how difficult did you find welding the WTF's? i have a box of cones from him for my S1, and a scratch start lincoln tig to try and weld them with. . . any tips?
Hey Aaron, welding up the WTF's is not as difficult as it may seem. My tig has hi freq and I've only used a scratch start a few times. Setting amps on scratch start is very important, I believe a little lower on amps will help thing from getting too hot. Also I use .40 filler rod to cool things down, dont get me wrong its mostly fusion welding but rod helps you kinda get that flat bead appearance and for long runs its helps immensely. I do know that Don builds all his pipes with a scratch start tig, so as long as you're good and practiced up it should be no problem.
As far as tips go. To be honest the flanges were the biggest bitch. They go together easy but for the slip fit design to work, I spent hours with a mini flapper wheel trying to smooth out the inside to get everything to fit. If I were to do it over again I would lathe out the main flange piece from solid steel instead of rolled, other than that the other flange pieces can totally be rounded but the main piece is just crazy thick.
If you have not already purchased a gas lens then I suggest doing that before starting, their pretty cheap and provide great shielding gas coverage when compared to standard gas nozzle. I started and welded all the seams first, then trued each piece to round before tacking. Now when tacking it is important to line up the seams and start putting tack all around but in just one direction, this will help fit up greatly. Make sure fit up is spot on, especially with the tig you will be using since you wont be able to roll off the heat. You're gonna wanna have someone hold cones while you tack, without an extra set of hands this whole job would be really difficult. Another thing using an alloy/bronze/copper chiller bar for doing the seams is gonna help you alot as it will pull heat from the weld as well as reduce sugaring on the inside. There are some pictures in our newest post that shows the fixture we use, it also works great for tacking small pieces good and flat. Anyway give her a go, its a lot of work but you will come out with great satisfaction in your work. Cheers Skye
how difficult did you find welding the WTF's? i have a box of cones from him for my S1, and a scratch start lincoln tig to try and weld them with. . . any tips?
ReplyDeleteHey Aaron, welding up the WTF's is not as difficult as it may seem. My tig has hi freq and I've only used a scratch start a few times. Setting amps on scratch start is very important, I believe a little lower on amps will help thing from getting too hot. Also I use .40 filler rod to cool things down, dont get me wrong its mostly fusion welding but rod helps you kinda get that flat bead appearance and for long runs its helps immensely. I do know that Don builds all his pipes with a scratch start tig, so as long as you're good and practiced up it should be no problem.
ReplyDeleteAs far as tips go. To be honest the flanges were the biggest bitch. They go together easy but for the slip fit design to work, I spent hours with a mini flapper wheel trying to smooth out the inside to get everything to fit. If I were to do it over again I would lathe out the main flange piece from solid steel instead of rolled, other than that the other flange pieces can totally be rounded but the main piece is just crazy thick.
If you have not already purchased a gas lens then I suggest doing that before starting, their pretty cheap and provide great shielding gas coverage when compared to standard gas nozzle. I started and welded all the seams first, then trued each piece to round before tacking. Now when tacking it is important to line up the seams and start putting tack all around but in just one direction, this will help fit up greatly. Make sure fit up is spot on, especially with the tig you will be using since you wont be able to roll off the heat. You're gonna wanna have someone hold cones while you tack, without an extra set of hands this whole job would be really difficult. Another thing using an alloy/bronze/copper chiller bar for doing the seams is gonna help you alot as it will pull heat from the weld as well as reduce sugaring on the inside. There are some pictures in our newest post that shows the fixture we use, it also works great for tacking small pieces good and flat. Anyway give her a go, its a lot of work but you will come out with great satisfaction in your work. Cheers
Skye