Milling,Turning,Welding | Home Machine Shop

tips for tig welding stainless steel pipe

TIG Welding Certification Tests – Tips For Passing the Weld Test   by Preston Mane

What do Boilermakers, Pipefitters, and Aerospace welders have in common?

Passing a TIG welding certification test is usually required in order to be considered a qualified welder or to even be hired for the job in the first place.

For boilermakers and pipefitters a pipe or tube welding test is usually required and can be anywhere from 3/8″ to 12 inches in diameter and depending on the job, the material welded is usually carbon steel or stainless steel, or carbon steel welded with ER309 filler metal. (occasionally other alloys are welded but carbon and stainless make up the bulk of welding tests given)

Aerospace welders on the other hand might be required to weld practically any metal:

– carbon steel / low alloy steel – 4130, 4140, 4340, 8630

– stainless steel – 321, 347, 13-8, 15-7, 17-7, a286

– nickel alloys – hastelloy x, inconel 718

– aluminum – A355,356,357 castings, 6061, 2219

– magnesium – az31b

– titanium – 6AL4V, CP

– cobalt – L605, haynes 188

– refractory alloys like columbium

Aerospace tig welding certifications tests are generally straightforward groove welds or fillet welds unless the special application provision of the American Welding Society D17.1 is used. Sometimes a simple groove or fillet weld test does not accurately represent the scope of welding performed.

In that case there is a provision for the welder to be certified using a scrap part, live part, or mock up test that represents the weld done in production. It is a more limited certification but it helps to certify a welder on tasks that adequately test the skill set required to do the job.

For Boilermakers and pipefitters, a tig welding certification test on tube or pipe pretty much represents the same joint done in the field.

Tips for passing any tig welding test:

– Purge…give lots of attention to getting a perfect purge by making sure ends are taped neatly and securely with a vent hole at the top for gas to escape.

– Clean the metal…Whether welding a pipe joint or sheet metal butt weld, if you don’t clean the metal right, you will probably fail. Metals like aluminum and titanium are prone to porosity and filing the edge removes crud that will cause porosity…Some test inspectors will fail you on the spot just for not cleaning the metal.

– For aerospace tig welding tests, make sure to file the sheared edge of the metal.

– Degrease with acetone or other approved solvent…give the rod a wipe too.

– Follow instructions…Whether written or from you test supervisor, pay attention, read, and follow instructions.

Passing a Tig welding test is within your abilities. You just have to buckle down and get it done.

About the Author

This part is important so pay attention.

Here is some info you need to know if you’re serious about learning Tig welding techniques. While you are there sign up for my newsletter and learn about laser welding jewelry.

tig welding stainless steel 3/4 inch pipe.

tig welding stainless steel to mild steel

Hobart Handler 210 vs Millermatic   by Easy Metal Works

The Hobart Handler 210 is the portable (weighing only 76.5 lb or 34.8 kg, so you can take it easily from jobsite to jobsite) MIG welder that has maximum of 210 amps of welding power for handling 3/8 inch thick mild steel and enough control for 24 Gauge material. It is designed to handle a variety of materials including mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. The ease of connecting an optional direct plug-in spool gun expands the capability of the Handler 210 for aluminum welding.

It has enhanced magnetics and infinite wire feed speed control offers easier fine control of the output parameters for improved arc performance with less spatter, resulting in a better bead appearance and less cleanup.

If you have to do aluminum works, you have probably heard that TIG is the right choice for that. Not this time – Handler 210 welds aluminum as well as steel. You do get a bit of black but that easily wipes off as the magnesium in the aluminum oxidizes.

Ergonomics & Safety. Built-in contactor for easy use is also an excellent safety feature which makes wire electrically “cold” when not welding. You will have easy access to polarity changeover includes storage holes for spare tips. Dual groove drive rolls make it easy to switch between .023/.025-Inch (0.6 mm) and .030 to .035-Inch (0.8 – 0.9 mm) wire. And self-resetting thermal overload and motor protection prevents overheating.

Comparison. The Hobart 210 and similar Millermatic equivalents (Millermatic 180, 210, 211) have pretty much the same output, duty cycle and they use the same drive mechanisms. The feel and weld quality should be virtually identical. So what are the differences?

The Millermatic is a dual voltage machine that can operate on 230 or 115 volts. That means it would be easy to take it to a buddy’s house and weld lighter materials by plugging into a standard 115 volt circuit (20 amp service). However in order to take it with you, it should to be light. Millermatic does not fall into that category and also costs up to two times as much.

