what techniques do you use when stopping and starting a weld

[whensparksfly]

what techniques do you use when stopping a weld on roll cage and starting the weld again when you change position

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

What welding process are you using? TIG I assume?

 

[whensparksfly]

sorry yes tig

 

[BrokenBiker]

I only ever use torch button, don't have foot pedals in work and that's the only place I use tig, so I just use the slope up/down settings on the machine and pre and post flow for the gas.

pre flow is something like 2 seconds and post flow is 10 seconds.

I never tig anything important, usually just stainless hinges onto steel box section and then a bit of sheet

 

[whensparksfly]

i mean do you start the weld where youve stopped or over lap it

 

[BrokenBiker]

oh I tend to light up on the point I stopped, then move back a bit and melt the existing wed to form my puddle.

 

[chevy2]

I do quite a few cages in tig,
After you do several decent tacks around the fishmouthed joint but with each tack having zero or very little filler rod so as not to form lumps,
then run a full pass around the joint obviously not in one go,
but starting again on top of where you finished, this way you only appear to have one start/finish point after practice.

And to add,
Not teaching you to suck eggs but remember to drill a small around 1/8" vent hole into the tubes directly behind the fishmouthed joints and then a single open hole to enable the whole cage to vent whilst welding.

 

[whensparksfly]

thanks everyone

 

[Georgie]

I do quite a few cages in tig,
After you do several decent tacks around the fishmouthed joint but with each tack having zero or very little filler rod so as not to form lumps,
then run a full pass around the joint obviously not in one go,
but starting again on top of where you finished, this way you only appear to have one start/finish point after practice.

And to add,
Not teaching you to suck eggs but remember to drill a small around 1/8" vent hole into the tubes directly behind the fishmouthed joints and then a single open hole to enable the whole cage to vent whilst welding.

+1 on the vent hole.

Assuming your concerned about the appearance of your cage, just welding it together isnt enough. Get a few extra feet (1-2) of mechanical pipe or whatever it is you are using and drill/grind a few notches, weld them together using ONE setting you think that works well (after a few trials) , then section you weld at the "start/stop" points to see your coverage.

But your better off finding someone that has a welding Certificate/License, or you could get hurt, maybe even die...

(take it seriously, high HP or HARD driven cars are bound for problems)

G