New Muffler for Clyde

[ranger 1,750]

If you’re going to weld a tab/lug to the pipe to attach a support strut, weld a ‘doubler’, ie, a ‘pad’ or ‘strip’ of metal to the pipe first, then weld the lug to the pad. Or make your lug from a longer piece of flat bar but bent at an angle to follow the pipe contours This reduces the chance of vibration cracking the pipe where the most stress is located, ie, the point the end of the lug is welded to the pipe. When welding thin, perhaps rusty exhaust pipe, bodywork, repairs, etc, instead of trying to run a ‘production’ type weld bead, try “pulsing” the Mig torch trigger on and off. Doing this allows you to use a slightly higher heat setting for better penetration without burning through. Pull, not push the Mig gun, maybe 1/2-1 sec on, release the trigger,  watch the weld pool cool slightly, then ‘on’ again. Practice, and you’ll soon be laying your “Stack of Dimes”! Some mig welders come with timers for ‘Stitch’ welding, but for thin metal, manually controlling the trigger seems to work well, with a bit of practice!

Edited June 24, 2023 by ranger
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[ranger 1,750]

On 6/17/2023 at 12:16 PM, Jon Paulsen said:

I also think their wire is or was dirty. I

You do know you can buy special cleaning/lubricating pads that clip over the Mig wire just before it enters the wire feed rollers? they do work. Or you can just clip a piece of “Scotchbrite”, etc, scouring pad to the wire. Anything like this helps, especially if the welder sits unused for a prolonged amount of time!

[ebinmaine 67,534]

20 minutes ago, ranger said:

‘Stitch’ welding

You can also do a more literal stitch.  

Drop a decent sized tack weld. Move half an inch. 

Repeat. 

Repeat. 

 

With a gas MIG just let it cool a bit and repeat the process between the racks to complete. 

With a Flux core welder obviously you'll need to clean the weld before completing.  

 

 

[Jon Paulsen 290]

1 hour ago, ranger said:

You do know you can buy special cleaning/lubricating pads that clip over the Mig wire just before it enters the wire feed rollers? they do work. Or you can just clip a piece of “Scotchbrite”, etc, scouring pad to the wire. Anything like this helps, especially if the welder sits unused for a prolonged amount of time!

I might dig it out one day if I need to weld some thin stuff. I might even practice on scrap  I did get a tongue jack to stick to my trailer with it. Spatter was horrid. Neighbor has a nice gas rig, but it would be nice to have something portable and quick.

 

Thanks for the tips. Appreciated! 

[ranger 1,750]

1 hour ago, Jon Paulsen said:

I might dig it out one day if I need to weld some thin stuff. I might even practice on scrap  I did get a tongue jack to stick to my trailer with it. Spatter was horrid. Neighbor has a nice gas rig, but it would be nice to have something portable and quick.

 

Thanks for the tips. Appreciated! 

One thing it’s a good idea to practice is, vertical uphill welds. Especially if you only have a Mig/flux core unit, and need to weld heavier materials, such as trailer components. If you’re welding ‘Uphill’ you will generally be putting more heat into the parent metal, which can improve penetration and fusion. Proper preparation of the material edges is also a must if whatever you’re welding could become a safety concern if it failed, ie road going trailer components,etc!

[Jon Paulsen 290]

Thanks bro. @ranger 

 

Tongue jack's only safety issue would be my foot if the weld breaks loose  It might might have a different name in the UK, but it's just a hand crank jack for when the trailer is not in use and to help hit it connected to the vehicle. 

 

I've thought about actually practicing some day  I'm usually working with thicker material and just use a stick welder. 

[8ntruck 7,007]

Good welding tips.  

 

I'm using flux core wire.  It is what I have available.  I'll agree that MIG is cleaner than flux core and maybe a better method for lighter gage material.  

 

I was trying to run a series of spot wields around the pipe, then short (1/2") breads between the spots.  Most of the blow holes happened before I turned the voltage down a notch.  I was pulling the weld on the short beads.

 

I've got enough old muffler material now that I can chop it up into a bunch of coupons and practice looking for the sweet spot in settings and technique.

[8ntruck 7,007]

I got my red status back - for 2 years this time around - so now I can post pictures again.

 

Here is the brace for the stack I came up with:

 

I'll run it for a while to make sure it works, then paint up to purdify it.  Flat black for the pipes and muffler (high temp) and Regal Red for the brace, I think.  Probably will add a tink, tink cap for fun as well.