Millermatic offers adjustable voltage up to 7 positions, which might seem as a big plus, however experts sometimes consider infinitely adjustable voltage control not to be an advantage over the tapped voltage units. Tapped voltage units are easier to setup and get the arc dialed in.

The Millermatic will be of a slightly better build quality since Miller now owns Hobart and sells the Hobart as a lower cost alternative to the Millermatic line. They don’t usually skimp where it really counts though. Things like the drive mechanism will most likely be identical.

Hobart also offers more current for welding aluminum, so if you are uncertain so far but are planning to work mostly with aluminum go for Hobart. Spool gun coming with Hobart is the Miller Spoolmate 3035 equivalent.

About the Author

This article has been written by producers of Easy Metal Works – product resource and review website dedicated to Hobart welding and cutting equipement, and other metal works products. Hobart Welders tools are known for excellent quality and reliability. However, with so many product models that are offered today, it is hard to choose which one is the most appropriate for your needs and budget

tig welding stainless steel 3/4 inch pipe.

tips on tig welding stainless steel pipe

Weld Steel Pipe To Stainless Steel Pipe   by Lucy

The standard welding processes TIG, MIG, and stick are all capable of welding carbon steel pipe to stainless steel pipe. Standard carbon E-class welding electrodes like E70 for MIG or 7018 for stick will hold the pipe together, but the weld will be compromised by the lack of chromium and nickel in the alloy.

Therefore a high-carbon stainless steel electrode must be used to seal the weld joint. 309 welding electrodes offer the correct composition to ensure that the weld has proper penetration and structural integrity.

Cut the end off of the welding wire protruding from the welding tip of the MIG welder with the wire cutters. Back spool the welding wire to remove the wire from the MIG gun and lead. Remove the spool of wire. Spool the MIG welder with the 309 welding wire.

Exchange the gas with the three part shielding gas mixture. Before attaching the three part shielding gas, lay the gas bottle on its side and roll the tank back and forth for two minutes to ensure a thorough mixing of the gas. Attach the gas gauges to the three-part gas bottle.

Turn on the MIG welder and set the heat and wire speed. Due to the higher amount of heat required to weld stainless steel, your standard heat settings for carbon steel will be inadequate. Look in your welding guide to determine an initial test setting for your heat and wire speed. Run a test pass with the welder to ensure that the settings are correct.

Cut two pieces of stainless steel pipe and two pieces of carbon steel pipe 4 inches long to use as test pieces. Mark the pipe with the permanent marker and the pipe wrap. Cut the pipe with the band saw. When cutting the stainless steel, reduce the speed and use cutting fluid to keep the band saw blade cool.

Attach the hard grinding wheel to the grinder. Place a 20-degree bevel on end of the cut test pieces of pipe with the grinder. Hold the grinder at a consistent 20 degrees to give you an even fill line. Take care when grinding the pipe. Heat builds quickly especially on stainless steel pipe. The pipe will get hot enough to produce burns in a matter of seconds.

Place one beveled end of the steel pipe against a beveled end of the stainless steel pipe. Allow a 1/16th weld gap between the two pieces of pipe. Place a tack in the weld joint to hold the pipe together. Roll the pipe and place a tack every inch around the entire circumference of the pipe. Ensure that at each tack you hold the 1/16th inch weld gap.

Weld the pipe together. Start the weld on the stainless steel pipe and pull the puddle onto the carbon steel pipe. Roll your MIG gun in a circle to flow the puddle, dropping 1/8th of an inch at each down stroke to create a nice “roll of dimes” weld. Watch the bottom of the weld to ensure proper penetration. If you find that the carbon pipe is under-cutting, reduce the heat on your MIG welder and try again. When reducing the amount of heat fails to reduce the undercut, quicken the up stroke of your circle to pull the heat away from the steel pipe.

About the Author

Stainlesssteelseamlesspipe.net is The TOP 1 Stainless steel pipe store,we sell Stainless steel,you can buy Stainless steel and seamless pipe from us.

tig welding stainless steel 3/4 inch pipe.

Tips On Tig Welding Stainless Steel

Tips for Tig Welding Stainless Steel using Pulse Settings

Tig Welding Stainless Steel Jobs Sc

Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4 Vs Subaru Legacy GT-B