O/A tack, finish with tig later...

admin

Hey Everyone,Ok, So my tig is broken and I don't have the money for the new one yet..  I'm working on an airplane fuselage (experimental aircraft project of mine).  I don't really want to O/A weld the entire thing, will I run into problems if I were to tack the 4130 tubing with an O/A torch and then later finish weld it with tig.  I was planning on either using RG45 or RG60 to do the tack welds with the O/A torch and then later finish welding with either ER70S-2 or ER80S-D2 with the tig..  I have never tacked with an O/A torch then finished with a TIG.  Does anyone see any problems that I might have?Thanks for the help,DanielEsab TradeMaster TorchSmith AW1A Airline TorchLincoln AC/DC 225/125Millermatic 252 w/ Spoolmatic 15aThermal Arc 190 GTSSpeedGlas 9100v
Reply:Originally Posted by PilotDanHey Everyone,Ok, So my tig is broken and I don't have the money for the new one yet..  I'm working on an airplane fuselage (experimental aircraft project of mine).  I don't really want to O/A weld the entire thing, will I run into problems if I were to tack the 4130 tubing with an O/A torch and then later finish weld it with tig.  I was planning on either using RG45 or RG60 to do the tack welds with the O/A torch and then later finish welding with either ER70S-2 or ER80S-D2 with the tig..  I have never tacked with an O/A torch then finished with a TIG.  Does anyone see any problems that I might have?Thanks for the help,Daniel
Reply:Seems like you could generate porosity when remelt the OA with GTAW, not sure that this is an issuse, but one that I would watch out for.
Reply:can you grind the o/a tacks out after acertain amount of tigging has been done?
Reply:I guess worse case you could take with the O/A, then tack in different spots with the TIG when its running and grind out the old tacks.You might be able to get away without doing it that way, but I dont think I would risk it with an experimental aircraft. Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Thanks for all the help guys, especially makoman1860!  I've got the tig fixed now, but I think I'm going to spend some time welding with Oxy/fuel!  I've got my new Smith AW1A and I'm having a blast with it!!!Esab TradeMaster TorchSmith AW1A Airline TorchLincoln AC/DC 225/125Millermatic 252 w/ Spoolmatic 15aThermal Arc 190 GTSSpeedGlas 9100v
Reply:Originally Posted by PilotDanThanks for all the help guys, especially makoman1860!  I've got the tig fixed now, but I think I'm going to spend some time welding with Oxy/fuel!  I've got my new Smith AW1A and I'm having a blast with it!!!
Reply:Yea, its going to be perfect for me!  Thanks so much!DanEsab TradeMaster TorchSmith AW1A Airline TorchLincoln AC/DC 225/125Millermatic 252 w/ Spoolmatic 15aThermal Arc 190 GTSSpeedGlas 9100v
Reply:If you want to take even more weight off of the torch, pick up the kevlar smith versa-torch hose, or the TM lightweight hose from Kent White. Makes life even nicer!
Reply:Hey Aaron,A friend let me borrow a lightweight leader hose, and it is awesome!!  I ordered the kevlar smith versa torch hose...  = )  Should be really cool!  What filler do you recommend for welding this thin gauge 4130 tubing?  I've noticed that some people prefer RG45 and some like RG60..  Other than RG60 being stronger, is there an advantage to using one over the other?  1/16th inch rod seems good to me...?Thanks,DanEsab TradeMaster TorchSmith AW1A Airline TorchLincoln AC/DC 225/125Millermatic 252 w/ Spoolmatic 15aThermal Arc 190 GTSSpeedGlas 9100v
Reply:Originally Posted by PilotDanHey Aaron,A friend let me borrow a lightweight leader hose, and it is awesome!!  I ordered the kevlar smith versa torch hose...  = )  Should be really cool!  What filler do you recommend for welding this thin gauge 4130 tubing?  I've noticed that some people prefer RG45 and some like RG60..  Other than RG60 being stronger, is there an advantage to using one over the other?  1/16th inch rod seems good to me...?Thanks,Dan
Reply:Awesome, thanks for all the info Aaron!  I think RG-45 is the way to go (unless the print specifies otherwise in areas).  In Kent White's video, they used mostly RG-45 and sometimes RG-60.  They did say RG-45 is primarily the filler of choice.  I can't wait to get started (lots of practice first though)!talk to you later Aaron,DanP.S. - Thanks so much for all your help!Esab TradeMaster TorchSmith AW1A Airline TorchLincoln AC/DC 225/125Millermatic 252 w/ Spoolmatic 15aThermal Arc 190 GTSSpeedGlas 9100v
Reply:Aaron,Oh yea, I wanted to tell you something crazy I seen the other day.  A budy and I flew into Iola (Central County Airport (68C)) to have lunch.  Anyways, my budy is an A&P with IA and an all around airplane nut.. lol  So we were walking around looking at airplanes and found a piper vagabond that someone had flown in.  Right away my budy noticed a really bad crack in the aft tube of the right landing gear.  So we got looking closer at the gear and found the other side had a crack that had an "illegal repair" done.  I wish I could have taken a picture of this crack on the right gear.  Anyways, the crack was right next to the weld bead, but not across the weld (is this the HAZ area?).  The crack had progressed around 3/4's of the way around the tube and one more hard landing probably would have turned into a crash.  Anyways, they tracked down the owner and he was appreciative of them finding the damage and the plane is grounded til its repaired now.  Would a piper vagabond have been oxyfuel welded with probably RG-45?  It was interesting to see a failure in a part like that to see how the tube bent a little, then the crack formed (maybe at the same time) and then the crack worked its way around the tube.DanEsab TradeMaster TorchSmith AW1A Airline TorchLincoln AC/DC 225/125Millermatic 252 w/ Spoolmatic 15aThermal Arc 190 GTSSpeedGlas 9100v