Rehmann welds Titanium shock horror!

[fingers99]

Here's me and the Rehmann's first attempt at welding titanium.

Pretty it aint. It would fail just about every test (see the discolouration) but, for the purpose it's intended for (flange between exhaust and carbon can) it'll do fine. Or, at least, it'll do fine after I've beaten the warping out of it (pretty much an inevitable consequence of using 1mm thick material for the flange -- an opened up section of tube -- but that's all I have!).

Trailing purge from a 2nd flowmeter, back purge from a disposable and a peanut tin with a hole poked in it in which the flange and tube sat. Filler rod was bits of scrap cut as fine as I could with shears (rod would have been better, but............).

I actually like welding this stuff: can't say I like working it, though. I'll look out for a see through blow up plastic thing to make a chamber from.

This here, not to show you what a wonderful welder I am (not ) but to say disregard the nay sayers and press on!

 

[Pete.]

If that was my first attempt at Tig welding I'd be pleased as punch

 

[wyn]

Any pics of the trailing purge you made

 

[fingers99]

I'll go and take one later, but it's really ugly. I want to try and make a curved one to better suit joining straight bits of pipe together.

I've since found out that you can buy them, but no-one is keen on disclosing prices, so I guess it's arm and leg stuff!

Here you go:

Told you it was ugly!

The principle is simple enough, a box, open one side, clamped to the torch (generally to the ceramic), filled with diffuser material (usually stainless wire wool) and with a mesh to keep it in place. Argon is introduced from the top.

Prettier one from the Miller site:

 

[brendan h]

any reason why one of thows things couldnt be used on the back of a weld on stainless or aluminium ect?

 

[fingers99]

On the back? Well, on Aluminium there's no point at all in back purging: it plain doesn't need it, although I'm not sure about magnesium.

On stainless, you really want some kind of back purge (or, at least, I do!) but you'd use some kind of fixed purging device (on pipe it's easier, just introduce argon one end with an exit hole the other). Another way is to build a dam with stainless (or even aluminium) foil. Copper pipe hacked about would probably be useful as well.

Some ideas in the Miller Titanium article.

Some of the consumables available here.

 

[hotrodder]

Yeah, trailing cups are stupidly expensive for what they are. A large gas lens would help you LOTS there Fingers and they're not expensive- lens body itself around £3 something, extra insulator that's needed is pence. Collets and ceramics are literally pence but unfortunatly this sort of thing is normally special order and the ceramics and collets come in packs so you have to buy 10pk of ceramics, 5pk of collets. If you weren't so far away you could have a ceramic or 2 (don't think my collets would fit your torch) but with postage...



In bits next to a regular gas lens set up. The large ceramic is a 3/4" bore (#12), other is a #7.



Even with only 5L/min the difference in shield quality is staggering. Crank it up to 9 or 10L/min and you get results like this...



A quick test of shielding quality for a little Ti job which reminded me to increase the pre-flow time

 

[wyn]

Wow!

Nice gas lens and some quality welding

 

[fingers99]

That is good! I'm just cutting the metal for a trailing purge to follow the torch round a tube: most of the other stuff I'll have to do on this job is just butting pipes together.

Found a supplier of small quantities of rod in the States, so I may look for a few gas lenses when the tube comes back from the benders: I've seen then the WP 17 somewhere.

 

[muskt]

Possible help from the northern colonies (Alaska)

Greetings.

I have been reading your forum for quite a while, but have never posted. I understand your pain about obtaining supplies locally. Here in Alaska, TIG supplies are somewhat limited, and expensive. I am new to TIG and have located a supplier on EBay that charges (what I consider) fair prices and is excellent to deal with. He carries lots of different sizes of most everything I have needed. I cannot say how it may go with the customs thing, but worth a look anyway.

http://stores.ebay.com/Aglevtech-com-Auctions_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsxQ3amesstQQtZkm

I hope the link works.

If it doesn't, try a search on US EBay for the following item, & you can then locate his store. 110041786458

By the way, I have some difficulty understanding some of the terms you folks use. NOT a put down, please understand, just a significant difference in the language, I guess.

Anyway, I enjoy your forum, and I continue to learn from it.

Jerry in Anchorage, Alaska (The northern colony)

 

[fingers99]

Hi Jerry

This should give a click though to the site you mention.

If you don't understand what we're prattling on about, just ask!

hotrodder, I just did a google which pointed me straight to my local welding supply house (John Davies on the Dock Road), looks like he's got some gas lenses in stock for the WP 17, so I'll pop in later in the week.

 

[hotrodder]

John Davies came up when i was searching for a stockist of large gas lenses- only listed the regular gas lenses on their site but i was looking for WP20 parts...

After lots of blank looks/responses i had to resort to ordering using weldcraft/parweld part #s, available here. Cheapest source for erTi 2 filler (1.6mm) i've found is Ti-tek @ £75ish/kg (£80 min order though). If you want to split an order let me know- 1kg would go a LONG way

For a giggle trailing shields . He's either laughing all the way to the bank or (more likely) sitting by a very quiet phone

Edit:
These look like good kit. Not come across 'em in the UK but IIRC they're not great value.

 

[fingers99]

See your point about the those trailing sheilds. Why mess about with "real" stuff when you can make more money producing "meta" kit!

Those "gas savers" do look the biz.

I'll pop in to JDs -- he's a friendly guy, always bunging me free stuff................ recognises real poverty when he sees it

 

[jugs]

For a giggle trailing shields . He's either laughing all the way to the bank or (more likely) sitting by a very quiet phone

QUOTE]

►A specially designed mesh inside the shield ensures excellent gas distribution. (hand knitted by his poor old white haired mother ? )

***Please note that prices do include shipping*** (via his Lear jet )

 

[hotrodder]

Mother!! At those prices i'd expect nothing less than hand finished by a couple of well oiled handmaidens. Complete with photographic proof!

 

[JayRS4]

Bump, Any updates on this? I`ve got a little project in the pipeline that would just be perfect in Ti