What are you running for pps?
View attachment 51978I‘m practicing welding and wanted to get some feedback on today‘s welds. This is 0.049“ thick 4130 welded with a tig at 49A and 15cfh Argon. Where should I be looking to improve? Is the penetration adequate?View attachment 51977
I hope I dont upset you but I dont like it. .
Those old oxy fuselages can bend without cracking. New TIG ones always crack at weld when tubes bend.
The test for FAA/PMA weld certification specifically has a bend test and good TIG welds DO NOT crack at the weld. Only bad welds crack.
I have a wireless foot pedal. It's nice not dragging the cord around for that. I try to avoid welding threads as there are so many opinions I don't care to debate. The OP is looking for feedback so to me his cluster is not unsafe. If you want to emulate how Piper did it then get to practicing with .035 and .028. There is a lot of .028 in Piper fuselages. On the large cups for more "stick out", I tried 'em and don't use them. I hung around a trade show with Jody from Welding tip and tricks and he sent a kit home with me. I feel like they waste argon. My torch is an HW 20 and a gas lens most of the time but when I need to get in tight I switch to a standard collet and skinny cup that lets me into the deep clusters. Experience counts for this, I've been Tig welding since 1979. The nice looking welds you see from places like Airframes, Univair etc. is by weldors that do it all the time. I don't envy them going for long periods of time head down under the hood. That kind of work is for the younger and flexible. My old bones and arthritis have forced me into building good working rotisserie's and other jigs. Remember that powdercoating and epoxy enamel make average welding beautiful. I stay current on the ox/acet. torch too but thats another thread.
View attachment 51978I‘m practicing welding and wanted to get some feedback on today‘s welds. This is 0.049“ thick 4130 welded with a tig at 49A and 15cfh Argon. Where should I be looking to improve? Is the penetration adequate?View attachment 51977
Let's not kick a hornets nest there. I'm not a representative of Airframes nor am I even all that important. I just sell the parts and from what I've seen and know can stand behind them wholeheartedly. I don't have the time, resources, or pull to take on a measurement project like that for the sake of some petty disputes on an online forum.
The gear in question was a sample size of one. Let's also not forget that BritishCubBloke's Atlee gear didn't fit perfectly. What I can tell you with authority that not any set of gear legs ever has the tops perfectly aligned. It's the nature of trying to line up two little holes 24" apart on the ends of 29" long tubes that are heated past their melting point on both ends. You do your best to get them right but that's all you can do. And then there's the crooked old fuselage that most of the gear gets pinned into....
Let's get back to the OP's questions. This has been enough of a detour for the night.
Sorry, from you company, I’ve gotten lift struts that were INCHES LONGER than they should have been. & wrong angle... parts promised that were sold to others that were made & promised for my project... wing fittings on fuselages that are to narrow to fit wings fittings on coated..........
Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org mobile app
Let's not kick a hornets nest there. I'm not a representative of Airframes nor am I even all that important. I just sell the parts and from what I've seen and know can stand behind them wholeheartedly. I don't have the time, resources, or pull to take on a measurement project like that for the sake of some petty disputes on an online forum.
The gear in question was a sample size of one. Let's also not forget that BritishCubBloke's Atlee gear didn't fit perfectly. What I can tell you with authority that not any set of gear legs ever has the tops perfectly aligned. It's the nature of trying to line up two little holes 24" apart on the ends of 29" long tubes that are heated past their melting point on both ends. You do your best to get them right but that's all you can do. And then there's the crooked old fuselage that most of the gear gets pinned into....
Let's get back to the OP's questions. This has been enough of a detour for the night.
Sorry, from your company I’ve gotten lift struts that were INCHES LONGER than they should have been. & wrong angle... parts promised that were sold to others that were made & promised for my project... wing fittings on fuselages that are to narrow to fit wings fittings on coated..........
Also, I was using 1/16“ 70S-2 filler rod, a 1/16“ 2% ceriated tungsten, #12 pyrex cup with gas lens, stick out of about 3/4 gas cup diameter, and an on/off trigger on the torch. Although I can use my foot pedal on pieces like this the intent is to practice with the same setup I‘ll be using on the fuselage. I‘m also not using pulsing. I played around with it and thought it did offer value but the constant „flashing“ kept my eyes from being able to focus. I‘m talking the pulse flashing not flashing caused by contamination.
Someone brought up fit. I don‘t have any before pics but using my tube notcher I was able to get a reasonably tight fit up. A gap wasn‘t really present.