nossty1

iTrader: (3)

Ok, I am not a professional welder, not even an intermediate welder. I only have about 15 min of arc time with a tig machine. So be kind and tips are welcome. Here is how I did it. Temp was 48 in the shop. 160 amp with a foot pedal, 15cfh, 1/8th 309l filler. No pre or post heat. Tacking with no filler resulted in fracturing by the tack. Adding filler alleviated that issue. I tried to keep weld length shorter than one inch and alternating sides while taking breaks to keep from getting the flange to hot. It didn't matter I still managed to warp the flange slightly. I didn't notice until I had the other portion of the flange next to it and it was more of a straw color. Oops.
I believe it will still seal. I don't feel wonderful about the welds so I am going to weld them inside as well.

On the second manifold I used pulse and that kept the welds much narrower and barely warped the flange at all. Unfortunately I struggled more with filler timing so it doesn't look as good. Also, some of the welds were dull gray instead of shiny like the stainless? Stainless welds look cool. Anyway, it may work. Lol.

Thanks guys.

Blown06

iTrader: (32)

Helpful tip. When welding v-bands on, I always attach the other flange and clamp them together. Helps to keep warpage down. Also, dialed amperage (in your case 160) and using a pedal it is really hard to tell how much heat you were actually using (and enven more so if we don't know your speed) unless you just had the pedal down and went to town, but, I personally don't think 160 amps is needed in an application like this, so it is likely you were a little hot.

I've tried welding some stuff with 1/8" filler rod and can tell you in most automotive applications it is just way too big. I've practiced on some stuff using 1/8" er70 on mild steel and just find that it is way to bulky requiring additional heat (again maybe part of your warping issue). I almost exclusively use 1/16" filler on everything I do. If I need a little more filler in areas I'll double or triple dab or even go back over the project for a filler pass.

Regardless, you did it yourself and and anyone who does there own work (even if it is shitty, which helps you learn), gets a nod from me anytime. This is America, take pride in doing whatever you do.

nossty1

iTrader: (3)

It is hard to know what amperage I was using. Also I did have issues with the filler size but it seemed workable. Thanks for the tips. Ill make some changes and hopefully things will get better.

On a side note, dull gray weld means to much heat and not enough filler. Blown06 called it.

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

damn good start for your first go at pipe welding

if I can offer my 2 cents

I think you'll get a better result and a stronger weld if you bevel the edges on your butts. to get a full penetration on my manifolds I beveled it 45* and went a little past halfway through the material. I also tack it together so there's about a .010" gap between the two parts. Then when I start my puddle I look for the bottom of the vee to just begin to keyhole a bit and then I add filler.

And there's nothing wrong with carefully grinding out a bad section and redoing it. The pros do it all day. Stick a tungsten? grind it out clean and start over.

good work.


I'd probably have it at around 140 amps and actually weld at 110 or so. But it's nice to have a little headroomthats why I'll have it on 140. I'm also partial to 3/32 filler and tungsten for just about everything under 3/8" thick.

irrational

I just finished doing one side of mine, i used nickle stick rod and broke the flux off the outside of it. Love the color of that stuff after your done welding nice straw color. I welded mine around 110ish amps spiking to 120-130 in bursts. I will say the cast on these manifolds is more like steel than high carbon cast iron. You can definitely tell it doesnt weld as clean and coughs and spatters like cast, but welds up really nicely without cracking.