Stainless exhaust b-pipe

[presure2]

Hey all, here are a few pics of an exhaust I'm working on for a friend of mine.
3" 304 (.055 wall) stainless mandrel bends that he got from jegs.com
3/8" stainless flanges
6" stainless flexpipe
Used mild steel exhaust cutout
Welding it up with my powerpro 205
2% thoriated 3/32 tungsten ground to a point
~65 amps to weld the pipe to the flange, and flex pipe, ~ 40-42 amps for butt welding the pipes
308l 1/16" filler for everything except the cutout for which I'll use 309l.
On to the pics!!!

The flange welded up


This is about 3/4 of it, ran out of argon, so I'll get a refill tomorrow, and weld on the cutout and another flange to finish it up.
I'll post more pics when I finish it!



Got a little crazy on the flex...lol still, not increibly bad for t total noob, it's my first real project

[geezer]

For a first project , Looks really good, I think you are better than you make out to be.

[presure2]

Lol, thanks man.
Ive gone thru 4 60 cu. Ft. Bottles of argon worth of practice under my belt so far, this is the first thing that I've welded that will actually be used for something. lol
Only got ~1hr out there tonight, but got what I consider to be a few nice beads on a flange, I'll post a pic tommorow, need to upload it out of my camara.

[geezer]

There is more to the project than a couple of pretty beads, there is the fit up, making sure the bolt holes line up and the bends go the right direction, at least that's what I see in your first project, more than just welding. looks good.

[presure2]

thanks again, geezer...its not my first exhaust build, i've done a few of these b-pipes before, but its my first that is tig welded. fit up is definetly alot more important with the tig i've noticed, its not as easy to fill the little gaps with weld like i used to do with the mig..lol
anyway, like i posted last night, i welded a section of 2.5" 304 stainless pipe (.065 wall) to a 2.5" flange, to mate to the rear section of exhaust, and definetly noticed a big diffrence between that and the thinner .055 wall stuff that my buddy bought to build the b-pipe with.

welded this part up with ~ 70-77 max amps, with the footpedal controlling the heat input, i was having a bit of a struggle getting it to melt into the flange with less amps.
ill take some more pics tonight, should be able to finish the b-pipe up, then i will start working on some intercooler tubes for him!

[jakeru]

Nice work! Close ups of your lap and fillet welds show yoy are getting some really good fusion there, and not a whole lot of oxidation either (something many strive for, whether actually necessary or not.) That exhaust system is going to last the lifetime of the vehicle.

What is your inert shielding setup? (cup size, gas lens or standard collet body, flow rate?) Any solar fluxing on the butt welds?

[presure2]

Thanks, man! Did another one earlier today that I am reallllllly happy with, I'll post pics a little later.
Using the standard gas lens and cups that came with the welder, #7 cup, ~10lph or whatever it is, and using solar flux mixed with meth on the inside of the butt welds.

[presure2]

here are a couple pics of some of the best welds i've done so far...im pretty happy with these to say the least!

now that the b-pipe is completed, tommrow i will start fabbing up his intercooler piping, out of 2.5" aluminum.

[Jason]

It looks like that flux works really well. I am gonna have to pick some up to try out for my next stainless projects. Anyone compare the flux to back purging? Is it cheaper to use one verse the other?

[geezer]

The spacing of your beads/ripples is getting more uniform, I would say: you are well on your way to mastering TIG. Nice work.

[Wrenchtamer]

It looks like that flux works really well. I am gonna have to pick some up to try out for my next stainless projects. Anyone compare the flux to back purging? Is it cheaper to use one verse the other?

I just did a ton of stainless exhaust tubing for a set of custom headers. The fit up was pretty poor and there was a ton, I mean a TON of welding to be done on them. they were constructed from an assortment of mandrel bent pieces by the fab guy at our shop. Basically he just cut a bunch of pie slices out of the various pieces of tubing to get the general shapes down and brought it to me for welding. With the long pieces I was back purging with pure argon but that is much harder to do with a two or three inch piece because of the heat generated. I went and bought some solar flux and let me tell you that stuff is awesome. It burns black when you weld over but seems to sand out ok.. It is cheaper and easier welding than back purging, but if you are filling big gaps like I was and the flux gets to the topside of the weld it makes it a little difficult to tell where the flux is and where the base metal is. the flux will melt and puddle and accept filler just like the base metal so you have to really make sure to get the heat in there. But IMO overall the flux is better and less problematic than back gassing. I also had to weld the inside of some of the joints which isnt possible when purging. I got a one pound can at local LWS for about 40$. It was totally worth it if you dont already have a spare bottle and regulator or a dual regulator.

[presure2]

thanks geezer!! im was super happy with the beads on that flange, my only gripe about it is having to start and stop so many times because of my crappy torch control..lol i think once i get my dedicated work area together, it will get a bit easier to work my way around the pipes like that.
i cant speak to the solar flux VS back purge, since i've never done any purging..but the solor flux seemed to work well, i guess time will be the best test..lol
anyway, thank you all for you tips, suggestions, and compliments, every little bit helps, and hopfully someday i will be able to return the favor to you guys!
next up, aluminum intercooler tubes!!!
ill tell ya, i have been VERY excited about learning this awesome craft that we share, and now that its here and im learning, its even more fun than i thought!
the more i do it, the more happy i get.
i know some of you guys do this for a living, and get frustrated and what not doing things, but for me, this is my hobby, and i find it incredibly relaxing, while the chanllange of figuring out the layout of things and fit up is a great challange.
awesome stuff!!

GO EVERLAST!! this machine is awesome.

[Wrenchtamer]

I know exactly what you mean. Until this header fiasco I was mostly doing the wiring and electrical for this car we are building right now, and almost every day I will come in early to get in some welding time to clear my head and get me focused. But I have to admit welding all day every day for the past week has definitely had a psychological effect. Like on the drive home I notice what a poor fitup the joint between the sidewalk and the street have. I think it's got a lot to do with using the cheater lens. I'll see something like that and the first thing I will see in my mind's eye is a huge tig torch running a little heat over the sidewalk to smooth out the joint. Maybe this is what guys experience that do it all day every day. Or maybe I'm just a nutball.

[presure2]

hahah i know exactly what you mean, man.
i do the same thing with cars, (im a painter) notice the bad prep and bad blends and what not just driving down the road...ill look over, see a silver car or truck or whatever with a bad blend, or whatever the case may be, and say to myself "if i had done that, i would have done XYZ and made it look better, blah blah..lol
definetly becoming more aware of the welding in everyday things, a buddy of mine stopped by the house last night, he is a district manager of a KFC/taco bell chain, and came in with a supersized stainless steel caulk gun, that they use in tacobell for sour cream,... the front plate had a few tacks that had broken loose, so i retacked it back together for him with a little 308 filler, and sent him on his way! too funny.

[geezer]

Welding in a circle can be a PITA, next time try using lazy susan bearings (big ones) from Home depot (9 or 10 bucks) with a scrap plate laid on them, clamp your piece in a vise, lay that on the plate and then you can nudge the whole thing around with your elbow while maintaining position. Cheap rotary table.