Suggestions? Guide for cutting it down. HELP.

I need to weld some 1/4" 316 Stainless. I have a little Lincoln 135 Plus wire feed welder and .030 316L wire. And I have an Everlast PowerARC 200ST stick welder. Lincoln recommends tri-mix or 98%Ar/2%O2 for MIG welding. Should I rent a bottle of the tri-mix or Ar/O2 and MIG weld it with multiple passes or get the 316L stick and stick weld it (probably with multiple passes as well)? Which would you do if this was the equipment you had available?

I've been lookin for a new shop welder i can set up and leave it put together for tig, I have a 220 mig but i dont like it for decorative work but its great for general fabbing. The mobile gets on my nerves settin it up for tig then tearin it down for somthin else anyway i wanted a little 125/225 acdc boom box for tig. Well up here in Canada they start at around a grand or more with taxes new lol its been awhile since i bought a machine. Anyway i was tellin me buddy the story well today he shows up with an old thunderbolt and says here ya go i dont use it so i say i got luckey lol... .