Warped

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I 'm teaching myself to tigweld, finding a lot of help in the Internet.Unfortunately I didn't learn, what I was taught I'm making a stand for my tabledrill, welding a 10"x13"x 5/4" plate of mild steel to a 9" pipe with a 1/4" wall thicknessI got too excited and kept on welding, instead of backtracing and changing spots, and the plate got too hot and warped. Kicking myself doesn't seem to help, so I've decided to try and reheat it on the other side. I intend to use a gas torch with a narrow flame on the opposite side of the weld. I was hoping someone could give me a pointer as to how hot I should make it. I do have an infrared thermo reader, or I can use a redhot scale.Last edited by WikingWelder; 12-25-2011 at 10:05 AM.
Reply:I can't help you on how to "un warp", but I can show you how I pre stressed some pipe ends.1/4" aluminum disk 6" OD.  11" x 1/4" 304 stainless pipe flange I made to have a 5' long  5" stainless pipe to it.   I turned the bolts in one turn after finger tight.  It worked, The pipes I welded the end to were exact length.  DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:You said you tig welded it?If this is the case what size tungsten did you use?My guess would be you may have had to sit their for quite awhile getting it hot enough for fusion, try 1/8tungsten at least and cut free your old welds and straighten the work or redo it.With tig punch it and go stop when it gets to hot to allow cooling.
Reply:I just realize I made an error - the plate is 5/8" thick not 5/4"  Still a pretty thick plate though.Perhaps it would be more correct to say that it es bent, rather than warped, since it is one directional.David R thanks for your input on how to avoid it next time.Pistolnoon, I used a 3/32 tungsten with a very short point and about 200-220 Amps, not much waiting I can assure you, but in the end to much accumulated heat.I really don't fancy cutting it off and trying again and I'd still have to straighten the plate. I simply haven't got a hammer big enough and would still have to use heat, so why not leave it on. I could of course cut it off and weld the pipe to the other side, hoping for the same amount of bend to put it back to being straight
Reply:DONE!Thanks to Hotrodder's tip in a UK forum I found the knowledge and the courage to do what I intended to in the first place.I used O/A to heat the plate on the opposite side of the welding, using a very narrow flame and trying not to melt the iron (for appearances sake). Discolouration is easier to grind away than melted scars.I then left it to cool and were pleased that it had helped. I did several turns, and eventually the plate was almost flat again.Here are some pictures to illustrate the task. Attached ImagesLast edited by WikingWelder; 03-04-2012 at 02:34 PM.