Oxy Fuel

[daddy]

Here is a question for ya.

My old Harris O2 reg suddenly started blowing gas at what seemed like cylinder pressure through the holes in the body on the front. So, I dropped it off at the lws. The quote to repair is $80.00 . Is it worth that? It has always worked well. What gets me is that the matching acetylene reg had trouble a year ago, and a different place only charged me about $50.00. It was just creeping up slowly, not blowing gas...

[David R]

daddy, I had the same problem. The answer was buy a new regulator. It wasn't much more than having it fixed.

A few years ago I just bought a whole new set of torches Identical to the ones I had for a couple of hundred bucks. Now I have spares...Hoses, regulators,,,, Tips...

After 20 years, I expected them to wear out.

David

[daddy]

Well, I priced new stuff today.
Harris made in USA : 100 bucks
Victor made in china : 60 bucks
I didn't pick one up yet but I told them to send the old one back unfixed.
Guess I'll have to liberate a c-note from somewhere.

[afab]

I mostly use mine just for cutting, I can get a little more detail with the o/a than with my plasma.This is a cowboy hat display rack I made fot a western store last year. I have an old Victor about 25 years old with a 00 tip, silohuette is 3/16.

[maniacmechanic]

kinda new into the oxy acetylene welding and i was wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers thanks

[tanglediver]

Have you got a torch then? There are video's that give a decent intro into lots of processes, such as these, videos.

[skywest]

Practice! Make a bunch of coupons and then either get some 1/16in rg45 or some coat hangers and go to town. Start with forming a puddle and walking it along a line. Let it burn thru a few times to see what its like. Butt joints and lap joints are next and t joints are last cuz they require the most skill. Go slow. If you keep the heat on a bead for a long time you overheat everything. I run a 1/2' bead then pull the heat off and repeat. You can also backstep to dissapat the heat. Get a brick to work on better heat control than your steel table top. Experiment with various tip sizes and metal thicknesses and just plain practice. Post some pics when u get a chance.

[maniacmechanic]

yea i got a victor and i think overheating is my problem i try to do too much at one time i can do the thinner stuff 1/8" or so pretty good but any thicker than that im pretty much screwed its something that im doin just to know how to do i mean you can never learn too much ill try that and send some pics

[skywest]

I have found that joint prep and fitment are very important to o/a welding. MIG for example is way forgiving of sloppy joints.

On thicker stuff get the correct tip. I have a Victor also and use 0, 1,2,3 for most everything. But yes go SLOWER. Also bevel your edges and provide a little area for a puddle to get cradled and add filler. When you think you have the speed right, slow down some more. Dont be afraid to pull the flame for a few seconds if everything is turning bright red.

Have fun.

[maniacmechanic]

ok ill do that i have the same tips and i think tryin to rush is another problem i have never tried to bevel the edges so ill do that also and let you know how that works out another thing too is what is the best flame setting and regulator pressures

[makoman1860]

kinda new into the oxy acetylene welding and i was wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers thanks

Your best bet is going to be reading and understanding before you try doing. Either buy a copy of " The Oxy-Acetylene Handbook" published by Linde, or "Aircraft Welding" by Lindsay Publications. Both can be found on E-bay. This is all laid out for you then, and by reading first, you will save a lot of time asking questions....since you will already know the answers.

[skywest]

ok ill do that i have the same tips and i think tryin to rush is another problem i have never tried to bevel the edges so ill do that also and let you know how that works out another thing too is what is the best flame setting and regulator pressures

I'm a fan of reading also. Get the base knowledge from the books mentioned and then u will always have a handy reference.

As far as gas pres. I like 4 and 4 as a starting point on thin material. (1/8" for example.) Your outfit should have come with a little handbook giving you recommended settings. If not then the "books" will have a chart for it.

[maniacmechanic]

ok thanks will do ill have to get the books cause my victor was my grandfathers and the handbook for it is no more

[Magnetic Mechanic]

ok thanks will do ill have to get the books cause my victor was my grandfathers and the handbook for it is no more

Grab this before it gets snatched - i still use mine and I got it in 1970.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Welding,-Cutting...QQcmdZViewItem

[David R]

Tomorrow I am going to move these post to the OXY fuel forum.

