Welding 101

[Craved]

Hi guys

As suggested a basic understanding of welding ideals in all shapes and forms.

http://www.millerwelds.com/education/library.html

has an extensive range of PDF's on the how too's, and settings and direction for TIG/MIG and Stick welding in their library.

A good read if you are about to learn any of the types of welding, i have read through all of them most recentyl TIG welding pdfs as im in the process of learning the TIG

Please post any links or info regarding making welding easier and neater.

Chris

[JAS-25T]

From my experience, the best way to learn how to weld is at TAFE. doing the welding and thermal cutting course gives you a great beginners crash course in welding. then you can branch off into TIG, MIG, stick etc.

I have a whole heap of interesting welding articles, i will try and post up soon.

[someonestolecc]

Thanks for the link. I think watching someone do it and walking through the settings and their effects would be useful. Pity I can't watch over someone's shoulder.

[djr81]

For anyone starting - Mig welding is a damn ssite easier than tig & a bit easier than stick. It is also more forgiving of fitup & easier to get good, solid weld penetration.

[Craved]

For anyone starting - Mig welding is a damn ssite easier than tig & a bit easier than stick. It is also more forgiving of fitup & easier to get good, solid weld penetration.

Definately agree

i bought a small MIG unit for $575 which uses small canisters of gas, this is what i learnt on and now moving on with a TIG.

as with most things, the preparation of the metal and quality of the original fit will determine the quality and neatness of the resulting weld.

[Jago]

For anyone starting - Mig welding is a damn ssite easier than tig & a bit easier than stick. It is also more forgiving of fitup & easier to get good, solid weld penetration.

Dunno bout you, but i always found TIGing easier, more control with the feed/gives you better finish. MIG is all about stability, constant pace and distance. All takes practice.

TAFE is the best way to learn though. For those in Sydney, Grant Heely at Granville tafe would be your best bet

[ylwgtr2]

We have all types of welders here and there all quite easy to use once set up correctly.....Heres what we do for welding alloy with a TIG Use the electrodes with the white paint on them,machine must be an AC machine, pure Argon gas,material and rods must be cleaned with prepsol and "V"ed out with an Agro carbide burr(do not use a grinding disc as this contaminates the material)I like to use the foot pedal especially on cast items as a reasonable amount of amps is needed on strike up then back it off once it starts to pool.With MIG for alloy we use pure argon again and a teflon liner in the feed line....with MIG its important that the feed line give no resistance as the wire starts binding up and it all turns to shit....The machine really needs to be cranked up on the amps to weld....i normally give it as much as i can and back the feed off until the wire almost burns back to the tip....MIG is a bit of a pain with alloy but if you dont have anything else to weld with or need to build up its ok....Once you have it setup....It welds REALLY fast

[Roy]

...yeh, foot pedal makes a hige difference.

If your Tig welding tube then its definitely worth getting the extra Y pieces and purging the pipe internal with argon. Gives you a much better weld....

[benm]

Who has done some cast iron welding and wants to fix my block?

[ylwgtr2]

for cast iron use arc with cast rods

[SS#eater]

cast welding is not that easy... most cases you must heat the cast to a certain heat range before you even atempt to weld and the most common way is to use an oxy/ acetylene torch with an attachment with the "filler" in a powder form and is sprayed on while the torch heats the metal and cooling can be a long process also due to the fact that if you cool it too quick it can crack ..

[Ryanrb25]

cast welding is not that easy... most cases you must heat the cast to a certain heat range before you even atempt to weld and the most common way is to use an oxy/ acetylene torch with an attachment with the "filler" in a powder form and is sprayed on while the torch heats the metal and cooling can be a long process also due to the fact that if you cool it too quick it can crack ..

spot on!

i TIG, MIG, ARC and BRAISE at work most days, my opinion is, anyone trying to start, you wont get it first, second, third or even your 16th time. but you'll get there. It's not a certified trade for no reason.

[benm]

So in your opinion could the thread on the bottom left (and right) of my block be fixed by an experienced cast iron welder? (replacing the sump is easy but the bottom end will be expensive)

engine block

[Roy]

It can be fixed...the question is whether its worth it? I use to work for a specialist welding company that use to do cast repairs to valves, boilers etc etc. The question is are you willing to pay a boiler maker $70 an hour to do it...only to find out 5,000kms down the road its cracked again.

To ensure its done 100% they probably need to be 100% sure of the metallurgy of what they are welding...and need to do a weld procedure for it. Where they do a sample which gets sent of for x-raying to check for weld penetration and mechanical (tensile) tests. It all costs money. Once they have done it its probably a question of then x-raing the atual weld.

