Break Seat Post Binder / Practice TIG Welding Tips
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- In the first half of this video I throw the dummy seat tube in the vise and kill the seat post binder. In the second half, long overdue TIG practice welding.
Abom79 chip breaker video - • Chip Control Part 2
Pithy Bikes Channel - / @pithybikes
My other welding videos - • Pithy Bikes - Welding ...
My setup
Machine - Everlast PoweTIG 200DX
Filler - 035 er70s2
Torch - size #9 (import modified, I made the handle a lot shorter)
Gas Lense - Furick Fupa #12 cup kit
furickcup.com/p...
Tungsten - 1/16 2% Lanthanated
Pulsing at 120 amps, around 1.5pps , 5% background, 25% pulse time on. Argon flowing around 18cfh
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#diy #bicycleframe #welding
Hey so I have a couple tips that may help you. The scratchy start you get is from nodules on your tungsten from hf starts. If you scratch your tungsten on the material right before you start it will arc immediately. Another one is to rest your torch hand on the notched tube it allows me to do a complete 180 weld on tubing. You are spot on about torch angle. It's extremely important but also your filler angle you want less than 90 degree from tungsten to filler to keep it from balling up. As you move around a tube and your torch angle changes so should your filler angle. Anyways I hope this helps. Keep up the videos they are great.
Super advice! Totally hear you on the filler angle. I was practicing more today and noticed the balling when I was laying wire nearly flat with the tube. I was also playing around with resting my hand just as you describe and it makes things so much easier. Cheers!
You are very methodical with your welding process. Keep up the great work. Love watching your videos.
Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching!
Try giving the torch lead a few twists in the opposite direction of your rotation around the tube. As you go around the cable will want to straighten keeping you pointed in the right direction. And x3 on stopping with the lay wire.
So many varying opinions on lay wire! :) I just feel like I need to fully understand how to do this technique before choosing a preference. But I do think (as some other folks have said) there's a time and place for different techniques. I won't make a hard rule against lay wire but I also understand it's not the answer to everything. :)
Good video. I noticed as you were talking about torch angle and filler wire balling, every time the torch to filler angle became less than 90degrees the filler balled up on you. Swapping to thicker filler reduces the balling somewhat because it will take more heat to melt it. Balling is a indication the end of the filler is in too hot of area. Obviously the goal is to keep the filler end in gas coverage (since it becomes molten) but not so close that it melts due to the heat. You will certainly be able to do welds on thing gauge material as you do but higher amperage material could prove interesting. Nothing beats practice, good work so far :)
Thanks! Yes more practice and working on torch angle. I've since started pulse dip technique while also working on angle. So far its working out well.
For lay wire and 100% penetration fusion I use pretty different pulse set up amps 45-80 depending on material for these "bike joints" I keep it on the 45 although you may go a tad lower as you are working on your wrist movement around the tubing, pre twisting the torch lead to make the torch want to spin the way you need to go helps for how you were holding the torch as well, and the pulse settings at the 45-80 amps would be 20% back ground with 60% peak usually with 2-4 pulses per second depending on your travel speed and all welds were leak tested to hold helium. You can also mix helium with the argon in the torch to gain penetration with less amps
Sweet tips. I really like the pre-twist torch lead trick.. this never occurred to me but its such a great idea! Thanks!
I've had bikes where the steel of the frame actually stretched and the binder would no longer clamp the post. I'm in Sacramento. Reach out for a visit if your travels bring you this way.
I've seen that happen! I was just out your way last year. I'll give a shout if I'm out in your area again some time. :)
Roll your wrist as you weld. It helps you to follow the radius of the tube. For each pulse you move a little bit forward and twist the wrist a few degrees. Try to keep the tungsten pointed towards the center of the tube.
Tap the foot pedal to start the flow of shielding gas before you push it down to weld. This pushes away the atmospheric gases and makes for a cleaner start.
