[RamboBaby]

I need some guidance from some of you badass tig artists. Someone posted this image to Facebook welding tips and tricks forum about six months ago and my goal is to be as good as this guy is. I can get my beads to pancake out like his do but, thus far, I can only seem to do it on a flat surface......I can't even come close to emulating this look in a joint. Round tubing seems to be even harder than a straight fillet.
If any of you know how he achieved this look on round tubing then I would surely be greatful for the guidance. These are 100% pure, badass, world class welds.
I know that I have to pulse hard on a tall drop to get it to flatten out but that doesn't seem to work so well for me inside a joint. I know that I need a lot of extra amperage to do it as well. My trouble is that this just seems to push it deep inside and blend it into a joint. Did he let it cool off for a second or two between drops? I can't figure it out because I don't have anymore tubing to practice on. I have only tried this in advanced square wave mode and think that this may have something to do with the beed just getting sunk into the joint (not sure though).
I know that I need a little more practice with bead spacing and it took me quite a few tries before I was able to see the point at which I needed get off the amperage in order to get drops of somewhat uniform width and height.
Please help a struggling monkey!

[zank]

He's definitely pulsing hard. When you can see the "ripple" mirrored in the cathodic etching, that is a sign that a heavy pulse is being used. If he was holding his foot steady, you would not see that in the etching.

Moving around tubing is all about torch angle. If you don't roll your wrist and fingers to keep a somewhat constant 80-ish degree torch angle, you won't get that consistent look. It's hard to say what pulse settings he might be using or if he is just using his foot. It kind of comes intuitively after a lot of practice.

Keep practicing and posting. Happy to help in any way I can.

[RamboBaby]

Ya know, I had never noticed the reflection in the etching zone before and wouldn't have had you not mentioned it. Seems to me that he has a much wider etching zone than my weld does. Maybe I need to give it some more argon and some more EP.
I asked him if he was pulsing with the peddle and his reply was, "Yes".
I wish I knew who he was but I deleted my Facebook account so I may never find out.
As clean as his weld looks I would venture that he has at least some helium in he mix. I can't afford that luxury at the moment.

[MosquitoMoto]

Great advice Zank - more knowledge from the masters.

Until today I didn't know how to read the cathodic etching for signs of pulsing, either.

Cheers!

Kym

[zank]

He could be running an old sync. Lots of cleaning on those machines. But you don't need He for a ckean puddle. These were done with pure argon and 75% EN balance. You'll get there!

[zank]

Great advice Zank - more knowledge from the masters.

Until today I didn't know how to read the cathodic etching for signs of pulsing, either.

Cheers!

Kym

Happy to help, Kym. Always.

There are lots of signs that identify pulsing in both AC and DC. Helps give a little insight into how the maker laid the bead. Could be a fun discussion.

[MosquitoMoto]

Great advice Zank - more knowledge from the masters.

Until today I didn't know how to read the cathodic etching for signs of pulsing, either.

Cheers!

Kym

Happy to help, Kym. Always.

There are lots of signs that identify pulsing in both AC and DC. Helps give a little insight into how the maker laid the bead. Could be a fun discussion.

#weldingforensics!



Kym

[RamboBaby]

My buddy who gave me the tubing said there is some kind of coating on it. If there is - I am not able to really tell. He works in a gate shop and this is just some of his scrap. I do know that it welds a little better (more fluid) if I lightly sand it first. I assume that is just due to removing the oxide layer. Welds a bit better (cleaner) again if I wipe it down with acetone. Seems to me though that wiping the filler wire down with acetone makes the most difference in the cleanliness of the puddle, all other settings being equal. I rarely ever do any of this though because the metal is fairly clean when he gives it to me.

I don't really play with pulse settings or frequency. I just keep it on 120hz and mess with the ac balance a bit. Ive been more concerned lately with learning to weld thin to thick and can successfully weld 1/16" tubing to 1/4" tubing with very little over penetration and without peeling back edges much. Everything has really tightened up in the last few weeks. But I want my beads to look like they were done by a machine. That may be a bit of a lofty goal but that manifold in the first photo proves that it can be done.
I'll try and get some more tubing this week and play with some settings to see if I can get a bit closer to the goal.

Mike:
What is it about a syncrowave that would cause it to clean differently? Granted there is a great deal of difference between welding with an inverter versus a square wave transformer but I didn't realize that there was much difference when comparing one transformer machine to another.

[zank]

I believe (and somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) that the synchrowaves topped out at 68% EN with the balance all the way up. That's pretty low compared to what the inverters do. Could be why the etching bands are so wide.

[zank]

That's a bike frame in the first photo.

