Tigging a radio patch panel?

[Dne007]

Hi! I'm dne' and rather new to this forum. I have a PU205 that I just got wired up and working. I have a tank of Argon, red tungsten(1/16) and 1/16" filler. This is mild steel~ or think of a dash panel of an old car or truck in this case. My truck is a '59 Apache.
this is the patch panel replacement~ I'll use this as a template, then maybe tack it in several places to hold it. I'll be purchasing some sheetmetal close as possible to the same size to practice and practice, etc, and see if I can even Tig at all! It will be butt welded and has to be finished(grinding/sanding/filler) for a nice flat finish. I won't be using the entire piece shown below~ I'll post another photo of the truck part it's going in.
thanks!
dne'

Just wondering of any tips other than trial n error and practice?

[Dne007]

Hi again! this is the actual dash I'll be working on, the paint will be removed to expose raw clean unpainted metal, I'm hoping to only use part of the dash patch. I understand not to have corners that will easily melt and maybe not to weld continously to not distort or warp the metal.

[blasphemy000]

You are right about the corners and them being easy to melt. When welding sheet metal it's best to not have any sharp corners if at all possible. It's best to round the corners of the hole and round off the corners of the patch you are using if you can do it. That way you are left with a smooth curve to weld around instead of a point which is easy to melt through.

[acourtjester]

HI Dne007
Looks like a 55-59 chevy truck dash???
have you tried to put some copper plate behind when you weld the helps a lot with thin stuff?? Works with mig I'm not sure about tig.
Check out this guys methode very interesting.
http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6292

have fun
Tom

[Dne007]

Hi Tom! Thanks for that link! Really interesting ! I printed that page for future reference. I'll pick up some copper also. I havent even started or even tigged anything yet, just gatherig info. Where does one buy copper ? Oh yes it's my 59 chevy apache! ; ). Good call! I'll be posting photos and asking questions as I go along. Thanks for responding!!
Dne'

[ QUOTE=acourtjester;15106]HI Dne007
Looks like a 55-59 chevy truck dash???
have you tried to put some copper plate behind when you weld the helps a lot with thin stuff?? Works with mig I'm not sure about tig.
Check out this guys methode very interesting.
http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6292

have fun
Tom[/QUOTE]

[Dne007]

here's a pic of my truck

[acourtjester]

HI Dne`

Where I get my copper is from the hardware store. Just buy a section like 6” of ¾” copper water tubing smack it flat. Or cut it length-wise and roll it out to make it flat and cut small pieces from that. The tubing comes in two types soft (coils) and rigid (straight tubes) get the soft it will shape to your work better if not flat like a dash.
Have fun
Tom
P.S. my buddy has a 57 3100 Chevy almost bone stock (we put AC in it).

[Dne007]

Ooo ' 57 is nice!! Hm that's easy enough about the copper, so I would just shape it and place it behind the part that I'm welding? Bay sitting today, no playing in my garage today! : (. But I've been watching tig welding on YouTube, good seeing that but that doesn't teach about settings and use of the foot pedal.
Thanks!,

HI Dne`

Where I get my copper is from the hardware store. Just buy a section like 6” of ¾” copper water tubing smack it flat. Or cut it length-wise and roll it out to make it flat and cut small pieces from that. The tubing comes in two types soft (coils) and rigid (straight tubes) get the soft it will shape to your work better if not flat like a dash.
Have fun
Tom
P.S. my buddy has a 57 3100 Chevy almost bone stock (we put AC in it).

[Jason]

Nice truck.. The copper is a good tip and they actually make backing tools that are copper to pull the heat away. I got to where I felt I could TIG decently and then tried some sheet metal.. I found out really fast that it is entirely harder to do without burning a hole. Also I would go with thinner wire than 1/16 if possible. It seemed like the sheet metal wanted to melt away before my rod but then again you may be using older/thicker sheet metal than I was.

[DaveO]

Another post just reminded me: can someone comment about whether or not Dne' will need or should consider a water cooling system for her TIG setup? It sounds like she's going to be doing sheet metal work to start so it may not be an issue now, but may be something to consider moving forward.

