clw1985

explaining walking the pipe for those that aren't familiar, i do, do it on pipe, but pipe is expensive so i usually practice on smaller 1/4" inch mild steel plates, you take the torch angle it foreward in to the bevel lay your filler rod into the gap and work the torch side ot side while doing a good constant feed to get full penetration.......thats how its supposed to be done, except i prefer to generate scrap it seems. thanks for all the input ill run those cup sizes and tung sizes to my instructor and see what we got lyin around. ill post how good or bad i did friday.

walking the cup......for me the most aggravating thing possible, im taking a refresher welding course..and for my cert i have to take a bunch of tig classes, 4 inch wide, by 6 inch long 1/4 in thick mild steel, included angle around 64 degrees give or take 1/16th inch root face polished up shiny shiny shiny.....then i go in the booth get out the torch and generate some nice shiny scrap.....i hold my torch at roughly 45-60 deg. angle, while im working the cup, i hold my filler rod at like 5-15 depending on how the puddle fills...as if it matters.....any one have any tips? im havin alot of suck back ive changed angle amps im runnin on dcen thats the correct polarity if any one has any hints or tips let me know.

n/m my last comment on 6010, i zoomed in on it the i thought the roll of dimes look ur weld has was porosity looks good man. 6010 is a jerk of a rod sometimes

you got a good uniform bead, im havin a hard time seein the 7018 bead, i cant tell it looks like u have a little porosity in the 6010 bead? or is that from the slag hammer? if im stick welding, im using 6010's nearly always, when i use a 6010 i go foreward a 1/4" and back 1/8" make sure u watch the puddle fill completely otherwise it will look horrid, but going foreward and back burns the crap outta the way when u go to lay the bead down, plus it gives it that "roll of dimes" look.

i thought ac welders had transformers.........doesn't require an iron core wrapped with copper coils? i dunno.....i can stick stuff together good i dont build the things.

i built a forge........err am in the process of assembling the forge...heres what i did, i got a hold of 3 small gas grill sized propane tanks, cracked the valves blew em out removed two valves. on one tanks i cut off the top and bottom till it was just a big pipe basically, cut off the valve side of the other, then welded to the one i cut both sides off of, put a 1,16th gap in the square joint and welded it full with a mig, then i cut the bottom off the third one, leaving the propane valve still in tact, and welded that with the same procedure to the middle tank...so its long enough to what ever i want....i should mention that i put an "easy access" door on side that goes nearly the full length of the body so i can replace the heat resistance on the insides and all that, i followed the "flying turtle forge" plans except with a different body design so i can experiment with a large space, still working on a burner i havent decided on the best design all my pipes are connected i got a blower so thanks for the direction i got from every one earlier.

the shop im working in we use stick and mig, stick for dirty stuff, miller some model i cant remember the name of, but mig for the nice clean stuff

i always pick steel over cast iron......thats because repairing cast iron requires alot of praying, if i need a cast part...cast steel......works like cast iron, welds like steel...

most things i do, i just grind that dude off...if im doing something that will be under alot of load but the weld is required to be ground off.....from what iv'e read and understood, if the weld goes east and west, grind norht and south vice versa...because the grind marks can weaken it if done wrong........i haven't really had any bad experiences grinding. i had a cwi as an instructor and he explained that all to us. he was picky and, usually right.

i tig with 100% argon......i hate tig, anyway......thats just me., when i mig i use a mixer you can ofcourse buy mixed tanks, i prefer a mixer though because when u switch to spray and such you can alter your mix, plus you pay for a mixer once, you pay more for mixed tanks... i usually weld at 75%argon and 25% co2 for minimal spatter and best penetration 100% co2 is alot i dont really know how that would do never tried it, but its the end result that counts. if you pass a visual inspection or a guided bend test with your preferred mix well why not.

well, from my experience every one is completely correct with the fact that if you buy a 6913 or any other rod from any manufacturer has to meet the specs to be that rod, some rods though are touchy....if ur a newbie welder and ur like hey that xxxx is rusty but this 7018 isnt doin the job lets use a 6010....you'l find out real quick not all of 'em are the same, if u use 7018's if ur welding on anything that is going to be pushing 70 thousand lbs or im picky in my case any load put em in a rod oven...not a fridge with bulb that doesnt work ill probably catch xxxx for it but its the truth use a 7024 if u dont want to purchase a rod oven or worry about it. 7018 absorb hydrogen and it being a low hydrogen rod it can and will cause cracks in stressed welds if contaminated.

foundry furnace..........ehh no, from what ive been told a forge, hollow body lined with this blanket of heat and fire resistant stuff i cant remember the name of, some kind of pipe comin out of the side witha shut off valve hooked to a propane tank, and then some sort of blower, evidently i can use the same type of blower they blow up slides with....i dont really know what consitutes a foundry furnace. bigger? melts small cars and planes?

ok, im going to attempt to answer everything at once......first thanks to everyone and all the information i think i can get started to build, ill have to adjust with size of body and btu and all that but other than that i believe im ready to build a cheapo forge. i did my c p thing. the sites ease of use isnt my issue its finding the most information in one spot with the least amount of xxxx filler, by xxxx filler i mean anything that isnt the information i need. thanks again for all the help and info.

i'm a new comer to blacksmithing, its something ive always wanted to do with a passiont, yet im kinda low on funds so i've decided to build a forge, my problem is i can't seem to find any reliable...or trust worhty advice, or all the information i need, im a full time student of welding and have been for a couple smesters, but smithing is what i really want to do. i know i need a gas grill sized bbq grill sized propane tank...20lbs. and most likely a half decent sized air compressor or 02 bottle that squirts in bursts....but i need to know where to find a crucible, and what should i use for the insulation on the inside of the body? i also need some kind of configuration of the pipes and all that into the body. how is that you determine the amount of gas for the size whats the formula for that? and burner info...geez im needy... but im an admitted newby, who doesnt wanna blow himself to high heaven, or any where else, i know im asking alot but if anyone could help it would be much appreciated.