Thanks man, great tips. I've been rolling a lot more lately and I even started using a flame resistant cotton glove that allows me to slide around the tube. Cheers!
Looking great! I would encourage you to at least practice dipping the wire in and out of the puddle as opposed to lay wire though. There are a few reasons.
The first is that you might find the tip of the wire does not ball nearly as readily.
The second is that you can meter how much wire you are pushing with each dip. This can help get rid of some of the low and high spots.
The next is there are places you must dip rather than use lay wire, and practicing can help prepare you for those situations.
Finally, you'll be able to watch the leading edge of the puddle more easily and see if you are getting any lack of fusion at the root. I know that it doesn't happen as readily with the thin wall that we normally weld. But you can see if the puddle gets that boomerang shape if the wire us moved out after you dip.
Just food for thought. And practice with the pulse off too :)
Thanks for the tips Mike! Its good to know that dip is also something I should continue practicing. I hear you on different welds call for different techniques/weld settings. I started welding drops to chain stays with no pulse and I like it better. Cheers!
I think you are doing a fine job. I would suggest turning up your flow with the larger fupa cup. I run around 25-35 depending on stick out. Also try a little pre-flow and that should help with the rough starts. If not, look at how your grind angle is and how you are grinding the tungsten. Also, different tungsten performs differently depending on the power source. I would try a bunch of different tungsten until you find one that starts the way you prefer...Keep at it!
Great tips! didn't know different tungsten starts differently. I'll try it. :)
Great video!What is the material of the tubing and wall thickness of the tubing? Thank you
If I remember correctly the tubing is 4130 chromoly, wall thickness is .035" (roughly 1mm)
man you're awesome for real ,, i want you to think about the fat tire bike ,, but instead of 4" tire front and rear how about 6" rear and 4" front ?
Ah, no fat bikes for now. I still need to make more regular bikes. :)
im not a welder. i am still learning. try: instead of resting your the side of your hand down, to hold the torch with just your pinky down. i think your pinky can mimicke the radius of the tube and you might get a better feel of the angle it has to be at. just a thought, i never tried it.
Thanks! I think I tried that before (I basically tried everything!) but I seem to always go back to the side of my palm. I started using a flame resistant cotton glove and now I kind of rest on my ring finger and pinky finger knuckles.. Cheers!
You're in the east bay! I live in Concord, I used to live in San Lorenzo but moved 3 years ago. I know my channel doesn't have many subs at the moment but I would love to do a collaboration with you. I have pretty much every tool you can think of Mill, Lathe, Plasma cutter, Cold cut saw,Tig welder, Laser cutter, 3d printers the list goes on haha
I subscribed to your channel. You do indeed have a LOT of machines/tools. Great videos too! Would be great to do a collab some day but for now I just need to get this frame done. :) It's pretty funny, we're looking into homes and Concord is one of the places on the list. Affordable housing and BART goes out there.
I forgot to hit send my apologies! That sounds like a good plan and thank you!
When I lived in Oakland I remember 1 year it seemed to never stop raining in Jan, Feb.
It must be pretty normal. When I first moved here someone I worked with was talking about a rainy season.. I guess this is it.
Great video. Just curious what do you shoot your videos with? Thanks!
Brass brass that binder and you will get better results. Your TIG welding looks great! But yes keep practicing. Using a heat sink is not cheating.
Thanks Mike. For now I have to settle with low fuming bronze because I don't have an O/A setup yet. I'm still using MAPP. I will get O/A sometime in the near future though. Heat sinks are great! :)
Why not weld the binder on?
Yes, you can TIG weld binders [as long as they are not cast]. I have welded hundreds, however brass will get underneath and give better support for pinching and is easier than TIGing for a beginner
Is tig brazing with silicon bronze not an option?
No need for pulse or the Furick cup, which will make proper torch positioning far more difficult on tube joints.