David

[slimneverdies]

You telling me that you did this with a torch Im for sure not getting a plasma cutter now if that was done with a torch! What torch and tips do you guys recommend for me to use cut precise lines on sheetmetal and on car frames?

[daddy]

It's all in the skill...


Ask Oldtimer, or Denrep, or Makoman, or lots of others I have omitted. NO offense fellas.

Jarret.

[afab]

For sheetmetal and such I would go with a Plasma, I have cut thin guage sheet with the o/a and the warpage and slag was a lot more trouble than it was worth.
There's a lot of people that do silohuettes with hand held plasmas on thinner sheetslike 16 gauge or so.

[tanglediver]

WOOHOO! We're movin' now! I agree with Skywest, 4 and 4 is good. I've used about 5 and 5.
Open the gas valves standing to the side of the gauge face, not in front! If they pop, don't be in front. Open the oxygen fully and open the acetylene no more than a turn or so and be sure to leave the handle in place on the acetylene valve. The adjusters on the regs should have been bled last time the gear was stowed, so reset the flow adjusters to working pressure by opening one torch valve one at a time and turn the corresponding adjuster screw in until pressure is right, then turn off the torch valve. When both pressures are set good, you're ready to start.
Last thing, get comfortable, don't forget to breathe!



When your done turn off the tank valves, then one at a time open the torch valves to bleed the regulators down to zero and unscrew the adjusters to ease the start up pressure for next time. Then close the torch valves. Just my little routine.

Post pics!!

[afab]

Sorry bout two posts, phone rang, I jumped, hit the wrong button. Anyhow, the o/a is what I grew up on you might say, and as daddy said, its all in the skill, I'd would say practice and experience. I worked with an older man when I first got into welding that had worked in shipyards and he taught me a lot about torch work, still think about him when I pick one up.

[makoman1860]

Careful guys, he didnt say what model victor, some use much higher oxygen pressure. Either find out what the pressure is actually suggested to be for your EXACT torch, or learn to set the pressures without looking at the gauges.

[Skippii]

Well, here I am, a total newbie to welding. I've got a HF 120V AC stick welder which seems to only work well with 7014, and I've been thinking about a very cheap Oxy-fuel set-up.

Mostly, this will be for fun. I like playing with fire.
I ride my motorcycle a lot, and break lots of stuff on it, especially the cast or billet aluminum parts like footpegs. The stick seems to work well on the steel stuff (exhaust and handlebars) though I do seem to get huge amounts of slag in the weld, and I can't get aluminum welding rods for AC.

So...I'm looking at dirt cheap oxy-fuel set-ups.

The first model I look at is the Bernzomatic Oxy-Mapp torch for $50 at home improvement megastores. It says it works for soldering, brazing, welding, and cutting. Honestly, I can't imagine it's much good at all that. It's small, burns through disposable oxygen tanks in minutes, has no replaceable tips, and looks rather cheap. However, I'm not trying to build an off-shore oil rig here--just looking at doing some small repairs in my garage. If it gets hot enough to melt the aluminum, maybe it's all I need? I do have to wonder if going through disposable canisters is actually cost effective in the long run, since I have no idea how much welding I'll actually be doing. Any reason I couldn't run it with disposable propane cylinders instead of the expensive MAPP ones, since the heat difference doesn't seem to be that great?

Second option: an Oxy-Propane rig. I've read lots of references on the net to people hooking up their torches to an oxy tank and one of those propane gas grill bottles you get at gas stations. Sounds very economical, but I really can't find much info on these at all. I've heard you should use a different style torch (Injector style, IIRC) for propane and run something like 10X more oxygen than propane. I've also heard that propane might cause some problems because it can contaminate the metal with its by-products or something like that...
I can't find any kits for this set-up, though. It seems to be more common with cutting than welding (makes sense if cutting is only done with oxygen), and buying an injector torch alone seems to be well over $200. Of course, I've also heard that you don't HAVE to use an injector, and an OA torch works fine--though I've also heard it may be neccessary to change the hoses, since OA hoses can't handle propane.

