Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

<- king of the mountain
I use 3/16"... Because that's what the job had in the take-home bin.

Ya 1/16 & 3/32 work real well on 16g. 1/16" flows real well if you want to two pass it. 3/32 is just big enough to one pass it. Neither require very much in the way of rod advancement while you weld.
























FYI Take-home bin = my welding gear bag

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

Is that a one pass "full race" style weld?

It's really hard to get consistent penetration doing it that way.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

using 1/16 =)

imo the beads are easier to control with the dynasty 200dx i was using to make that manifold. just testing out a buddies machine.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

i one pass pretty much everything... i don't really feel it necassary to root and cap. these are turbo manifolds, not something for the space shuttle or something. everything i do is local though, so if there are ever any issues, the customer just need bring it back to me and i'll repair or replace it free. i try not to ship too much fab stuff.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

First manifold I made for a customer is a year old now, and the welds were not great. Single pass, pretty cold, very little filler.

Absolutely no failures, including the new owner crashing the car up onto a center median and plowing the downpipe into the curb so hard the whole downpipe bent.

From what I can tell, sch 10 is pretty forviging for manifolds. It seems to me that most people having problems with cracking etc are due to shitty designs, not machining warped flanges, etc. more than the welding itself.

Obviously we all want to make the nicest welds we can, I but also tend to wonder if a full-on, zero land (or even gapped) full pen multi-pass weld is really adding anything other than fabrication time.... these discussions are great and I really appreciate all of the really experienced dudes chiming in. :y

I am working on some 16ga stuff at the moment, different ballgame entirely it seems. Almost feel like I'm -re-learing a lot of stuff.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

Yikes, 1/16" or 3/32" on .065" material :l

Way to heat soak you materials, don't be surprised to find a failure in the HAZ.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

What do you want him to say? What's the point in multi-passing something when you don't have too?
If you are burning the stainless you're burning the stainless no matter what you're trying to do it with. Try using the correct amount of current & travel speed.
I like 3/32 on 16 gauge. By the time that .09375" diameter rod sticks out the bottom a hair to give you some pen, then flows into the joint & caps the top of the bevel's width. It's a great match.

Use what you want, but small wire is nothing more than a newbie's attempt at trying mask problems while wasting money (Time, material & maintenace). If someone had a half inch rod, aslong as it will sit in the bevel there's no excuse for burning up the base metal.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

What? Are you serious? The amount of current you need to melt 3/32" filler is far more than you need to fully penetrate .065" material in any position.
Using smaller filler is anything but unprofessional. Why do you think automated and orbital tube welders run .023" wire on .065" material??? You should never run filler the same thickness as your base material. Would you run 1/4"filler when welding you 4" sch40 pipe? :S
I've seen your pipe welds, they are good, hell they are great, but it doesn't seem you have much experience in the thin wall dept.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

WTF are you beveling 16 gauge for? Seriously. I'm far from a professional, but beveling 16 gauge material means cleaning the edge of the pipe with the SLIGHTEST of angles. Creating an actual bevel is unnecessary and borderline impossible.

Re: Spoolin performance welding update
 

Its plenty possible, but far from necessary for you standard .065" wall butt weld tube application.

I sometimes have to manually or semi/full automatically weld Al6Xn .065" wall tube, we put a small ( I think about .035" thick) hastelloy ring in between the butt weld and I like to give the tube ends a slight bevel because I find the ring better melts into the parent material with the addition of filler.