Edit: I looked at the PU205, which comes with an air cooled torch-

[Dne007]

That's really nice of you to mention DaveO, but I don't think my little PU205 will accept a water cooler. I'll be practicing and that's where I'd probably using my tig most. In actual use, probably be a few minutes! HOWEVER, when I go to box the frames in, in my engine compartment, I maybe putting the tig to the test, or I may just mig weld the plates in. It's a little ways off yet before actually doing it. ; )

http://www.everlastgenerators.com/Water-Coolers.php

[DaveO]

Kinda stepped on myself there: my original thought was, it would be a real setback to find out the hard way about needing a cooler. Only after I posted did I look at the specs of the 205. And I'm sure the sales guys at Everlast made sure you'd be properly equipped. So as the old SNL line goes... "Never mind."

[Jason]

If your welding low amps, you don't need a cooler. You could manage ~200 amps before needing a cooler from what I was told when I purchased my PP256. I also purchased a smaller air-cooled torch as most my welding will be less than 200 amps. I think the highest I have run my PP256 so far is 120A but there will be the need for higher occasionally which is the reason I went with a 250A TIG and I can get a cooler to use for those hotter welds.

[Dne007]

Thanks Jason! yesterday, I was only up to about 45-55 amps while practicing on what little sheet metal I had bought. It goes quickly and so does the argon! IT's like watching a gas gauge on a gas guzzling car, you can see the needle moving downward towards empty, every time I look at the tank pressure, it's gone down! yikes! And I'm only good for practiciing for short burst of time. Today or more than likely tomorrow, I'll be looking at getting a better welding hood; I'm getting flashed pretty strongly on the initiating arc, like my northern tools hood is not adequate for the quickness of the tig, but works Ok on my mig. ok, got to get busy! daylight is burning! days are going by way too fast! ; )

[DaveO]

every time I look at the tank pressure, it's gone down!

Apologies in advance for asking what may be a dumb question: is your delivery pressure set properly for your application, and is your post flow set to a long duration? If they're set too high you may be expending argon at a rate faster than it can be useful. I know these settings can be optimized, but I can't suggest what those settings might be.

[acourtjester]

HI
I would like to add to the info here.
Look for a leak in the argon system, Turn on the argon and then turn it off and watch the gauge or the ball if you have that type. The ball should stay down when not welding and if the gauge bleeds off you have a problem. Watch the High-pressure gauge just check it every 15 to 30 minutes if it drops you have a problem. The CFM gauge will not move until the pressure drops to a very low amount.
On the helmet tigging at a low amps is why it’s flashing try setting the sensitivity lower if you have a control for it. If no control get another helmet.
Even with low amps a torch will still heat up if you go for long times welding. Short hops with cooling cycles are fine. Get a water-cooled torch and run it with a garden hose to ground. Better to have a back up if you fry the air-cooled one.

Have fun
Tom

[Jason]

HI
I would like to add to the info here.
Look for a leak in the argon system, Turn on the argon and then turn it off and watch the gauge or the ball if you have that type. The ball should stay down when not welding and if the gauge bleeds off you have a problem. Watch the High-pressure gauge just check it every 15 to 30 minutes if it drops you have a problem. The CFM gauge will not move until the pressure drops to a very low amount.
On the helmet tigging at a low amps is why it’s flashing try setting the sensitivity lower if you have a control for it. If no control get another helmet.
Even with low amps a torch will still heat up if you go for long times welding. Short hops with cooling cycles are fine. Get a water-cooled torch and run it with a garden hose to ground. Better to have a back up if you fry the air-cooled one.

Have fun
Tom

Going a long time is true but I have not run into the issue of over heating my torches which includes using a water cooled with no liquid through it. I agree that it would be a good idea to have a cooler if your welding long beads at a time without cooling time.

[Dne007]

So while practicing I should take breaks often . I noticed after my horrible session of destruction of what metal I had, my argon didn't seem to be going down so rapidly. It's just when I first got it, the solenoid was sticking with argon and compressed air(for the plasma). I have about 700 remaining. Tomorrow I'll go get it filled. I also havea smaller c25 bottle that I'll be upgrading to a larger size. Tom I did check the flow meter like you said, and it's ok.
ok, off to jury summons~ uh~
dne'

[Jason]

I would recommend to wait and use all of it before getting it filled. If the place there is like the place here, they do not give you a credit for the remaining amount and you will just loose it. I take breaks when the torch is getting really warm in my fingers or when I am letting the metal cool to prevent warping.

[Dne007]

I guess I can make closure to this patch panel job on my '59 Apache Truck! My husband prompted me to make a blog, it's called www.Classiccarsandtools.com, and I have a bunch of stuff I've been working on! Check it out!

Parts 1 and 2:
http://www.classiccarsandtools.com/2...-panel-repair/
http://www.classiccarsandtools.com/2...epair-part-ii/