Tig welding tips, questions, equipment, applications, instructions, techniques, tig welding machines, troubleshooting tig welding process
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WikingWelder
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Teaching myself to tigweld, Cody's videos are of great value to me.
Unfortunately I didn't learn, what I was taught :-(
I'm making a stand for my tabledrill, welding a 10"x13"x 5/4" plate of mild steel to a 9" pipe with a 1/4" wall thickness
I got too excited and kept on welding, instead of backtracing and changing spots, and the plate got too hot and warped.
Kicking myself doesn't seem to help, so I've decided to try and reheat it on the other side. I intend to use a gas torch with a narrow flame on the opposite side of the weld. I was hoping someone could give me a pointer as to how hot I should make it. I do have an infrared thermo reader, or I can use a redhot scale.

Happy Holidays everyone
Hoping for your endless progess in your skills.
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Please excuse my ignorance, but what is 5/4" plate? :oops:
On the topic of flame straightening. It can be very tricky depending on what your straightening, and you can find yourself making things worse if not very careful.
Using a narrow flame on the opposite side is the right start, But where exactly to heat the metal and how much is the key. I need to know how thick the plate is and how much it pulled up on ya.
P.S. It's not Cody, it's Jody. ;)
Jim
Pipefitter/Weldor out of Local 396
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WikingWelder
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Thank you for trying to help.
My apologies to Jody - the "C" came from Collier I guess ;-)
5/4" is 1 and 1/4" which is not quite true- it is 15 millimeters thick, but I thought giving the measures in inches might go down easier on your side.
Measured 5" from the weld the gap under my ruler is 1/8"
Hoping for your endless progess in your skills.
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Oh, o.k.
Then the plate is a hair over 9/16" thick. I have worked in a few fab shops that had drawings in nothing but mm, so I had to learn quick.
Never heard of steel plate described as 5/4" before though. Only decking lumber. Anyways, It is good that the plate is that thick. It will make it a little easier on you.
On the back side of the plate opposite to the side that was welded, you want to heat on the outermost edge of where the weld is and heat just until it turns yellow. Do that all the way around. DON'T over do it on the heat because you will pull it too much. You just want to get the surface of the plate yellow. Don't go too deep down into the plate. After that, let it completely cool to see whether it was enough. If not, then you will have to go a little deeper down into the plate with the yellow. After heating, always let it completely cool to see how much it moved.
What you are actually doing is shrinking the metal on the opposite side of the weld which will pull it back, but be careful. It's not hard to make things worse real fast.
Also, you may just have to get it close and then try to possibly pound it the rest of the way flat with a hammer. Hope that helps. :)
Jim
Pipefitter/Weldor out of Local 396
Millermatic 252
Dynasty 200DX
Maxstar 150 STL
Spoolmate 100
Hypertherm Powermax 85
Miller Digital Elite
JD2 Model 32 Bender
Emerson 7120 Horizontal/Vertical Bandsaw
Oxy-Gas Torch outfit
Generac XP8000E Generator
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WikingWelder
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Right,
that is what one has for his efforts to accomodate - I got it all wrong :oops:
Between 9/16" and 5/8" is correct. When I was young the thickness of wood were still measured in inches over here, but the lenght was metric. Today it's all metric. Steel pipes for plumbing and heating are still measured in inches, but the new Pextubes (plastic) are in millimeters.
"It's a crazy world in which we live in, but the world itself is not entirely to blame" (Monty Python I think)
Anyroad, heating it to yellow is a lot less, than I would have thought - about 200 °C or 400 °F but it is definitely worth trying. It makes it easier to do within a narrow band and if it doesn't do the trick, I can always try with more.
Thank you very much for your help. I have another project, which I have to finish first, so it'll be a while, but I'll come back with a progress report.
Happy New Year
Hoping for your endless progess in your skills.
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Mike
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Jpence38 good info Thanks.

M J Mauer Andover, Ohio
M J Mauer Andover, Ohio

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WikingWelder
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DONE! :D
Thanks to Hotrodders tip in a UK forum I found the knowledge and the courage to do what I intended to in the first place.

I used O/A to heat the plate on the opposite side of the welding, using a very narrow flame and trying not to melt the iron (for appearances sake). Discolouration is easier to grind away than melted scars.
I then left it to cool and were pleased that it had helped. I did several turns, and eventually the plate was almost flat again.
Here are some pictures to illustrate the task.
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Before.jpg
Before.jpg (66.42 KiB) Viewed 1077 times
after.jpg
after.jpg (75.73 KiB) Viewed 1077 times
Topview.jpg
Topview.jpg (90.73 KiB) Viewed 1077 times
Hoping for your endless progess in your skills.
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harleyotto

Thank you for the information of you have provided.
At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.Blancpain Watches
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