Welding Tips and Tricks

Steve,
And 252's are a pain to set pre/post flow compared to other machines. I always forget to hold the trigger down to access the menu and have to shut it down and restart again.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding wrote:Steve,
And 252's are a pain to set pre/post flow compared to other machines. I always forget to hold the trigger down to access the menu and have to shut it down and restart again.
-Jonathan

Yeah, I would't have chosen the 252 but it's the only MIG in the shop set up for spool-gun and python for aluminum.

I "think" ours has a lithium battery in the memory core, so that once the post-flow is set I don't have to go back to it and reset it each time I power up.

Ironicly, it's unlikely we'll ever use it for an "R" stamp repair, as our primary client specs TIG.

Steve S

I also had the odd random thought (fancy that?) while cooling a nitrogen trailer today...

Would any of my co-workers who begins to whine about his job be a "cryobaby"?

(I know. Shut up and work...)

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:The only porosity issue I had was of my own making...

The ceramic tape sat in a corner without climate control for three years unused, and caused no porosity that I could detect,

"But"... I failed to set the friggin' Millermatic 252 for post-flow (doh!), so every tail-off had to be ground. I'm too used to MIG being simple, and forgot I had a post-flow option on the machine I chose to have calibrated.

Steve S

LOL...We never let the backing sit for that long....too many punching screw-ups. We primarily used the 2x2 squares for pluggin' mis-located holes. Dang beamline punch would get off and start punching holes in the beam flanges about a half a hole off so we'd have to plug em'.

Well, the first guy to show for my "demonstration" piece tells my how great my welds look. Gave me several compliments, which I'll take. Then, I find out the GMAW portion "will" be x-rayed...

Makes me glad I treated it as though it would be the whole time.

Oddly, the GTAW nozzle will only be dye-pen tested...

I'll get some pics of the section up shortly.

Steve S

Here's the jist of it...

The back side...
Sh!t, I didn't copy a front-side from my camera...

Here's the nozzle with the color still on.
Steve S

Not bad.....for a rookie.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding wrote:Not bad.....for a rookie.
-Jonathan

Thanks!

I'm not too proud to hear tips.

Steve S

Superiorwelding wrote:Not bad.....for a rookie.
-Jonathan

LOL...Ditto

Here's the front-side picture I missed.
The whole shebang got boxed up and shipped for NDE today.

And the guy I was sure was going to take some of teh load off me busted his ASME IX test... Either he has horrible "test anxiety", or he blew it on purpose...

Steve S

Looks very good....

I'm ways nervous till I put the hood down, then its like I'm in my own little world. What was hard for me was waiting between passes for it to cool down...before I moved on.

Well, we had our NBIC/ASME audit today. The whole crew was there, including the state Fire Marshall.

It all went well. Everyone was suitably impressed with the demonstration piece, including the x-rays I was told would not happen.

We're about to be our own independent "R" stamp vessel repair shop.

That's a load off my mind... No one ever said the word, "coupon" when I welded that thing up, or I'd have treated it differently.

Steve S

Steve,
Congrats! What a relief that is indeed. So now I have a few more questions. How are they paying for and justifying the costs of the R stamp, which are high? Are they taking on repairs to fit that market or was it to cover exsisting code work? Sorry if you have answered this already.
-Jonathan

Jonathan,

We do have a real market for these repairs. We are already the exclusive rehab shop for one of the top companies in the western hemisphere. And there's a bit more to the story, for a PM.

Steve

Congrats Steve... Looks great.

Otto Nobedder wrote:[I'm not too proud to hear tips.

Looks like the only tip you need is "don't stand up in a canoe", and you probably knew that one already.

Artie F. Emm wrote:

Otto Nobedder wrote:[I'm not too proud to hear tips.

Looks like the only tip you need is "don't stand up in a canoe", and you probably knew that one already.

Thanks, I do know that tip
I'm never above inviting critisism, though. There's always something to learn.

Yesterday was a reality check. I did a weld (304) where the side I could see was 5/16 and the side I couldn't (no headroom) was sch. 5, and I blew a hole in it... and dragged the hole into a slot 1.5" long, because I couldn't see it.

I tried to fix it yesterday in the mirror, and was so damn frustrated I had to walk away before I started throwing tools. My buddy saw the challenge, and volunteered to "give it a go", and did no better.

I spent 6 hours today (with a better attitude) finally fixing it and proving it.

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes the bug...

Steve S

Welding will humble even the best of us at any time...