When trailers go bad OR How not to tow your Wright Brothers machine

wright1902glider wrote:
Morgans wrote:
By the time you get done gas welding a trailer, you could weld up an airplane,
I'll bet!
--
Jim in NC


Jim,

A few months ago at EAA Copperstate, I had a chance to try my hand. My
beads were pretty lumpy, but the steel was rusty, and the wind was
blowing 10-15. I'm also left-handed which complicates teaching
experience. But I did get good penetration.

The rig I used was a hybred: hoses and regs were HF, torch was Lincoln.
Which begs the question: is an HF torch worth the $100? Or should I
keep saving my pennies? What size tanks would you recommend?

I'm looking at .120" to 1/4" mild steel for a trailer, and from
1/2"x.030" to 2 -1/2"x.095" 4130 tube for a plane or other projects. Do
you think the included tip sizes would handle that range? Can Lincoln
or Harris tips be used on an HF torch body?

Just wondering.
Harry


I've welded a Delta together with a HF torch, and everyone that I can
get to inspect them (and I ask everyone) thinks they are just fine.
Just keep the tip clean and you'll have no problem. Gas welding torches
have been around for over 100yrs, and there really isn't that many ways
to drill an orifice in a piece of copper/brass/whatever those things are
made of.

I wouldn't want to do extensive welding of 1/4" anything with a gas
torch, though...unless maybe it was the dead of winter. A TIG or
wirefed MIG are much more useful there.

Ernest Christley wrote:

I've welded a Delta together with a HF torch, and everyone that I can
get to inspect them (and I ask everyone) thinks they are just fine.
Just keep the tip clean and you'll have no problem. Gas welding torches
have been around for over 100yrs, and there really isn't that many ways
to drill an orifice in a piece of copper/brass/whatever those things are
made of.

I wouldn't want to do extensive welding of 1/4" anything with a gas
torch, though...unless maybe it was the dead of winter. A TIG or
wirefed MIG are much more useful there.



Thanks Ernest. If the HF torch is good enough for all of that plumbing,
it should work fine for me. Not too much 1/4" steel in a trailer, but
there is a little. What size tanks do you recommend? Size is an issue,
but the "porta-torch" tanks look a little small for any serious
project.

Harry

wright1902glider wrote:
Ernest Christley wrote:

I've welded a Delta together with a HF torch, and everyone that I can
get to inspect them (and I ask everyone) thinks they are just fine.
Just keep the tip clean and you'll have no problem. Gas welding torches
have been around for over 100yrs, and there really isn't that many ways
to drill an orifice in a piece of copper/brass/whatever those things are
made of.

I wouldn't want to do extensive welding of 1/4" anything with a gas
torch, though...unless maybe it was the dead of winter. A TIG or
wirefed MIG are much more useful there.



Thanks Ernest. If the HF torch is good enough for all of that plumbing,
it should work fine for me. Not too much 1/4" steel in a trailer, but
there is a little. What size tanks do you recommend? Size is an issue,
but the "porta-torch" tanks look a little small for any serious
project.

Harry


When I was heavy in it, doing lots of frame welding, I borrowed my
uncle's bottles. They're the largest ones that you can actually buy.
By Federal regulations, no one will sell you the larger bottles. But I
often had trouble getting Uncle's bottles exchanged until I set up a
relationship with a single vendor.

Now that I'm done with all the big welding, I think the little portable
bottles have the benefits of not having to lug around all that weight,
or losing lots of gas to leak down as it sits in the corner. I'll
probably settle on the intermediate size that the plumbers carry. It's
plenty enough to do something useful, but not a whole airplane, but
small enough to be fairly portable.

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 02:48:31 GMT, Ernest Christley
wrote:

wright1902glider wrote:
Ernest Christley wrote:

I've welded a Delta together with a HF torch, and everyone that I can
get to inspect them (and I ask everyone) thinks they are just fine.
Just keep the tip clean and you'll have no problem. Gas welding torches
have been around for over 100yrs, and there really isn't that many ways
to drill an orifice in a piece of copper/brass/whatever those things are
made of.

I wouldn't want to do extensive welding of 1/4" anything with a gas
torch, though...unless maybe it was the dead of winter. A TIG or
wirefed MIG are much more useful there.



Thanks Ernest. If the HF torch is good enough for all of that plumbing,
it should work fine for me. Not too much 1/4" steel in a trailer, but
there is a little. What size tanks do you recommend? Size is an issue,
but the "porta-torch" tanks look a little small for any serious
project.

Harry


When I was heavy in it, doing lots of frame welding, I borrowed my
uncle's bottles. They're the largest ones that you can actually buy.
By Federal regulations, no one will sell you the larger bottles. But I
often had trouble getting Uncle's bottles exchanged until I set up a
relationship with a single vendor.

I lease one size down from the large tanks. Normally that's plenty of
capacity *unless* doing a lot of heavy duty cutting, thick welding, or
a lot of heating with the "rosebud" tip. Then you go through both
tanks in a hurry. Even in my small shop which is for my own use
(although I find myself doing the occasional job for family), welding
and repairing horse trailers, building fixtures for the airplane, guy
anchors for the big tower, I have gone through three exchanges in
about 4 years. So I use up about one fill a year. Welding the thick
stuff, as long as it's not upside down, it probably easier than
regular welding and certainly easier than the thin stuff, or at least
it is for me. At least the refils are inexpensive.

Now that I'm done with all the big welding, I think the little portable
bottles have the benefits of not having to lug around all that weight,
or losing lots of gas to leak down as it sits in the corner. I'll
probably settle on the intermediate size that the plumbers carry. It's
plenty enough to do something useful, but not a whole airplane, but
small enough to be fairly portable.

Mine are definatly not protable except for the two wheel cart and
could be hauled around in a pick up truck with a rack. That's why I
have 75 feet of hose. What I need is a 125 feet for my MIG welder
with the remote wire feed.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com