William -- When you figure out the problem (& solution!), please post (or email me, below) the results. I have a 1980s vintage Syncrowave 250, so may have future need for problem diagnosis & solving ideas. Fingers crossed, my machine continues to run well. Lee Johnson Leejohnson1313 [at] gma...

Not an expert, but the following are some things I would try if I had this problem -Make sure the scrap/test piece is a weldable alloy (2024 & 7075 don't weld well at all, for example). If you have some test pieces that welded OK in the past with this machine, they would be pretty good to try ag...

Some form of threaded insert is much more likely to succeed in this situation. A couple of potential suppliers of metric series heavy duty key-locking inserts are -- Keensert (check URL= https://www.clarendonsf.com/products/inserts/keensert-inserts/knhm8x125) Acme Industrial (check URL= https://acme...

Although not addressing welding methods directly, if you can change the way you bend up the pieces of the "box", you can greatly reduce the length of weld bead to make the finished part. Less weld length should = less chance of flaws! Current configuration gives 2 x (15 + 23 + 15) =106 inc...

30+ years ago, I was the engineer on a project requiring a similar configuration bellows for a high hermeticity (low leak rate) weld. We ended up successfully producing parts with an autogenous electron beam weld similar to the config shown by Agoo on the left of his post of Thu Sep 25, 2014 11:17 a...

I hate to be too "back-yard mechanic" in a welding forum, but you could just put a second valve stem in the misplaced holes. That would use a proven method to adequately seal the hole (you already have one in each wheel). It would also eliminate all the agonizing about possible welding hea...

I spent some time working/experimenting today, and I know the source of my twisting. It was coming from the order I finished the welds. I actually saw it happening. Having seen the metal contracting as it cooled I now understand whats going on. michialt -- perhaps others can gain from your problem ...