Calling all welders
 

I was wondering what are your methods on how to wire weld your charge pipes/exhaust piping...i've tried in welding class but did a pretty gross job :-X

Do you tack them together then rotate them with your hands? Or go around it with your gun tryin to keep it level? sorry i'm a noob but not too much info about welding around here

Re:Calling all welders
 

i see them tack them together and then use a vise to hold the pipe as they do sections

Re:Calling all welders
 

i just close my eyes and squeeze the trigger

Beau

Re:Calling all welders
 

haha ive done that...looks all red. anyway, i just do a tack, check to see if its still lined up right, then do as long a bead as i can, then rotate it and repeat. if you can move it and weld, go for it

Re:Calling all welders
 

I do a combination of both..... pretty much try to do it in 4 sections.....

maintain the tip straight.... and then rotate the pipe... and weld.... try not to stay in one place to long.... or it will burn right through.....

Re:Calling all welders
 

ive only made two testpipes so far so im still a newb, but heres how i did it- if the section has gaps, quickly weld a straight bead on the bottom part, dont worry about penetration. run a 2nd pass on top of that one. run more until you close the gap to the top, then run a nickle bead ("back step" or "stacked dimes") and make sure it penetrates the top. then run a nickle bead on the bottom and make sure it penetrates. hopefully they overlap the middle, or else nickle bead the middle as well. these are all on the lowest setting and speed with a lincoln weld-pak 100.

i think mine would have turned out clean this way but i dont have the stupid spool tensioner so it kept getting too tight and messing up my weld after an inch or so.

oh ya, tack weld them together first of course. by section i mean the 2 or 3 inches that are visible, then rotate the pipe. i cant hold the gun steady enough with one hand to rotate the pipe as i weld. gun angle was the standard, facing the left and dragging to the right. i think you get less burn through if you point it to the right and drag to the right (right handed).
it wouldnt be better to weld vertically down right?

Re:Calling all welders
 

good question, i would like to know about that too...vertical or horizontal

what do you guys think works better? or is it just personal opinion?

Re:Calling all welders
 

as long as your tie-ins are decent you can weld it in the flat, stop, rotate, weld, repeat. i prefer the look of roll welds, but it's a bit more tricky especially with bend pieces.

my exhaust was all welded on car, so i started at the top of the pipe (or where i thought the top of the pipe should be, takes a bit of guessing and practice to get that right) and just downhanded it to the bottom, then start at the top on the other side and downhand to the bottom, making sure i got the top completely with a mirror, and touching up as needed.

this was done with an Air Liquide 250amp, .032 solid, mig mix gas.