Self-Learn Welding Day 1

Today Alan, my work mate called up..., oh yeah, I was in bed still but I got up real fast. Al offered to come around to my workshop and help setup the HENROB 2000 torch and practice 4130 steel tube welding for the fuselage. We got stuck into it and connected the hose, check valves, flashback arrestors, single stage regulators and the torch tip.

At first, we had some trouble getting the gas pressures correct at the regulators. This seemed to cause me a few dramas in a few of my welds which did not penetrate due to not enough heat. My first weld broke easy. The second was brilliant, it had structure and was strong but didnt look perfect. I put the hammer on it and it broke when the tube broke. Not bad, for a second weld...

After that all my welds went down hill...but Alan's welds were nice. The reason for my bad welds, which had barely any penetration was due to the fact that the gas pressures were wrong and the flame was not long enough i.e. not hot enough.

When I fixed the gas pressure and the flame cone was longer (as it should be - approx 12mm), my welds became much better again.

Today, I learnt that ensuring that the gas pressure and flame cone is correct before starting to weld each time is very very important and must be monitored regularly. More photos are available from my web album.

Before I start welding the fuselage, I will have a certified or proffesional welder check my welding. I will possibly also attend a quick welding course held by SAAA Chapter 11.