Some more pipe welding questions

[bretsk2500]

I'm Sorry your Uncle is not Well !
I've been earning my living Welding for 42yrs. & Smoking cigaretts for longer
than that! I'm NOT saying what we did back then was Good, just that is
the way things were !
There were NO Seat Belts cars Either, Obviously that was not good either,
But that's the way things were, is all I'm Saying !!!

I've been at this almost 20 years and I've seen a HUGE difference in the way things are done. I don't know how it is in Canada, but OSHA has taken fall protection to the point where it is actually becoming a HAZARD.

He blames the lead based Tnemec paints more than the welding for the condition of his lungs.

He also says that welding up steam lines in the bowels of a ship is not a pleasant way to earn your $$...

[nfinch86]

The way we were !!

Just being alive isn't much of a positive... my uncle is still alive after a lifetime of welding on heavy construction and ships... he also only has about 30% of his lung capacity left (he's 56). If I weld galvanized (or galvalume) "naked" I can hardly breathe the next morning. If I use my North 7190N99 non-oil particulate respirator, I can breathe quite well the next morning. best part is it's only $15 and since it's considered a "dust mask" you don't have all the OSHA respirator BS to deal with. After a day of E71T wire, the white filter is the color of a carhartt jacket and not in my lungs

I'm Sorry your Uncle is not Well !
I've been earning my living Welding for 42yrs. & Smoking cigaretts for longer
than that! I'm NOT saying what we did back then was Good, just that is
the way things were !
There were NO Seat Belts cars Either, Obviously that was not good either,
But that's the way things were, is all I'm Saying !!!

Have A Good One !!

.............. Norm :

[bretsk2500]

I've been Welding Galvanized Steel since the late " 60's "
and I'm still alive
Back then we used to Weld Galvanized Boat & Ski-do Trailers
with No real ventilation, to the point where it looked like it was
Snowing in the shop !!

Just being alive isn't much of a positive... my uncle is still alive after a lifetime of welding on heavy construction and ships... he also only has about 30% of his lung capacity left (he's 56). If I weld galvanized (or galvalume) "naked" I can hardly breathe the next morning. If I use my North 7190N99 non-oil particulate respirator, I can breathe quite well the next morning. best part is it's only $15 and since it's considered a "dust mask" you don't have all the OSHA respirator BS to deal with. After a day of E71T wire, the white filter is the color of a carhartt jacket and not in my lungs

[wronghand]

Stop-start is the way to go. Even if your first past just looks like a whole bunch of tacks right next to each other. You can always run a second quick pass downhand over top of it as a cover pass.

[nfinch86]

Galvanized !!

Thanks for the thoughts so far guys.

I very carefully grind off the top layer of metal so there should be no zinc coating there at all. Should I still be using acid or will the grinding do the trick ?

Norm - I didn't quite even think about the stop and start thing. Maybe something else for me to play with.

I am welding downhill here.

The gate didn't rust out. I hit a piece of it with my snowblower auger while clearing snow with my tractor. Got a little to close to it.

Norm, I'm in Queensville, ON - north and east of Newmarket. It would cost me less to replace the gate than to have a pro like you come and weld it up for me! I figured I'm stubborn and willing to learn so I'm going to putter around with it until it is done or until my wife MAKES me buy another gate from TSC.

new2weld, Hi; I'd just grind it. Ther's NO WAY I'd be messing with Acid !!
Maybe that's just me ??
I've been Welding Galvanized Steel since the late " 60's "
and I'm still alive
Back then we used to Weld Galvanized Boat & Ski-do Trailers
with No real ventilation, to the point where it looked like it was
Snowing in the shop !!


As far as the Stop-Start Meathod I refered to before, it Does Not
Matter if it's UP, DOWN, or Sideways!! You can Fill Almost Any Gap
doing it that way !!

............... Norm :

[new2weld]

Thanks for the thoughts so far guys.

I very carefully grind off the top layer of metal so there should be no zinc coating there at all. Should I still be using acid or will the grinding do the trick ?

Norm - I didn't quite even think about the stop and start thing. Maybe something else for me to play with.

I am welding downhill here.

The gate didn't rust out. I hit a piece of it with my snowblower auger while clearing snow with my tractor. Got a little to close to it.

Norm, I'm in Queensville, ON - north and east of Newmarket. It would cost me less to replace the gate than to have a pro like you come and weld it up for me! I figured I'm stubborn and willing to learn so I'm going to putter around with it until it is done or until my wife MAKES me buy another gate from TSC.

[Bareback Jack]

You're going downhill right? Lets you go faster with less heat input....Just a thought.

[Bodybagger]

The zinc coating is making it much easier to burn through. Remove the zinc with muriatic acid, rinse well and heat dry. Use .023 wire, 75/25. I weld this stuff with .045 E71T-GS flux core no problem after removing the zinc. Paint with cold galvanizing paint after cool down.

One other thing is that ANY RUST will cause burnthrough. Did it get hit with a truck or did it rust apart? Gonna be hard/impossible to weld this thin stuff if it rusted apart.

[nfinch86]

Pipe Welding:

new2weld, Hi; First where in S.Ont. are you ?

Secondly Yes .023 will give you more control on lighter gauges !
With a Mig Welder you can stop , start , almost like spot welding,
you should be able to Fill a Gap with No Problems !!

Also Remember i Do Mobile Welding !!!

........... Norm :

[fabricator]

One thing among many would be to use tig wire as a filler to help with the gaps while mig welding.(or a clothes hanger)

[new2weld]

I'm not (yet) having much success in my current project ... but I think I am close.

Repairing a farm gate made of galvanized steel pipe. The pipe is 1.5" - I'm guessing 14 or 16 guage.

Welder is a MM210 with 0.030 wire. I'm running it as low heat as I can - tap 1 wire speed 15 to 18. I'm just doing stringer beads

What I find is:
- It is REAL easy for me to burn a hole through the pipe if the fitup isn't 100% perfect.
- Even when the fitup is 100% perfect, I've got to run the bead pretty fast and given how small the bead is its kinda tough to stay right on the joint. Standard newbie stuff I guess... much less margin for error here than the 1/4" and 1/2" steel I've been welding so far.

So far I am just practicing with scrap pipe that I picked up of a similar size and guage. Figured I might as well not move on to the actual gate until I can consistently stop burning holes!

I think I will do fine if the fit up is perfect and I run fast and allow LOTS of cooling time between beads. Maybe doing each joint 1/4 circle at a time.

HOWEVER... two of the joints I need to make is when one pipe joins another at 90 degrees. Its going to be pretty dang hard to get a fit up that is 100% on those joints. I'll do my best to grind with a angle grinder and a Dremel but I'm willing to bet that there will be a small gap or two.

Any suggestions to help me with this project?

One thought I did have is that I could put that spoolgun I got with the machine but have never used and kept because you guys told me to hang onto it :-) to use here. Perhaps put a small roll of 0.023 wire - would need some tips of that size. I'm guessing that would let me run a bit colder?

I ain't about to give up and buy a new farm gate so thanks in advance for any help!