Good welding technique

[sprayerDrew]

hi my dad pointed me to this on a forum he was on so i thought i would share it with you guys! Although i havent tried it it sounds good enough! Actually i havent touched the mig for a couple of months !!! bad cold weather as i havent got a garage , doesnt help me though as i was just geting into it

http://www.justkampers.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=152355

 

[brightspark]

hi my dad pointed me to this on a forum he was on so i thought i would share it with you guys! Although i havent tried it it sounds good enough! Actually i havent touched the mig for a couple of months !!! bad cold weather as i havent got a garage , doesnt help me though as i was just geting into it

http://www.justkampers.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=152355

it works fine
i use it stick welding when the welder amps wont go down far enough .just back it up and disipate the heat

 

[deandave]

This is interesting; maybe it will help me to do butt welds on thin sheet, which i cannot seem to master...?

Some interesting points to note on heat transfer science: steel is a relatively bad thermal conductor, which is why you end up with a lot of heat in the immediate area of the weld. Copper is fantastic; it conducts heat very easily/quickly. Aluminium is also very good. Diamond is the best Stainless steel is terrible.. great for saucepan handles though

What he has created with the pipe is a heatsink. For effective heatsinking, the heatsink needs to have very good contact with the steel. For the most effective heatsinking, a heatsink would extend over the heat source in all directions e.g. up, down, left and right. In other words, the copper pipe should be very flat (assuming sheet steel) and as thick and large a surface area as possible surrounding the area of the weld. Thick copper or, more accessible, aluminium plate should work well.

Having said all that, heat will be conducted away very quickly with a large volume heatsink, which might be at odds with the welder trying to heat up and melt the steel I dont have a feel for the practical tradeoffs, but its food for thought anyway If some people have used coins, maybe a small Aluminum plate or piece of copper pipe is perfectly adequate...