First project with my tig

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The neighbor asked if I could make him a battery box for a quad he bought for his son. Sure why not. A little angle iron and my precision tig 275. This was my first time using the tig for anything other then practicing on scrap.  The fit up wasn't as nice as I would have liked it. It was my first attempt at notching the angle iron instead of doing mitered corners. I think I'll go back to miters.  Some of my beads were concave  and some were stuck out. I don't know what I was doing different to get the different results. Anyways I'm diggin tiggin.1/8" thick angle iron,  3/32 tungsten (red paint on the end), 1/16 filler er70s, not sure of the cup number it's the only one I have as it came on the torch when I got it.  It's no more then a 3/8" opening, 100% argon, 85 amps.
Reply:Part of your issue is you didn't lay out the copes correctly. Look at this pict how dhem here coped his angle. You simply notched the bottom leg, but did not notch the vertical side as he did in the left hand piece. Also note he rounded the inside corner on the left hand piece where it meets the right hand angle.One advantage of doing this besides more weld surface, is that if you need to make a slight adjustment in the angle, it's no big deal. With a miter, if your saw is off or you have to make an adjustment, you can end up with a huge gap.Because you didn't fit the cope correctly, you ended up with two different types of joints. The ones on the bottom of your cope in pict 1 were all but joints with little or no gap for the most part, while the vertical corners had a V in the outside corners that needed filling.Last edited by DSW; 12-18-2012 at 07:08 AM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Welcome to tig welding! Good start, but with tig you should clean the metal shiny and wipe down with acetone or I use alcohol. Make sure the fit up is right and if it's not get it right! This is precision welding, it's unique that way! Have fun and keep us in the loop. No project too small!Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Hey, CCFD.I agree with the good comments from both DSW and Eliot, but at the end of the day - it's a battery box. And I feel sure it will be more than adequate to hold the battery. Like you, I'm always looking for projects so I can practice welding. Whether it is MIG, stick, or TIG, they all take a lot of practice, practice, and more practice. So while we all want to do it better, prettier, or more structurally sound if it works for its intended purpose it is a sucessful project. Next time I'm sure you will cope and fit better, and clean the metal more, and probably your beads will be better. This time, prime it good and paint it and your neighbor will be happy. Merry Christmas. Keep posting projects.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:on some of those uprights,  it looks like you do not have full penetration welds.   not an issue for this application but would be something to work on improving next time.   if not doing a root gap, go for more heat or slower travel etc...   Just something to try on your next project...    each different thickness of metal will take a bit of practice to find out what settings get you the best resultsTiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Thank you all for the comments. I will work on my coping skills and prepping the weld areas better.  My questions now are how much area around where you're going to be welding do you clean?  Say you wanted to just run a simple practice bead on top of a piece of plate, would you want the material clean 1/4" or 1/2" or less/more beyond the toes on each side?  Corner joints??  When would you want to make an open outside corner joint versus closed?  I made my outsides open because I thought that was what you're supposed to do. Does it differ with the process?  Mig vs tig?
Reply:prep 1/4" to 1/2" on all sides of the area to be welded is plenty. Many times it's easier to do larger areas though.As far as corners, depends. There's nothing wrong with doing an open V corner. My point was that you had two different joint configurations, hence the beads on each will look a bit different. The other point is that coped corners aren't all that hard and usually if done right, you get better fit up. As far as when you would do one over the other, that depends on what you need to do. A V or open corner will give you more penetration than a butted corner usually. If you need to keep the weld equal or less than the corner, a V'd or open corner will give you more weld area and less grinding. On the other hand time might be a bigger factor and you may not need to grind down the weld, then you might be better off simply cutting and butting them together. Or it might be simpler with thicker materials to but them tight, but grind a small bevel on the pieces....No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan