Pre/Post Heat thin tubing?
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 1:45 pm
Hey gents, new to the forum, looks good.
I have some welding experience from years ago, but I'm relatively new to MIG. Looking to use a Lincoln 140 and ER70S-6 wire with an Argon/CO2 mix to weld 4130 chrome-moly tubing. Tubes are 5/8" in diameter, walls are .035 thick.
I welded with no pre or post heat, low voltage and very slow wire speed, to make a weld on some practice tubing that held very well. However, the metal itself sheared at about 1/2 the weld-width distance above the weld. So I didn't break the weld, but instead the metal failed 'near' the weld. I understand that pre and post heating will fix this, as it tempers the steel to make it less brittle.
Only documentation I could find regarding pre/post heating is for TIG welding, and was for .058 to .720 thickness. That suggests preheating to 250 F for an area 6" on either side of the weld, welding, then post-heating to the same temp for the same area. Seems excessive to me for fillet welds that MIGHT cover 1/4 ". Not to mention that my metal is not as thick as .058. I'm thinking of preheating to 250 F for about 2" on either side of the weld, welding, then post-heating to 250 F and letting it cool on it's own. Surely the 250 pre-heat temp isn't going to be TOO hot? Any thoughts as to whether I'm an idiot, or am I on the right track? Any experience out there?
I have some welding experience from years ago, but I'm relatively new to MIG. Looking to use a Lincoln 140 and ER70S-6 wire with an Argon/CO2 mix to weld 4130 chrome-moly tubing. Tubes are 5/8" in diameter, walls are .035 thick.
I welded with no pre or post heat, low voltage and very slow wire speed, to make a weld on some practice tubing that held very well. However, the metal itself sheared at about 1/2 the weld-width distance above the weld. So I didn't break the weld, but instead the metal failed 'near' the weld. I understand that pre and post heating will fix this, as it tempers the steel to make it less brittle.
Only documentation I could find regarding pre/post heating is for TIG welding, and was for .058 to .720 thickness. That suggests preheating to 250 F for an area 6" on either side of the weld, welding, then post-heating to the same temp for the same area. Seems excessive to me for fillet welds that MIGHT cover 1/4 ". Not to mention that my metal is not as thick as .058. I'm thinking of preheating to 250 F for about 2" on either side of the weld, welding, then post-heating to 250 F and letting it cool on it's own. Surely the 250 pre-heat temp isn't going to be TOO hot? Any thoughts as to whether I'm an idiot, or am I on the right track? Any experience out there?