Welding Inside Cylinder Head Intake Runners

admin

Looking for some help from someone that has done this before. im welding the floors up in sbc aluminum heads problem is i cant get seem to get into the runner further then about an inch. my torch is a standard weldcraft wp-17. i see they make some small 70 and 90 degree heads for it but i cant find them locally and i dont wanna waste my money mail ordering them and them turning out to be too large still. what are u guys doing to get in there.. thanks
Reply:How far do you want to get into them?I bought a microtorch that allows access but amperage limit on torch is too low to allow welding on thick areas. Only solution was to heat head to 450 and weld hot. At temp amperage requirements drop down.600 degrees will anneal head- be careful.Peter
Reply:would like to be able to get in about 2.5 inches give or take a little bit. so far seems i have to run my machine at 175 amps without preheating. what micro set up do you have?
Reply:Air/gas cooled micro torches are pretty limited amperage wise, several choices (inc water cooled) at http://www.weldcraft.com/products/wp-series/. I have a wp-24w for those tight spots, the aircooled version is very limited on amperage thoughWatercooled torches are less restricted on amperage, CK do a nice one... http://www.ckworldwide.com/micro_torch.htm but it ain't cheap.
Reply:Originally Posted by tourillegalwould like to be able to get in about 2.5 inches give or take a little bit. so far seems i have to run my machine at 175 amps without preheating. what micro set up do you have?
Reply:I have had success in this endeavor by removing the gas lens and cup off a machine tig torch and flooding the runner with argon. Its like welding in a gas chamber.  no direct gas shielding is needed as all the atmosphere is displaced with the argon envelope. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by Fat BastardI have had success in this endeavor by removing the gas lens and cup off a machine tig torch[/URL] and flooding the runner with argon. Its like welding in a gas chamber.  no direct gas shielding is needed as all the atmosphere is displaced with the argon envelope.
Reply:No direct ill affect that I have ever seen.