[exnailpounder]

Hey Bruce...one tip. Weld a piece of angle inside the box on the roof and/or sides to keep it from distorting when you get a good fire going in there...that plate might help with the sides but it's kind of high. Nice work. I miss building smokers.

[GreinTime]

Some more of these exhaust pipes! Will post some aluminum pictures by the end of the week as well! Same settings as the previous post.

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[GreinTime]

Some more of these exhaust pipes! Will post some aluminum pictures by the end of the week as well! Same settings as the previous post.

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[LtBadd]

Some more of these exhaust pipes! Will post some aluminum pictures by the end of the week as well! Same settings as the previous post.

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Looking good!

[Otto Nobedder]

I welded something by mistake thinking it's aluminum casting but it worked.... what the hell?
It's too heavy and fairly magnetic. The aluminum stuck....what is it?

A mess.
If it's magnetic in the least, aluminum filler is wrong.
Doesn't matter if you made it "stick". It didn't stick in any useful way.

Steve S

[BigD]

Been doing lots of work on my race car getting it ready. The biggest undertaking fabrication wise is making my own intake manifold. I have the head flange with injector bungs, tubes for the runners and trumpets from Sweden so the hardest part will be the plenum. I know what I want to do but it will require bending 3/16" aluminum to a 1.25" ID diameter. I was told about annealing and I wanted to experiment. I am getting rid of every hose barb and hose clamp in the engine bay so that includes making a new coolant expansion tank. I decided to make it out of the same material and try the same technique as I plan for the plenum.

It worked out pretty well, I'm very satisfied by it. I ordered the metal for the plenum but my metal supplier said if I want to bend it and it's not a high stress application then he will sell me 3003 rather than 6061 T6. So I hope the plenum will go even easier. I will see which grade of 3003 it is tomorrow, hopefully the lowest so maybe I don't even need to anneal it.

expansion tank.jpg (54.61 KiB) Viewed 2894 times

expansion tank3.jpg (41.66 KiB) Viewed 2894 times

Started on the manifold itself, attached the trumpets to the plenum flange. Next need to measure and cut the runners.

intake flange.jpg (57.16 KiB) Viewed 2894 times

[BigD]

Everyone, please remember... When you're looking at work that impresses you, work that makes you question your own, you are looking at goals. Objectives. The place you want to be with a few years' more experience.

NONE of these weldporn jockeys came out of the womb doing that, and every one has had their share of epic fails before they got consistent, and a few more before they were good.

NEVER put yourself down because your weld doesn't look like so-and-so's. If you're six months in, and he's been doing it 30 years, you can't expect to be on par.

Steve S

Guys also tend not to go to the trouble of taking and posting pictures of their screwups Unless they are asking for advice to fix the screwups. Odds are that if you're impressed by what you're looking at, the author probably is too. I doubt there is anyone, here or elsewhere, who never screws up anymore.

[Rudy Ray]

wood work mate
3003 is real soft, near gummy. Your best bet would be to use 5052, extremely form-able, easy to cut and weld.

[BigD]

Thanks Rudy. I've already ordered it so I'll see how it is. Soft would be good, would make it easier to make it nice. The car sees a max of 30psi boost and I'm using 3/16" thick material so I don't need anything especially strong.

[Otto Nobedder]

Guys also tend not to go to the trouble of taking and posting pictures of their screwups Unless they are asking for advice to fix the screwups. Odds are that if you're impressed by what you're looking at, the author probably is too. I doubt there is anyone, here or elsewhere, who never screws up anymore.

True.

My screw-ups are all over here. Yes, I post the ones I'm proud of, but not everything goes well, and I'll share and discuss it. Truth is, between my eyes and my shaky hands, I don't produce much weldporn these days, but when it does happen I share that, too!

Steve S

[motox]

most weld porn is done under the best conditions, mustily bench work.
that only accounts for a small part of all the welding that happens...
craig

[Rick_H]

most weld porn is done under the best conditions, mustily bench work.
that only accounts for a small part of all the welding that happens...
craig

So true, my Weldporn comes on clean virgin material in most cases too, Im more impressed with myself when Im repairing something that is older and dirty, then the real skill shows. Remember some of that stuff is also on a positioner, Im not saying it doesn't take skill but it makes things much easier when you know how to use it, and can take that variable out of the equation.


BigD -I typically use 5052 as well when I need to bend, welds like butter. If I ever get around to it I will finish the manifold for my 32v Ford Engine.

[motox]

rick h
most of your out of position welds i have looked at
are more "porn weld then porn weld". try welding
something nice while laying on your shoulder or looking
in a mirror. he is real deal friends..
craig

[Otto Nobedder]

rick h
most of your out of position welds i have looked at
are more "porn weld then porn weld". try welding
something nice while laying on your shoulder or looking
in a mirror. he is real deal friends..
craig

That, too, is one of the traits I see in the welders I respect the most. Humility. We are always our own worst critics. It might look golden to anyone we share with, but we see every flaw as if through a microscope. I have no respect for the young bench jockeys who put everyone down and post those ideal condition welds to show us how awesome they are. Come do my job, or Rick's, or Butch-Terry's, or any number of people I can name, for just a week, and tell me how awesome you are.