It does make things harder I agree. I started out using a #8 and still like this cup. I do like the additional coverage a #12 provides but this is purely aesthetic. It really is a matter of preference. I know that some professional bicycle frame builders run pulse and a #12. It's still relatively early for me as a frame welder so I'm still figuring out what I like. I don't mind the difficulty, I like a challenge ;) None the less, thanks for the tips. The more I hear from folks like you in the comments, the more I realize there is no set way to do things. Do what works and what feels right. A #8 cup absolutely works. :)
Using a large size cup for tube work, may be required if you are welding Ti, but its not a great idea at all for a beginner on steel as it makes the torch feel far more cumbersome/clumsy and more difficult to position properly.
Once you have several years experience, and have the basics all correct, then certainly try pulse if that brings better results, but in my view its not something for beginners.
I would suggest though if you can, try and get some time on a high quality welding set with a good quality water cooled torch, and note the difference between that and what you are using at the moment.
My main machine is an old 90s Hitachi GP2 inverter, which was £100 from Ebay, also have a recent Kemppi MLS 2300, but the Hitachi welds a lot nicer and gets used all the time................
It's really not a matter of preference when it comes to the work you're doing in this video. You're simply using the wrong equipment. Those boutique cups often cause more problems than they solve for folks like us and I wouldn't recommend anyone use them until they really get in the grove of things and understand when they do give an advantage. In this video it is clearly holding you back. It's not a "challenge" you just got hooked on something cool and don't actually understand.
Is that grip/cover on the torch an aftermarket addition? If so where did you get it? Thanks
How about using a collar with quick release lever for the seat post. About the weld yous it is a lot better that my welding.
Yes, this has been suggested by other folks too. I will do that!
i like close stack welding.and i would use the maximum range of amperage for the metal.
Cool, I've been practicing a lot and still after all this time trying to figure out what style I like, and can produce the best results with. I like close stacking too but it requires a lot of skill because you need to move much faster to keep HAZ close. Thanks for watching!
Pitty Bikes
you are an inspiration for me and all hobby mechanic, keep doing the good work. cheers
Wow dude you have come so far, so fast. I'm jealous...
aw shucks! Don't be jelly. I've come to realize it's all about repeat ability and consistency. Only thing that makes that easier is practice! :)
If your welder can do it, try .7 pulse per second with the lowest background current possible. Set your amperage to 1 amp per .001"
Include your wire size in that calculation if your going to use laywire technique.
Sweet, I'll give that a try. I always like trying out new settings. Thanks for sharing!
Pithy Bikes, no problem. I teach welding and love fabrication. let me know how it turns out for you. I find this setting very useful for oxidation sensitive materials such as stainless and titanium.
looking forward to the welding tips video of what you've learned. I need some help!
Heheh just read the comments, you'll get lots of tips ;) But I do want to do a video on just pulse for bicycle frames. I have yet to see someone cover just this subject and would have loved if someone else did a video like that when I was just starting out with pulse. I think pulse get a bad rap sometimes and some folks consider it cheating.. but I like it because if done right it can look great and keep heat just where you need it.
Hi do you clearing inside of tubes?
I don't clean inside for practice tubes. Not unless the inside is really dirty or has oil in it.
Hi Pithy Bikes, You have awsome video;) Can You make a bamboo bike? answer please.
Ah that his a whole different set of skills! Maybe the frame geometry design carries over, but I don't think much else will :) Pretty sure those Bamboo tubes are held together with carbon. It's very likely someone else has documented the process out there on the internet! :)
Get more aggressive with that cutter on the lathe and see if that helps the chip break.
Why pulse? U can always stay on the heat/amp and just come up just a tad, kinda long arc up to double height of the filler, to achieve the same as pulse, but it's all a welders preference.
I'm still kind of working my way through all the different settings and techniques. There's so many!! So much respect for welders!
Very true, welders preference. Keep on TIG'n on.
That chip breaker will work just fine, if your DOC was deeper.
I've never seen a chip breaker work with cuts under .05/in ish.
this make perfect sense to me now!