Third Option: Go for real Oxy-Acetylene. They sell cheap kits for this on Ebay for about $80. Quality is probably terrible, but I really doubt anyone at my skill level would be able to notice much difference. Then I'd still have to get cylinders, which would probably put me way over my budget---unless I could just run a Propane grill cylinder instead of acetylene.

Forth option: Oxy-Gasoline. Wikipedia mentions this, and boy does it sound like fun! Not really sure this is something with which I should be playing though, and I can't find any useful info on it.

Fifth option: Compressed Air/Propane. I've heard you just hook up the oxy-hose to an air compressor, and with enough pressure you get a lot more oxygen than normally. I doubt it works that well, though, or it would be a lot more common. Seems more like a slightly more powerful blowtorch--maybe about the same as a MAPP blowtorch? I don't know much at all about this.

Sixth option: Forget it. Maybe I'll never have any fun welding with oxy-fuel on a budget of around $150. Maybe Oxy-fuel welding aluminum is really hard to learn, and I should get a DC stick welder instead so I can use Aluminum rods. Maybe I should buy one of those $100 shielded-wire-feed machines.

I don't know. I'm just looking for a cheap hobby. What do you guys think?

[quietlikeachurch]

Never used any fuel-gas other than acetylene (except for that same Bernz-O-Matic Oxy/MAPP torch...a looong time ago and NOT worth it...).

There is no such thing as a "dirt cheap" oxy/anygas setup for welding.

DO NOT buy those cheapo kits from eBay! You're dealing with compressed gases here, and explosive ones! Go brand-name and you'll probably be alright.

By the time you buy a good quality torch, hoses, regulators, flashback arrestors and cylinders (or even rent the cyls) not to mention the various size tips for said torch, etc...you are talking at least a few hundred dollars.

$150 budget? No way.

-Ian

P.S. - For gas welding aluminum, add at least another $100 for a protective lens that cuts down on orange flare. And it ain't easy to learn, so maybe another $100 in scrap metal to teach yourself how to do it...plus flux, and filler rods...etc...etc...etc...

[makoman1860]

Never used any fuel-gas other than acetylene (except for that same Bernz-O-Matic Oxy/MAPP torch...a looong time ago and NOT worth it...).

There is no such thing as a "dirt cheap" oxy/anygas setup for welding.

DO NOT buy those cheapo kits from eBay! You're dealing with compressed gases here, and explosive ones! Go brand-name and you'll probably be alright.

By the time you buy a good quality torch, hoses, regulators, flashback arrestors and cylinders (or even rent the cyls) not to mention the various size tips for said torch, etc...you are talking at least a few hundred dollars.

$150 budget? No way.

-Ian

P.S. - For gas welding aluminum, add at least another $100 for a protective lens that cuts down on orange flare. And it ain't easy to learn, so maybe another $100 in scrap metal to teach yourself how to do it...plus flux, and filler rods...etc...etc...etc...

I aggree with Ian here, dont even think about the ebay or HF torches. "Steels" can only be welded with acetylene, and its not the temperature of the flame that makes it work. Oxy/acetylene,propane,hydrogen,NG can all be used for welding aluminum. By your lack of research, lack of budget, and the fact you want a "cheap hobby" would lead me to believe you arent going to take welding seriously. Welding is one of those skills where either you invest the energy,desire, funds,work and become proficient.....or make garbage. Welding aluminum is actually easier then steel, once you know how to do it. But without someone to teach you....its going to be a lot of research on your part. All of this, is just ot learn the motions of physically welding, add on to that leaning what process and fillers etc. etc. to use with all the different alloys.....more research and learning. If you want to get into this "hobby", thats great, but set aside about $300+ and start reading up.

[makoman1860]

For sheetmetal and such I would go with a Plasma, I have cut thin guage sheet with the o/a and the warpage and slag was a lot more trouble than it was worth.
There's a lot of people that do silohuettes with hand held plasmas on thinner sheetslike 16 gauge or so.

Must have been you then, my Smith AW1A with a 000 cutting tip, set right, works fantastic on autobody sheet. Most people use too large of a cutting tip, and the wrong technique on sheet.