lkailburn

thanks for the tips on pipe to pipe welding.

when you guys weld runner to flange, do you do a root pass? do you gap? do you bevel? tips on what works best for you guys is appreciated. thanks!

-Luke

lkailburn

bump for tips on welding pipe to flange.

thanks,

-Luke

lkailburn

some more practice of pipe to pipe

BIG bevel this time. as big as the bevel that came on my stainless 90 bends that will be used for the actual mani.


root pass no filler




1 pass with .045 filler






Definitly an improvement again. i still need better control over my torch and following the curve but its an improvement i would say. Would you guys do a second filler pass over this? or leave as is?

Also, ignore the cuts you see in some of the pipe, this was some scrap that i started to do a collector cut on but stopped.

comments please!

-Luke

klyph

well your pipe to pipe looks a hell of a lot better good job.
As far as pipe to flange, I'd do a bevel like that or leave a small gap and keep the arc on the flange more than the pipe to build heat in the thicker material. Get some thick plate and practice welding pipes to it, let us know what problems you run into.

turbob16hatch

well when i do a pipe to flange weld i set my welder at 120 amps and work the pedal maybe around 90-105 amps. i use the same large beval on the flange to pipe and just fit them up. also i do 2 passes with filler to give i nice strong weld. ( no root pass here). i also find it easier to do backwards L's while keeping the filler in the puddle as this will give you the best consistencey and filler deposit. i move pretty quick when i do this.

nice work keep it up.

lkailburn

*update 5

first attempt at pipe to flange.

slightly smaller bevel on this pipe as the pipe to pipe i just did. i figured i'd keep the bevel a bit smaller to keep the material thicknesses closer. just a thought to try out.



I was not able to do a root pass. No matter how long i waited i could never get the puddle on the pipe to meat the puddle on the flange. So i just did 1 filler pass.

Bead 1


Bead 2


Bead 3


Bead 4


Bead 5


Tough to see but not too much action showing through on the inside


Bottom side of the plate



Overall i am VERY pleased with the way this turned out for my first ever pipe to flange attempt. Issues that concern me is this weld on the actual mani will see a lot of strain as it will hold a lot of the weight. Without a root pass, and only 1 filler pass i would worry about cracking issues.

What do you guys recommend? 2nd filler pass ontop? or just go back over it with just the torch to try and push the first filler pass deeper in?

Thanks guys I'm feeling very close to ready to start on the manifold

-Luke

Scott-EP

you are making some pretty good progress, keep going with it and you will get there

klyph

I don't think you are getting enough penetration on your pipe to flange. you should make the bevel larger or leave a gap when tacking it into place. If there were an actual hole in the flange, you could do a pass on the inside to fix that, but since you are just using a solid plate, you should try to get full penetration from the outside.

gon3r

luke, first let me give some info on how i do things.

1. i always just do one pass on everything, manifolds are not even close to pressure vessels (upwards of 4000psi) so i don't see a need for multi passes.
2. i bevel the same as you have for pipe to pipe, but not collectors or pipe to flange.
3. usually i run the gas around 18cfm
4. i use 3/32" 2% lathinated tungsten or 4% for ms and ss. (red or orange) and pure tungsten for aluminum (green). sometimes in tight spots i will use 1/16" tungsten for ss and ms with it pulled out of the cup as much as 2" depending on the spot... the gas lense really helps here. for heavy alum i always use 1/8" tungsten and ball the electrode before starting. to ball the electrode, set your welder to dc electrode positive(+) and hold the electrode about 1/8" from your welding table and just stab the pedal at around 100 amps or higher. (i know hard to do with scratch start) but i don't think you can do ac with your welder anyway. :P
5. for schedule 10 ss i weld at around 70amps (usually no back purge), for 16g tube i weld at 30amps and back purge.
6. for ms to ms i use 70S-2 filler, for ms to ss i use 309L filler, or ss to ss i use 309L or 316 filler, for alum i use R5356 filler.

here are some suggestions:

1. get a bench grinder with a wire wheel. i only use my wire wheel for stainless. i have a stainless wire brush for ss, one for alum and a different one for ms. i have them labelled so i don't mix them up as using the wrong one will contaminate your base metal when you go to weld. i once used aluminum on the wire wheel and the next time i went to weld stainless it turned out like ---- because of the alum on the wire wheel... lesson learned. wire brushing everything is important. for ms with scale on it, i usually grind it off with my angle grinder or on the belt sander and that is usually good enough. you can never clean your base metal enough... but i don't use chemicals, only wire wheel/brush.