Said I'd before bud, lose the pulse. No need for 120 amps or heat sink. Weld with a fixed current of 50 amps and the weld definition will come from chilling puddle with rod. With your pulse method, your pulse frequency is dictating speed and it's difficult to keep a short arc and good angle like this on a coped joint, slow it all down. The rod balling is symptomatic of either too many amps, poor angle or too smaller rod. Rod size if fine, so it's angle / pulse amps. For the seat boss, have you considered a pinch bolt set up where the bolt shank rides in a groove on the seat post ?
I'm still trying different weld methods. I've seen some really great looking welds by pros using pulse. I feel like I need to crack that code before choosing a method to my preference :) It's just in my nature to try everything! A groove on the seatpost? Not sure I understand what you're describing.
Your welds look WAY better than when you started. Constant self critique is how we improve, but try to keep perspective.
Yet another way to "cheat" with lay-wire is to bend the end of the filler to fit the curve of the joint. It allows the tube to act as a heat sink and suppresses balling. You can still slide the filler around the joint forward and backward to adjust for how much is consumed in the puddle. I learned this from an old-school nuclear pipe welder. There are many ways to do things. Not just one "right" way.
Great video
Thanks!
PERFECT !!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑
make more builds❤👌
Great video, thank you! i
The pleasure is mine!
I find 5% on the background current very low, do you have a special reason for that? I usually go with 30 to 40%, that way I can put the peak current down a bit and the wire won't ball up that quickly. I have to say that I can really appreciate how critical you look at your own work. Keep practising and you'll get there!
I think with thin wall tube and amps dialed to 120, 5% background feels just about right. But it is a matter of preference. I stole these settings from Peter Bungham because I really like his welds :)
I noticed you don't change your filler angle as you weld around the tube. Also the filler angle is too steep, and that should also follow the same angle around the tube. As you are attempting with the torch. Keep up the practice.
The balling is caused by both the torch and filler angles.
IG - Motoxrrar
Thanks for the tips! :)
frickin pulsers
They can be really terrible if not used properly :) I'm finally coming to terms with when its right to use and when its wrong. Thanks for watching!
Get a TIG-Finger. They're not that expensive.
It's funny you should mention this because I didn't just get a TIG-Finger, I went and got a whole glove of similar material. I like it a lot and next time you see me welding I'll have this glove on.
you also need to stop being so critical of yourself. if it has good penetration, you can worry about making it look good later. I think your doing fine, especially on things metal.
Thanks for the encouragement. I do get hard on myself but in a weird way, its what keeps me going lol. I am a stickler for how things look. I can't help it because of my day job as an artist.
you're traveling too fast on the TIGs
Thanks you, I agree. I've since slowed down these days. :) Thanks for watching!
practice more instead of making more videos. also dont put that aluminium rod since its cheating which you can used just in some case, so in general its not good for skills. everlast machine seams like have poor HF start , but its cheap machine so nothing strange.
Welding without a heat sink maybe required in some situations, but to my view it is yet another skill. Steve mentioned he's focusing at one thing at a time and I believe he's right.
it can save you in some situation, but you cant put heat sink in every situation. for beginning maybe its good, just maybe. also penetration is better without heat sink so less welder mistakes if you have skills to control heat with tungsten.
If you are doing a real weld up, you can move and work on different parts while some places cool. Sitting in one place practicing, the tubes will be too hot and not a good practice either so a heat sink is a reasonable compromise. No weekend warrior will have the touch and finesse of a real pro. Just got to get good enough to get by.
I hear you on moving to another joint while another is cooling. Yeah, with practice I just wait it out a bit. For the most part it never gets all that hot with the heat sink. I know I'm a weekend guy but I can't help but become to the best I can be :)
I have welded without the heat sink and I agree its a much different experience. I use it because nearly all of my welds on the real deal (when welding a bicycle frame) are done with a heat sink and purge. So by practicing with the heat sink, its a lot closer to the real welds I perform on a frame. :)