No more arc welding

[Barryh]

You'll be surprised what he will be able to accomplish with the torch. We will see the true meaning of Artist!

For anyone who has never welded with a torch, it is time for you to try it out. The goggles are lighter, so you can see better. The flame is alive. The metal melts slowly at first, and once you have that puddle you push it along with the flame. Pushing liquid metal with a flame! What's cooler than that? If the puddle gets too small, you can add some filler by melting a rod into the puddle as you go. It is a two handed operation; one hand moving the torch in a rolling or circlular pattern and the other hand dipping the rod into the flame and puddle. What is really cool is a welding a nice clean joint where you don't need any filler at all. You just melt the two together. If any of you get the chance, pick up some 1/8 steel sheets and just play around with it. It really is fun. And it is so much more quiet than arc welding and no splatter or slag. Man, I gotta do some flame welding after I get that backhoe done.

I can still remember doing a lot of it in high school, it was a lot of fun like watching red lava flow, and the key word here is quiet along with relaxing. The only noisy part is the the quick pop of the ignition....

 

[BobRip]

The articles that I read seemed concerned about the leads and not just the transformers. They said stay at least two feet (that is the distance to pace maker) away from the leads. I think you can easily put enough distance from the transformers to the pace maker, but the leads need to be pretty close. I talked to J & S welding today (they sell the Henrob) and the owner has a friend who continues to arc weld with a pacemaker. My decision is made and I think the Henrob may be better in at least some respects than the MIG. I will not be getting rid of the MIG yet, though.

Any opinions on storing the cylinders in the attached garage?

 

[Gravy]

The arc itself is probably a dandy source of electromagnetic radiation/radio frequency interference. I seem to recall reading a reference to "spark transmitter radio".

There are tiny OA torches made specifically for welding thin materials. Here's an example from McMaster: Part# 7932A12.

Oops- gotta get back to work...

Gravy

 

[bryan r hively]

gas welding is by no means a replacement for arc welding. im a iron worker from youngstown ohio and i have a few years experince with both proceses. your normal evey day welding is usally done with 7018 in either 1/8 inch or 3/32 rod and one square inch of 7018 will hold 70,000 lbs. i really dont think you'll come remotley close with gas welding. gas welding is great for brazzing and soldering, works rather well for brazzing cast iron. i would suggest hirring your welding out or maybe find a vocational student that would do it for the experince.

bryan r hively
journeyman iron worker

 

[BobRip]

gas welding is by no means a replacement for arc welding. im a iron worker from youngstown ohio and i have a few years experince with both proceses. your normal evey day welding is usally done with 7018 in either 1/8 inch or 3/32 rod and one square inch of 7018 will hold 70,000 lbs. i really dont think you'll come remotley close with gas welding. gas welding is great for brazzing and soldering, works rather well for brazzing cast iron. i would suggest hirring your welding out or maybe find a vocational student that would do it for the experince.

bryan r hively
journeyman iron worker

Bryan, thanks for the comments. I don't plan to do massive amount of welding, but we will just have to see. I played with the Henrob today and make some terrible welds, some bad welds, and some not too terrible welds. I was able to weld 1/4 inch scrap pieces together. I need a lot of practice, but I will keep trying.

Could you be a little more specific about the limits of gas welding? I understand that it is slower, but I don't know the other limits.

 

[BobRip]

I did a little practice welding with the Henrob 2000 today. I like it in that you can control the material feed separately from heating at the weld sight. With MIG you have to stop and make an adjustment. I am having trouble keeping from leaving holes in the weld where the torch pushes the material away from the heating sight. Does anyone have suggestions? I have attached a couple of pictures.

I clamped one piece in the vice and tried to break the weld with a hammer and was unsuccessful.

 

[cqaigy2]

I did a little practice welding with the Henrob 2000 today. I like it in that you can control the material feed separately from heating at the weld sight. With MIG you have to stop and make an adjustment. I am having trouble keeping from leaving holes in the weld where the torch pushes the material away from the heating sight. Does anyone have suggestions? I have attached a couple of pictures.

I clamped one piece in the vice and tried to break the weld with a hammer and was unsuccessful.

First off that's not too bad for your first try at a vertical weld with you new gear. You may want to rig up some kinda table for practice instead of using the side of your house like that.

Anyway, what size tip did you use and how much pressure?

 

[MossRoad]

I did a little practice welding with the Henrob 2000 today. I like it in that you can control the material feed separately from heating at the weld sight. With MIG you have to stop and make an adjustment. I am having trouble keeping from leaving holes in the weld where the torch pushes the material away from the heating sight. Does anyone have suggestions? I have attached a couple of pictures.

I clamped one piece in the vice and tried to break the weld with a hammer and was unsuccessful.

You can change the angle of the flame, lower the pressure of the gas so it doesn't blow too hard, use a filler rod to block the flame, etc...

Have you picked up a book on flame welding, yet?

 

[BobRip]

Cqaigy2, I used the number 2 tip. The pressure was 4 psi. That's what they recommend for all welding. I did not even burn the house. I had actually used the torch earlier and am getting a little better each time I try.

Moss, I do not have a book, just the manual from Henrob and also the Haines welding manual. I wonder if a book would work given the differences beween this torch and others, although your suggestions sounded appropriate. Actually J&S Enterprises recommends a book. I will call them tomorrow and see about ordering it. I have watched their CD several times. This helps, but not enough. Thanks for the suggestion. I now believe that this torch will do what I need to have done. I should probably use an entire tank of gas just to practice on. Today I also modified my 2 inch receiver on the back of the PT. I widened the slots for the chain connection points. That was easy to do, but not as neat as I would have liked. I find if I use a narrower oxygen tip than recommended, I can cut a narrower slot and get a better cut.

 

[MossRoad]

I was wondering, since you cannot use an arc welder anymore, can you still use electric power tools, like a saws all? What about an air compressor and air tools? Drill press, etc...? I do not have any air tools but an impact wrench, but I have seen some great cutting with an air die grinder and cut off wheels.