2. get a gas lense. huge difference. i got mine on ebay from user: algevtech (i think that is spelled right). it is really worth it. it also comes in handy when you are trying to reach tricky spots and need to pull your tungsten out of the cup.

3. get a welding table that you can stand at. sitting is good, but i like to stand a lot when i weld. that table and stool you have is too low, you are all hunched over your welding and you will get a sore back, and you won't be consistent. you have to be comfortable to get good consistent welds. this will also help with getting more steady as you lay your beads. i try to keep my elbows tucked into my body and always rest both my wrists on something as a guide to keep my hands steady. you will notice a difference over time with practice. also try walking the cup (dragging the cup along the base metal as you weld). i'm not a huge fan of this technique myself as it is not easy to do in most cases with manifolds. i just like to work on keeping my hands steady.

4. the dimple at the end of your beads is normal, but to prevent it, as mentioned earlier, add a bit more filler as you are ending your bead, also drag the torch slightly backwards over your bead about 1/8" or so as you back fill the end of the bead. also, at the same time slowly taper off your amps (pedal or finger control). it isn't always easy to do, but this is very useful when doing parting line edges on mould repairs when you need to prevent from melting a sharp corner at the end of your weld.

5. collectors: your cut/fitment looks better than mine! keep it up. when you weld two pieces of base metal together they always want to draw towards each other due to the heat you are applying at the joint. i always put a tack at the top and the bottom of the joint on both sides. sometimes if the gap is a bit big, or if the pipes create a deeper groove at the joint/seam, i will weave the torch back and forth down the seam as i weld, adding filler at the end of each zig and zag, not in the valley of the joint. this will help prevent undercut on the outsides of your weld. another method is to lay your first bead down the middle, then a second bead down one edge of the the first bead, and a third down the other edge of the first bead so they are actaully overlapping each other by 50%. this is commonly done on heavier base metals where a thick weld is needed for strength.

6. pipe to pipe: ^^^#5 also applies for pipe to pipe, i put a tack in 4 places spaced evenly around the pipes to prevent warp. i only do one pass with filler. i always try to position my electrode almost directly vertical to the base metal. the only reason you should tilt your torch in one direction is so you can see under it. keeping the torch vertical to the base metal will concentrate your arc/puddle directly into the base metal, rather than shooting across the base metal giving you better penetration at lower amps.

7. experiment with torch speed and filler speed. the faster you move the torch the less penetration you will get. the faster you add filler the more you will cool your puddle and result in a raised bead. i sometimes add filler, move, add filler, move, add filler, move.... i also always try to add filler directly into the center of the puddle. also try using a brush stroke technique when adding filler... don't just shove the filler directly into the puddle, brush the puddle with your filler like it is a paint brush and you only want to dab the puddle with the end of the filler, so bring the filler down ontop of the puddle and drag it out away from the torch. using this method you can usually do it quickly since it only leaves a small amount in the puddle. try messing around with it, it might work for you.

8. pipe to flange: i don't bevel the pipe, i don't think it is necassary. now, because your flange is usually a thicker base metal than the pipe, i typically point the electrode more directly at the flange than the pipe. that is to say i angle the torch so that it is focusing more of the arc into the thicker flange than the pipe. i also weld them at around 115-125amps depending on how thick the flange is and how much material there is around the joint (top or bottom of the flange/pipe joint). i also always weld the inside of the pipe to flange joints for added strength which negates the need for bevelling the pipe.

hope this helps.

SpankedYA!

I single pass collectors at about 85 amps and pedal it. 1/16 filler

I root pass then cap pass runners. 85 amp root, 65-70 amp cap and basically floored the whole time. 1/16 filler

I single pass flanges to pipe in the 115 amp range with a larger 3/32 filler.

I use thoriated (red) 3/32 tungsten for everything and I use a tungsten sharper.

Keep that tungsten SUPER clean. You dab or pop and contaminate, regrind it. EVERY TIME!!

Keep that tungsten sharp.

Drink lots of water, its good for you.