[RamboBaby]

I wouldn't have guessed that was a bicycle frame either but i can see it now that you have pointed it out (head tube, top tube and downtube?). What is the wall thickness on aluminum bicycle frames? 0.125 maybe?

[zank]

Road frames can be as thin as 0.036" wall on some Scandium top tubes. Most down tubes vary from 0.044" wall on road to 0.078" wall on mountain. Head tubes and BBs are 0.140"-0.155". Rear stays are 0.036"-0.055".

[RamboBaby]

Thanks. I didn't think stuff that thin could hold up to the punishment that I've seen some guys put them through.

[RamboBaby]

Ok, this is the most insane thing ive ever seen someone do on a bicycle. Watch for the part where he jumps off a bridge. What in the heck is a frame like this made from? I've seen broken chromoly frames so either this one is extra thick or is made of something else. Sorry if I'm buggin you with all these questions.

http://youtu.be/Z19zFlPah-o

[MosquitoMoto]

Thin can be tough if it's engineered right.

I have the swingarm from a race motorcycle in my shed (not mine). The swingarm is made of a couple of cast parts, the rest is plated up with very thin aluminium. Bike makes 170hp. The arm weighs next to nothing and just looking at it you'd never believe that it could handle the power, torque and hits it is subjected to.

Just good stress/materials analysis and engineering I guess.



Kym

[RamboBaby]

I've seen one cut in half from a GSXR 1000 and it was 1/8" thick but it was also in the neighborhood of 3" X 2" tubing. I don't find something like that surprising at all but 0.044 seems like it would break easily even on a bicycle.
I just got schooled today.
Thanks gents.
The old boss was a pro motocrosser back in the 70's and he can still ride the hell out of a bike. He built himself something that he calls a KawaHaraZuki and the only zuki on it is a GSXR swingarm. He tapped it in a couple of places and is using it as a 2+ gallon oil reservoir. He machined a custom oil filter mount for it and ran braded stainless covered hoses everywhere. It looks super good but I seriously question what is going to happen with the shock if he ever actually gets it on the road. That's an additional 20+ pounds of unsprung weight that the shock was never designed for. As far as I know he has been tinkering with that thing for at least 15 years and still hasn't rode it. The front end is is questionable in my mind as well. It's the fork section from an '86? KDX 200. Those forks look rediculously small for that heavy bike. The rear end is beefy looking as all get out and has a custom welded aluminum fender while the front end looks like it's riding on match sticks.

[MosquitoMoto]

(Continuing threadjack)

KDX200 forks? Eek! Buell ran oil in the swingarms for awhile too but I agree, unless the whole arm, rising rate linkage and shock are designed/sprung for it, it could be a problem.

Also agree that it's simply a bad place to be putting extra weight. Unsprung areas are always good places to be cutting down on weight instead.


Kym

[motox]

Rambo i would love to see a photo of that bike with
a KDX front end.. sounds scary
craig

[RamboBaby]

Well, the old boss is a real dick and I'm supposedly on permanent probation from his shop. He's real messed up with his soulders right now so I'm trying to get back in to do the work while he just shows up to be the technical advisor. He really knows his stuff but talks to employees like dogs. Called us all "bums" and "n!&&ers". I don't take too kindly to any man talking down to me like that and me and the boss nearly went to fists on several occasions. He calls himself an "equal opportunity discriminator" and will tell you to your face "I don't accept no blame". Then he'll blame his screw up on you even though you never even touched what he just destroyed. Typical manipulative behavior.
If I can get back in there then I'll post a photo of his KawaHaraZuki. It looks extremely dangerous to me but some of it looks cool as f$!# at the same damn time.

[Least honorable]

He's definitely pulsing hard. When you can see the "ripple" mirrored in the cathodic etching,.

can you explain what you mean in this sentence, im not too sure what you mean by the ripple in the cathodic etching. taking a closer look i beleive youre refering to the cleaning action outline, and how you can see the ripples on that, but if youre not, please correct me, im here to learn

thanks

noah

[RamboBaby]

The cathodic etching IS THE CLEANING ACTION. See how it looks like there is a double row of welds on the tube to the left side of the image? That's exactly what I thought it was until he pointed out that it was a reflection. Whoever did this is pretty much the Master Jedi of aluminum tig welding and takes a great deal of pride in his work.

[Least honorable]

The cathodic etching IS THE CLEANING ACTION. See how it looks like there is a double row of welds on the tube to the left side of the image? That's exactly what I thought it was until he pointed out that it was a reflection. Whoever did this is pretty much the Master Jedi of aluminum tig welding and takes a great deal of pride in his work.

damn, thanks for the help

noah