Pics of OA Welds

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Hello all,I would like to see some pictures of good OA welding.  I'm just curious as to the quality of weld that can be produced with OA... maybe on 1/4"?Thanks!
Reply:heres one that I think looks pretty decent.  It was wire brushed to clean it up a bit.Now, back to the game.  Bears are in the lead allready. Attached ImagesVarious GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:A good Oxy acetylene weld will look much like a TIG weld with a light scale on the surface.  It is not practical to weld 1/4 inch this way if you are being paid by the hour.  I can remember sitting at a bench doing dozens of steel radiator pipe elbows for Western Star trucks in the Eighties.  A good oxy-acetylene welder can pick up how to TIG weld in only a few hours.  His biggest task is to learn how to adjust the machine since the motor skills are almost identical.  The last time I saw a OAW pressure pipe test being done was in 1984.  Some employers at the time made it a requirement as a way to reduce the number of applicants.
Reply:I heard Pacific Gas and Electric still uses OA welding for their gas pipes.
Reply:And why not?  Alls you need is a good #3 tip and away you go.  It takes a little bit longer, but nothing to write home about.  It is harder to O/A than Tig.  Tig, the heats more controlled (not just the foot pedal mind you) and even.  O/A you gotta bounce around, the puddle displaces from the cone, and the heat is broadened over the workpiece.  Its a challenge to say the least.  Ive seen some stuff welded up in the early 1900s that look phenomenal.  Have no idea how they made such pretty welds with such crappy equipment..  I am no expert, and I truly believe it takes years to get really proficient with gas (not just flat horizontal, but vertical, overhead, odd shapes etc).  That goes for free hand cutting.  I was tickled to death with that particular weld since I hadnt done an edge on and the thicknesses were 3/8 and 1/4.  Thats why theres a pic of it If your getting good penetration, have good fill, dont boil the puddle, its gonna be a good weld.  Its not gonna be as pretty and concise as a tig weld.  At least not for some time, and when you do one, post a pic so we can all ooo and ahh.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:It was a Gas company in Canada that required all their contractors to gas weld test on three inch pipe in the Eighties.  These guys could not make money doing it the hard way.  Most were from Alberta and had long abandoned gas welding for stick.  I was told that when the suit and ties were around out came the torches but that only lasted until they were out of sight.  These pipeliners were highly skilled and two passes around the small pipe with stick made a highly serviceable joint.  Most of that pipe today is plastic.   Engineers and codes are always being dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age.  It never changes in my expereince.  Right now in the shop I am in we have pulse wire feed  machines.  Code prevents us from using the procedure unless we go through a massive testing dance.
Reply:Wow, I guess it makes sense from a production standpoint, but for just piddling in a garage on a home project or repair, I think its a good alternative.  I like the challenge, and Id like to one day duplicate that weld I saw on 1/2 inch no less. Im sure some ship builders have seen that kinda o/a weld.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Wow, that is an impressive weld.  It's much better than I expected - but it was what I was hoping!I am currently saving up to get a OA torch set for home/hobby use - some table frame building that would use heavier sections such as 1/4" - but most of the work will be brazing on pipe. I looked at buying a welder first, but I think that for versatility - OA is the way to go off the starting line.  And for cost - other than the traditional tombstone welder - a good stick / tig welder is just plain more expensive!Thanks for the info!
Reply:Don't beat me up too bad, I know I still need a lot of practice. Here's a little 4x4 box I made with 16 gauge steel, welded with O/A 70s2 1/16 rod. Attached Images
Reply:They say Oxy acetylene  should be the first welding you learn.Soldering- Brazing- Gas Welding -Oxy Flame Cutting- Heating & FormingI think its similar to most other kinds of welding.Isnt Oxy acetylene  welding used on airplanes & race cars?I think you can do more things with Oxy acetylene  than any other type of welding.Be sure you know all about your saftey with Oxy acetyleneOxy acetylene  is really handy
Reply:O/A is very good to learn and is very versatile when working steel. However, it gets expensive when having to buy 2 bottles, especially with the price of Acetylene now-a-days. If I'm not mistaken most aviation sub structures are TIG welded and Race cars can be welded with whatever the fabrication team uses. I think INDY and Formula 1 is mostly TIG because of the material used - chromoly, titanium, light alloys.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Those kinda things (race cars and planes) are welded  by whatever the welder got certified on(maybe not race cars, but on aircraft they have pretty strict rules).  Anyhow, good luck and keep practicing.  I drug out the torch yesterday and laid the ugliest bead you ever saw.  Just off my game I suppose, but thats what keeps me having at it.  That looks great O.C.D. for using a tig rod (it chunks up and doesnt flow well for me).  Just goes to show you its pretty versatile.  BTW, I tiged a little bead with some left over Rg45 and it looked fine and didnt boil up or anything.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:4130 chromemoly was designed originally to be gas welded.  That is not politically correct now but there are an awful lot of planes still flying that used gas welded 4130.Thermal Arc 185 TigHTP 200 MigCraftsman O/A1942 Bridgeport Mill12 Ton Hyd PressConsew Walking Foot
Reply:Almost ALL small aircraft built 4130 tubing are O/A welded. There are a few of recent years that are TIG'd and maybe some certified A/C may now me MIG'd. Any small plane old enough to be fabric covered will be O/A 4130 tube construction. Attached ImagesNot a beginner, not a pro !
Reply:Planewelder:  That's a pretty impressive frame!And, thanks for the pictures everyone - One more question out of curiosity... Is is possible to build up an OA weld on a thick plate, similar to building up a weld with stick, or are there too many issues with heat, etc?Thanks all!
Reply:Not for sure but wasnt alot of the WWII planes made with O/A?A good welder with O/A hard to beat- least what I heard
Reply:Whats that bird?  Looks like a piper cub..(some of em look real similar).Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Here´s one I did long time ago when learning OA...Not nicely brushed but you get the idea...1/4 plate and 1/8 wall tube, 3/4 OD... and almost  4 weeks later stored in a dirty room Attached ImagesLast edited by elvergon; 04-12-2007 at 01:23 AM.My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I have a good friend who was a pipefitter in the Navy. He was one of only a few in his area certified on nuclear piping on submarines. All of it was done OA. He could make some of the best looking welds Ive ever laid my eyes on. Boy he made the jack doing that kind of work to when he got out of the Navy. Then he let his family talk him into coming back to the family plumbing buisness
Reply:Originally Posted by Ron HicksNot for sure but wasnt alot of the WWII planes made with O/A?A good welder with O/A hard to beat- least what I heard
Reply:In 1968 I worked on a power station construction in New Zealand, I was an apprentice at the time, the part we worked on was the piping for the turbine, it was being done by a German company AEG, boy I thought I knew it all about O/A welding (as all apprentices do). I soon found out I knew diddley squat, but I was lucky, they were prepared to show me how. In Western Australia we are getting a new sylabus(?) this year for teaching apprentices, nice to see that O/A welding is being brought back as a subject, plus silver soldering and brazing. I had thought it was going the way of the Dodo.