Welding....HOT TIP! (pun intended)

[kliff]

Baby it's cold outside....my MIG welds look like crap.....nothings changed, machine is set just like it was last time I used it...WHASSSSSUP!

Temp, that's whassup, or down actually. When it's cold, your metal is cold, molecular activity is s-l-o-w-e-d way down.

HEAT that sucker up...whatever it is. This time of year, welding in the shop, I keep a small propane bottle torch on my MIG cart. Before welding warm your work, till it's uncomfortable to touch, or even hotter. Your weld puddle will establish almost immediately, and the entire weld will penetrate better, and look better.

Try it.

[Rocketdog]

Well taken bud, and thanks.

RD

[FootScoot]

Same applies to soldering. You have to heat the work, so the solder will stick. Too many slotcar chassis'. ;D

[Rebel]

Thanks for the tip, I need all the help I can get.

[kliff]

No problem, glad to share. Picked that tidbit up in LaGrange, Ill. @ the Electro Motive Deisel factory. EMD engines have a "plate" construction block. It is made of plate to save weight, as opposed to cast iron.
Well all that plate is jig welded together, and it gets damn cold on that factory floor in the winter. Solution, using DC voltage, and the block as a resistor, that area of the shop is heated, the molecules flow better than cold steel, and x-ray cert welds are made in temps hoverring around 40F( below freezing outside) with the blocks at about 150F.

P&H cranes builds their super huge cranes and drag lines the same way. 125-150F base metal yeilds stronger, deeper, and quicker welds. Surface appearance is like night and day too, just an added benefit.

[FootScoot]

Kliff, I might be way off base here, but EMD is using resistance welding on their blocks? Resistance welding or soldering for that matter is when the material is heated at the site of the weld or soldering joint. That makes for some very strong joints, and you get very smooth welds or soldering joints. Really neat stuff.

[kliff]

Feb 11, 2010 9:12:12 GMT -5 FootScoot said:

Kliff, I might be way off base here, but EMD is using resistance welding on their blocks? Resistance welding or soldering for that matter is when the material is heated at the site of the weld or soldering joint. That makes for some very strong joints, and you get very smooth welds or soldering joints. Really neat stuff.

With the 645 and earlier series, they were resistance welded, with the exception of severral areas, like the water jackets on the cylinders, They were kiln or oven, silver solderred. Each cyliner had severral grooves machined around the outer perimeter at top and botttom. In these grooves, rings of silver solder, 3/16" IIRC were installed, and the water jacket pressed oover the jug and siilver joints. It then went on a conveyor, and into a timed oven. Many other parts were made of kiln fired "powderred metal." Metal collected from vaious operations in the plant, even the floor sweepings, then separated magneticly from dirt, gound and regound untill it was almost flour fine. Pressed into molds under mucho tons oo'pressure, then kiln fired, machined, & heat treated.... voila, ocker arms, cyclinder crabs,,,,,,alll kinds of stuff. I was through there in 19800, and they had severral mid '20's to mid 30's "square port" Wintons in for rebuild too. And they still could, and did, make them better than new... hell they even turned old cranks like the Wintons 1/8" undersize, then built them back up entirely with hard chrome, and turned them back to OEM standard size on mains and rod journals....beautiful work!

I'd like to go back for a tour, just to see how the 4 strokes have been integrated into the plant.

Oh, and to answer your question, the entire bblock is heated, not just the weld area. From the time the main bearing saddles are installed in the jig, and the plate sections are brought into place, the heating continues, until all welding is finished, this also helps stress releive the block, before it is allowed to cool for 24 hours and all the machining processes begin... just remember....this was in the 80's on the 2 strokes....things may have changed.... but heated material will always weld easier, that doesn't change, be it an EMD block, or a Bashan frame.

Hope that helps....

[FootScoot]

I need to get brave enough to use my welder. I bought it 4-5 years ago, and have yet to use it. It's just one of those flux wire jobs, nothing big. I've heard good and bad about them not having a shielding gas. Guess maybe I should have bought a gas shielded model. I'm a complete novice on welding that's for sure. ;D

[Rocketdog]

They work pretty fair Foot. Most of the inexpensive ones don't have a lot of adjust-ability, which would make them easier to weld with. You have to do the adjusting with your technique. But you have to do that with anything. They smoke a good deal. I need lots of light or better yet sunlight. Get a set of gauntlet gloves and a good helmet. Go to Lincoln, Miller, or some other welding page for a few tips. Get some scrap steel and go to town. I love to weld, it's very in-powering to be able to create something out of a bunch of junk.

Happy welding,

RD

[FootScoot]

I need to get some good welding gloves, and a helmet. May as well have a go at it. I'll never be good at it if I don't try. I'm going wait until it warms up some first. It's alittle too cold to be welding outside.

[Rocketdog]

Ain't no shame in it bud. Even the absolute best grind a weld down and re-weld one. I have a feeling you'll be great.

RD

[jmkjr72]

well i have to go and get me a new welder(old one got stolen so this time it will just be a cheaper mig welder at the house)
and will be doing some work here soon on the stella going to french in a tear drop tail light and french in 59 caddy tail lights as turn signals

but i have a big torpedo heater that i use to heat the work area and when i go out an light it off i will put what im working with right infront of the heater for a while

and at the shop i end up pissing the boss of when it comes to hard facing and fixing thigs this time of year as i wont do it outside and he hates walking into a bay after ive been welding in there