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Gaswelding difficulties
One of the difficulties of gaswelding aluminum i think is welding over the tacks. When
you've adjusted the torch to make the final weld and you're going fine till you must run over a tack. In my experience the setting with gaswelding is for a tight material thickness( I don't know how to explain it in an other way) When you reach the tack, which is a bit thicker, the flame has insuficiant heat to let it melt in the same way as it could with the sheet. I tackle this to grind the tacks to the same thicknes as the sheet , which works well, but this is timeconsuming and you have to be careful not to ruin the sheet. Sounds this familiar and is there an easier way to solve this? All suggestions are welcome. Cheers Richard.
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Richard |
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Richard
You have the right idea but do not grind the weld simply use the file, reason you can impregnate stone residue on to the ally and that can cause problem on your run also make sure to wash all the old flux from the tacks right off so you can start the weld from a clean surface ,make sure to use acetone to clean the surfaces inside and out Here a tip for you........ to get best result for a flat weld and tack, file the two top edges of your panels off, so they are not square edges, they must look something like this V also it's best to have little penetration as possible so you can hammer your weld right out ,what that means you must be quicker on your speed when welding and have the torch with a feather (carbonizing flame) PS ... VERY IMPORTANT.....do not hammer any tacks or weld... while the flux is on the surface, you will impregnate flux on to the ally ....the painters will hate you for it!! Peter
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P.Tommasini Metalshaping tools and dvds www.handbuilt.net.au Metalshaping clip on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEAh91hodPg Making Monaro Quarter panel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIpOhz0uGRM Last edited by Peter Tommasini; 01-08-2018 at 05:49 PM. |
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Cheers Richard.
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Richard |
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Hi Richard.
For aluminium (16 gauge) I would highly recommend trying either a no5 or no7 BOC style (UK) welding nozzle and, most importantly, turn the gas pressure down to 2-3 psi max. You want a soft, fat flame. A lot of beginners make the mistake of running a too narrow flame cone, with higher than necessary flame pressure, which inputs too much heat into a thin weld zone causing burn through. Also, you have to weld aluminium at a very quick pace with oxy-acetylene. We are talking almost feet per minute as opposed to inches per minute a la steel. This is where the true art to gas welding ali comes in to form. Fast, fast, faster! I seldom add rod to the puddle on ali body panels - for me the rod is there literally to start the weld then finish the last 1/4" of weld. Also, I was taught to oscillate the torch in continuous circles to the width of approximately 1/4" - 3/8" around the weld zone as you move the torch along its path. This, apparently, was the norm during WW2 era to decrease the intensity of the heat affected zone according to my mentor. It is said to even out the h.a.z. a little, which reduces stress. This method, with good practice, should produce a lovely, flat bead with perfect penetration: A weld that needs no filing and only planishing or wheeling to make the weld virtually disappear. Don't get me wrong, there are many ways of gas welding aluminium, but this is what I was taught and I find it works fantastically well. On a side note... and this is one that's sure to raise eyebrows: I only flux the edges of the metal and not the full width of the weld bead. I find there is more than enough flux on just the edges to facilitate a perfect weld. The advantage is that flux glare is massively reduced and you have a more even temperature distribution. Again, a nugget that was passed down to me during my apprenticeship in the 1980's. Regards, Matt |
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Gareth Davies |
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Quote:
Peter
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P.Tommasini Metalshaping tools and dvds www.handbuilt.net.au Metalshaping clip on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEAh91hodPg Making Monaro Quarter panel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIpOhz0uGRM |
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I'll let you know how I get on Cheers, Matt |
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I have a set of cobalt blues lenses. Melters glasses they are called I think. I'm not sure they filter out harmful UV. Be something to check.
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Greg |
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I wonder how one would go about checking? Don't want eye danage... 🤔
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Chris (trying to be the best me I can be) |
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