Thats being paranoid and checking everything to ensure the weld will be ok.

Is that the mount for the bellhousing?

Id say its possible but ring a few boiler makers/engine builders and get the opinion from ppl doing the work. I say its cheaper to get a new block

[benm]

Noting that getting a new block is easily ~$8k (block, internals, fitting, tuning).

[ylwgtr2]

I cant see no big deal with fixing that thread on the block....Its not sending man to the moon...I would be welding it with cast rods

[JAS-25T]

Here is the stuff i was on about.

some of it is a bit too technical, but alot of it would give some good tips on welding and designing.

There is also some notes from my tafe book.

484_Welding_Guidelines_for_Design_Engineers.pdf

code.pdf

postheattreat.pdf

Preheating.pdf

tackwelds.pdf

TAFE_welding_notes.pdf

[Beer Baron]

Noting that getting a new block is easily ~$8k (block, internals, fitting, tuning).

well a second hand RB26 block is not that much $. then it's just a matter of re-assembley with your bits. i seem to remember the crank was damaged a bit too? or did I dream that part. lol.

[260tech]

I cant see no big deal with fixing that thread on the block....Its not sending man to the moon...I would be welding it with cast rods

Dunno if you have solve this dilemma but for what its worth ($5500) I'm pretty sure Horsepowerinabox was selling an RB26 reconned short block $5500 assembled, readit today actually.

Price:

$5,500.00

inc GST within Australia

QTY:

RB26 Short Motor machined and ready for assembly

This is a fresh RB26 short motor with all the gear. It is machined and ready for assembly. Price includes assembly, and shipping within Australia is $250.

Parts included;

RB26 Block

- stress relieved

- Hot Tanked

- line honed for ARP Studs

- Bore and Hone

- Decked

Crank reground to specified clearance for oil clearances

GTR Rods

- Resized big and small ends

- ARP Rod Bolts

Venolia Pistons

N1 Rings

N1 Bearings rod and main

N1 Harmonic Balancer

Rotating assembly balanced

Assembled

[Dj laBBy]

Welding is an art, it takes time and alot of practice, then if you haven't used it for a while, its like jumping back on a bike, you can do it, but you need to keep going with it to get good results.

Tigging is my fav. I have been doing it for years and even though i'm not artistic, i treat it like art. The better it looks, 9 out of 10 times the better the weld. I don't see the need in purging ally, never bothered as most of the time you need a bit of a gap and the gas covers it anyway. I purge steel(if its critical) and stainless as it helps to draw the weld through, but not excessivly. But for most things on a car, there's no need.

Mig is good once set up correctly. Never bother with that "gasless" mig wire, its shit and never does a good job unless you use lots of heat and the burn the flux out. Fork out the extra money and get your self a bottle of gas. Best stuff for ALLY is straight argon, For steel and stainless, best is "argoshield", the bottle colour is peacock blue body, grey shoulder and black neck, argon/carbon dioxide/oxygen. I was taught and teach to do little circles. It aggitates the pool and your less likley to get defects(also use for stick welding) and it tends to flaten the weld so you get better wash in to the parent metal.

Ally mig is really quick, unnaturally quick. Not genurally used for thin stuff as you need heaps of heat, but fairly thick stuff. You have to spray it in, not like steel where you use globular or short dip method.

Stick is easy, piece of piss. Get a stick(generally start off with GP rods, 4113's) some decent heat and away you go.

Just remember to give about half the thickness of the rod inc flux(say for 2.4, inc flux around 4mm, bout 2mm) off the job and try and maintain that. Yes you will need to feed somewhat, but you will get it. Always pull away, never push unless Vert ups. Rod angle about 20-30deg off the bottom and sort of centrally so you can spread the heat evenly.

Hmmm i could go on forever, but like other people have said, go and do it in TAFE. I'm hopefully going to be teaching TAFE at nights in a few weeks, so if your in Syd, might see ya.

Oh btw, Cast welding sucks. Yah it works, but to weld something like a Block, your kidding. The whole job needs to be heated(generally in a furnace) to a good cherry red colour, welded with depending what compostition the cast is, then cooled very very slowly so you don't get localised hard spots as you generally get carbides(excessive carbon) just next to the weld, so could crack right next to where it was welded. You can weld cast sucessfully with GP rods, but that is generally for low grade and not highly stressed casts.

I have welded turbine housings, that you ahve to be careful of as it is generally high nickel iron. Once again lots of heat, the right, and a damn good weld and it worked ok.

Hope those are some useful tips.

Robb