Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions...

   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #1  

bkuhn

New member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Messages
13
Location
Colton, OR
Was hoping to get some suggestions regaridng welding pipe ends. I've done a bit of welding for repair purposes but not a lot of fabrication. This weekend I was going to start a project using pipe 1 1/2 and 2 inch which I have not used much (usually use square material). My problem is trying to figure out how to join a pipe end to a longer run of pipe (where it meets at a 90 degree angle, a T arrangement).

I've seen tools made for a drill press or mill which notch the end of the pipe in a half circle which causes it to match up perfectly. Looks great but in my case that means buying a larger drill press than I have and buying the notching tools. Not quite ready to do that yet so wondered what other options are available?

So far I'm considering just mashing the ends of the pipe with a vice so that it flattens and that will give me a flat surface to weld to the round pipe (I have a round bale feeder that was built that way) but I thought there might be better methods that I've not considered (that don't require additional tools).

Any suggestions would be greatly apprecaited.

Thanks!
Brad
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #2  
I'm not sure exactly what your doing but I joined a 4 inch galvanized to a 3 inch galvanized with a 4.5 inch angle grinder to start with then I got the better fit with a real grinder, all I did was cut a 45 degree notch in one pipe and dress it up to match, I have a picture of it in my gallery and it's a rake looking thing
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #3  
A metal hole saw, in the diameter of the pipe/tube you're welding to, will work if you have a vice big enough to hold the pipe/tube on the drill press. Another method for making a fish-mouth cut is to place the tube you want to fish-mouth in a chop saw at a 30-35 degree angle & cut either side of the end of the tube (leaving a point), then clean/open the uncut portion with a 4" hand grinder. If strength/protection isn't your first requirement (as in a roll bar/cage for instance), then flattening the end of the tube will work, it just won't be as strong as a fish-mouth cut.
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #4  
I joined (welded) many pipes teed into another making hand rails for steps at work. Just bought a hole saw the size of the pipe, centerpunched the pipe and drilled through. Use some kind of lubricant on the saw or they will burn up if you try drilling too fast or use too much pressure. After cutting through, clean of the lube, touch up and bevel the edges with a 4" grinder and the pipe should fit ready to weld. Corner and tee fittings are available that tighten with a set screw but they are expensive if you need a lot of them.
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #5  
If you'll be doing a fair amount of pipe, try one of these with a Oxy/Acetylene torch. I used one for a pipe fence and it worked great. There're a bunch of different sizes, configurations to choose from.

Shur-kut jig
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #6  
I am a pipewelder and the fastest, cheepest way to do this is to make a template out of heavy paper or gasket material that wraps around the pipe. Using a oxy/Act torch, trim an end of the pipe to get a good fit using a scrap piece of pipe. Then using the template material, mark and cut it to this piece. You then can quickly layout the other cuts.

I wish I could explain the layout on the paper/gasket with the mathematical formula here but I think I would confuse you more than help. It involves measuring the diameter of the pipe, divide it by 4 ( giving quadrants), laying out lines, and then measuring how far the joining pipe is inset to the pipe you are cutting. There is a black book you can purchase (the author is Franklin) that has this explained with diagrams. Hope this helps.


Opps .. Missed you making 90 degrees. That too can be made with a template, but that black book has a formula for laying it out for a perfect fit.
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #7  
A bi-metal hole saw the same diameter as the pipe has always been the quickest for me. I have a tube notcher that uses them for the drill press(requires a taller press to accomidate it), but if you are just doing 90 degree joints, a vise to hold the pipe in the drill press also works fine and way quicker than a grinder.
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #8  
How precise do you want them to be?

Some thoughts,

Squishing you loose strength.

At your welding shop, you can buy what is called a "pipe wrap". It is a heavy duty peice of material used for marking those cuts on the pipe.

OA torch works well.

4.5" grinder for the small pipe you are doing would work fairly quickly as well. All you have to do is get it close, not perfect assuming this is for handrails or what not.

Squishing the ends on heavy pipe can be harder than I think you think :) And doing it evenly can be very hard.

I am assuming this is all standard steel pipe, not fence posts or structural tubing?
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #9  
Torch, practice on short piece's till you get one right, then make a template and you are all set. :D

You could probably find weldets just for that purpose.:D
 
   / Novice welder looking for pipe welding suggestions... #10  
Here's a small Windows app that will let you set you size of pipe and print out a template. Haven't used it as yet but the template I made looks like it should.
 
 
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