id like to know what you mean by structural componentsHas any one got any advice for welding copper sheet and tube, what is the best shielding gas. the application requires full welding not soldering or "metal gluing" as it is for structural components
Tig with pure argon works fine
Use a strip of the same sheet as filler to get a decent colour match if you want to polish the weld out.
Use stainless as a backer
It soaks up heat like a bugger, the guy that showed me how to do it told me to treat it like Alloy, high power and move fast.
I did some about 3mm thick and actually found it easier to treat it like it was an inch thick, Bevelling both sides of the joint and a few passes at a really high frequency. I used t+e as the filler for most of it finishing off with a strip just weeving it across the surface.
I think a trailing cup/shield would have made cleanup easier.
The tube I tried was thin stuff and hard work but I'm not much good at tube anyway.
Thanks guys for all the comments. I have been practicing but not getting much success. I think i might revert to stainless steel I'm trying to make some trim parts for a classic car projectHas any one got any advice for welding copper sheet and tube, what is the best shielding gas. the application requires full welding not soldering or "metal gluing" as it is for structural components
Thanks for that heads up. I was aware of the fume issue and did use a respirator helmet. It might have been a decorative piece but simply not worth the hassle for my application. As i said have decided to use stainless in steadHave tig welded lots of copper thin up to 8mm thick, pressure tested to ASME, lots of preheat required for the thicker stuff. Be very careful of the fume, it can come back and haunt you later in life.