Rant finished...

Steve S

[exnailpounder]

rick h
most of your out of position welds i have looked at
are more "porn weld then porn weld". try welding
something nice while laying on your shoulder or looking
in a mirror. he is real deal friends..
craig

That, too, is one of the traits I see in the welders I respect the most. Humility. We are always our own worst critics. It might look golden to anyone we share with, but we see every flaw as if through a microscope. I have no respect for the young bench jockeys who put everyone down and post those ideal condition welds to show us how awesome they are. Come do my job, or Rick's, or Butch-Terry's, or any number of people I can name, for just a week, and tell me how awesome you are.

Rant finished...
Amen Brother. Anyone can weld shiny new shit on a bench and puff out their chests about how great they are but try being a repairman who is financially obligated to take on almost all comers and deal with 50 year old contaminated shit junk or have to strip chinese paint to get behind it to weld up their garbage weld...I could go on all day...and then fix it for a little more than minimum wage to try to live a dream. Some dream...more like a nightmare.
Steve S

[Farmwelding]

rick h
most of your out of position welds i have looked at
are more "porn weld then porn weld". try welding
something nice while laying on your shoulder or looking
in a mirror. he is real deal friends..
craig

That, too, is one of the traits I see in the welders I respect the most. Humility. We are always our own worst critics. It might look golden to anyone we share with, but we see every flaw as if through a microscope. I have no respect for the young bench jockeys who put everyone down and post those ideal condition welds to show us how awesome they are. Come do my job, or Rick's, or Butch-Terry's, or any number of people I can name, for just a week, and tell me how awesome you are.

Rant finished...

Steve S

This guy-Steve that is. Welding in and on trailers. That man can weld anything anywhere. I know I've seen some stuff of his where he is welding like 1 inch pipe that is buried with 10 other pipes and doing it with a mirror usin the foot pedal with his knee, wearing sunglasses basically and sunscreen cause his head won't fit and makes the damn weld better than anything i could do on pipe with ideal conditions sitting at a bench. He talks about respect... He's got mine. I'd like to follow him one day just to see how he works- a shame I live too far away.

[jernigan78]

Did these guys last night for a coworker. Hes using them as fishing bells. 2" Stainless pipe, turned on a lathe to .070T. The top is .020T. The thin top made it a little challenging to not blow through it.

[Rick_H]

Jernigan 78 Nice work, I typically use pulse and some thin filler, work quick and try not to stop....torch angle is everything next to the fit up.

Others, thanks for the kind words

[LtBadd]

Did these guys last night for a coworker. Hes using them as fishing bells. 2" Stainless pipe, turned on a lathe to .070T. The top is .020T. The thin top made it a little challenging to not blow through it.

Nice weld, did you either rotate by hand or use a rotator?

[RocketSurgeon]

This guy-Steve that is. Welding in and on trailers. That man can weld anything anywhere. I know I've seen some stuff of his where he is welding like 1 inch pipe that is buried with 10 other pipes and doing it with a mirror usin the foot pedal with his knee, wearing sunglasses basically and sunscreen cause his head won't fit and makes the damn weld better than anything i could do on pipe with ideal conditions sitting at a bench. He talks about respect... He's got mine. I'd like to follow him one day just to see how he works- a shame I live too far away.

I DO work with Steve.....and you are NOT exaggerating. I was in my second week (I think) working with him and he had a pair of #10 torch goggles on with his face and arms slathered in SPF 50 sun screen.
Me: What are you about to do in that get up?
Steve: Crawl in a hole to repair a 2" crack.
Me: How big is the hole?
Steve: 8"
Me: (blink blink)

[jernigan78]

Jernigan 78 Nice work, I typically use pulse and some thin filler, work quick and try not to stop....torch angle is everything next to the fit up.

Others, thanks for the kind words

Thanks Rick

[jernigan78]

Did these guys last night for a coworker. Hes using them as fishing bells. 2" Stainless pipe, turned on a lathe to .070T. The top is .020T. The thin top made it a little challenging to not blow through it.

Nice weld, did you either rotate by hand or use a rotator?

Thanks Richard. I did use a positioner for these guys. I love using it. One shot all the way around. Fast and consistent.

[Warrenh]

These are some anodized legs for cable rails. They fit on the outside of stairs on a deck overlooking the beach. 1/8th stainless cable ran horizontally is used for pickets (for lack of a better term). Any suggestions for improving the weld appearance is apreciated.

Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

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[Warrenh]

These are some anodized legs for cable rails. They fit on the outside of stairs on a deck overlooking the beach. 1/8th stainless cable ran horizontally is used for pickets (for lack of a better term). Any suggestions for improving the weld appearance is apreciated.

Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[exnailpounder]

Did these guys last night for a coworker. Hes using them as fishing bells. 2" Stainless pipe, turned on a lathe to .070T. The top is .020T. The thin top made it a little challenging to not blow through it.

Very nice! I have to ask though...what is a fishing bell? When I was a kid we had little bells we clipped on our rods at night so we could hear if we got a bite...same thing?