How the heck do you weld around a circumference?
 

On Thursday, April 18, 2013 10:33:02 AM UTC-4, Jon Danniken wrote:
Hello,



I am working on an exercise contraption that has a number of pieces of

horizontal pipe, welded on the main structure, which provide a

convenient place to hang the weight plates when they are not in use.



I am at the part where I have to weld the pipe sections on to the main

structure. The pipe sections are five inches long, and are 1.25"

schedule 80 pipe, and they will be fillet welded around the

circumference where they join the main structure (the main structure is

made from 2.5" square tubing).



So I'm all ready to weld these on, I have the main structure laying on

supports on the shop floor, and I have the first one clamped up, ready

to be welded around



Here's my question: how the heck to I maintain the correct rod angles as

I go around the circumference?



I played with a couple pieces of scrap yesterday, and while I can get my

weld started just fine, when I go to move *myself* around the work, I

find it nearly impossible to maintain the proper angle/distance/speed of

my electrode.



So how do you do it in a situation like this? Is the trick to give up

on the idea of doing one continuous bead, and instead do the weld in two

or three sections, so that you don't have to move your entire body while

trying to weld at the same time?



What's your technique?



Jon

Just last week, I had an exhaust leak in my car. The source of the leak was a flange connecting two pieces of pipe between the catalytic converter and the muffler. Since I don't currently own the proper equipment to do this myself, I took it to a local muffler shop.

The guy cut out the offending flange with a sawzall and spliced in a new piece (about 5 inches long) of pipe. He supported the existing pipes with some pretty neat adjustable jackstands and then tacked the new pipe in place. Then he migged the circumference of each joint in four or five sections. The part of the joint at the top of the pipe had barely enough clearance to fit the torch, and I was a little worried about the quality of the weld there. The guy gave me a mirror, and I took a look. I have to say, I'm impressed. I could not see where one section of weld ended and the next began.

Though my upcoming welder purchase will almost certainly be a TIG, I now have a new respect for MIG.