What Tungsten

[metaljoiner]

Hello All,

Refer to my other thread regarding welding expansion chambers.

I have got to grips now with Tig welding on my project with that written above, but, I can do nice joins, (autogenous welding) as Finggers99 puts it, but I want to have a Wider weld seem! I am using 1.6mm red top tungstens with very low AMPS, what I was thinking is, if I used a thicker tungsten, up the Amps to compensate the thicker tungsten so hopefully get no blow through, would this work?
Hope you can see what I mean, want be able to give it a nice decorative weld.

 

[Drains]

The amps into the steel will be the same whatever size tungsten you use m/j. You'll get a wider arc if you up the amps, or change how you grind the tungsten. If you want a wider looking seam, use filler rod, and weave a little. You can do what you want with the weld pool. But if you're getting a good autogenous seam, why do you want it to look wider?

 

[metaljoiner]

Thanks for the reply Simondrains

The Exhaust I am building, I want it to look the part, without giving it a coat of paint or chrome or anything like that, just want it self colour, they do look nice like that, I recon I should of used filler rod like you mentioned that would of gave the affect i am after, at the moment my weld joint is so fine, about 3-4 mm.

 

[gaz_moose]

tiny tight welds are much better looking than the massive splodge ones

 

[metaljoiner]

gazmoose, I dont mean massive splodge ones You look at a moutain bike frame , see how they are welded together, Thats what I want! but I am working with 0.7-0.9 gauge mild sheet steel, it's hard to get that affect with out over heating and blowing through.

 

[hotrodder]

Steel bike tubing is around 0.6 - 0.9mm wall thickness too or are you saying you want the welds to look like those on an ally bike frame? Al welds quite differently to mild steel which is why the welds tend to look different (in the case of bike frames tubing is typically around 0.8 - 2.2mm wall for Al depending on alloy and tube placement).

Using filler will obviously change the appearance of your welds but filler larger than 1.0mm is going to be a bitch to use on 0.7mm steel

 

[metaljoiner]

Hotrodder you were right! I messed my exhaust up, 3/4 way finishing it as well, it looks crap, yep! you said it would be a bitch at 1mm the filler rod I tried with was 2mm, went from good too really **** and for some reason i carried on until I messed right up, what a waist, what and idiot!

Back to the drawing board.

 

[hotrodder]

If you're planning a fair bit of this sort of work then get yourself some 1.0mm filler (it's ludicrously expensive from some places so be careful, Weldmet are pretty reasonable) but you can straighten MIG wire to use- cut off a length, clamp one end in a vice the other in the chuck of a drill and give it a spin with it under tension

 

[irondarren]

now here is a thought if you want 1mm filler rod then buy a roll of 1mm mig wire it should be A18 triple deoxidised (if good quality), just mean you have to straiten it out as it will have a natural curve, might be cheaper than 1mm wire.