Welding

[Guest Doron]

Hello, I know little about aircraft frame welding apart from Tig appears the way to go. My question is - can Mig welding (on gas) be used by a qualified welder to weld (not just spot weld prior to Tig weld) either a steel or aluminium airframe, and would this be legal in Australia for light aircraft :;)5: Thanks Ron

 

 

[old man emu]

Ron,

 

Have a look at Bud Davisson's website, airbum.com which will give you great advice on welding. The best option is oxy-acetylene.

 

Old Man Emu

 

 

[Guest rocketman]

Theres a DVD out on 4130 steel tube welding that is pretty good. Put out by Jump Run Enterprises. I got one recently (about $50USD). Pretty impressed. Another guy up in QLD also raves about it. It could also be listed under of the other headings on this forum. The DVD doesn't cover all aspects of TIG welding but it certainly answers a lot.

 

 

[Guest rocketman]

Further to my last post, the Jump Run DVD lists several aircraft that are TIG welded, including the Pitts, and the Maule which is MIG'ed. Oxy may be the best, but is also the slowest, and it takes time to build up your technique. Mind you, my TIG welding at the moment isn't much better (I should diverge into swiss cheese production).

 

 

[Thruster87]

Tig is the choice for aircraft welding as it can be controlled to very fine parameters. Factory manufactured aircraft parts can only be welded by a certified aircraft welder.You really need to be sure that any parts that are welded are to a very high standard. Cheer T87

 

 

[Yenn]

If you go to http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com, you will find quite a bit of info on TIG or Oxy for welding. The general concensus seems to favour TIG. Oxy welds may have to be reheated to get rid of stresses. Never having used TIG I would be tempted to use Oxy, but I believe it is fairly easy to learn TIG.

 

 

[Knighty]

Welding with Dillon Mk III / Henrob 2000

 

Hi

 

I've purchased this Oxy welder especially for my Aeropup and swear by the quality of the equipment and welding capabilities when joining chrome molly or mild, it was advertised in the RAAus mag and come with a kit price tag of $1000 or near abouts quite a few years ago. The manufacturer claims it uses less gas than the conventional oxy handpieces and trust me on this THEY ARE RIGHT! The flame can be adjusted to a fine pin point however still not within a good tigs capabilities unfortunately. For an example I welded a 2" extension on my aluminium belly tank fuel intake but had no choice but to tig a small 10mm OD vent tube to the neck, I tried welding this with the Henrob but could not control the heat no where near as good as a $5000 tig unit. By the time I got the 2" tube aluminium hot enough for the filler rod the small vent tube was starting to melt down.

 

I dont think I would put a great deal of faith in mig welding aircraft, I have seen too many great looking welds fall apart due to the lack of penetration or lack of surface preparation. Also I remember reading somewhere that a certain aviation body will not allow mig welding RE airframes, only tig or oxy can be used??? Someone from SAAA, LAME, CAR35 etc might be able to clarify this one which I am sure they will.

 

Catchya

 

Knighty

 

 

[Knighty]

In addition to my last post

 

Have a squiz at this demo, I also have an instructional DVD supplied with my kit if anyone is interested.

 

Knighty

 

 

 

[runt]

runt

 

hi , just my 2 cents worth , you don't need a henrob , or what ever there called this week , you just need to know HOW to weld , practice , practice , practice ,

 

ANY oxy set is ok , but you have to know how to set it up , and use it , however if you think that you would prefer a (lighter in weight ) torch to hold , have a look at the tin mans little oxy, (http://www.tinmantech.com) that he sells for a fraction of the price of the henrob ,

 

I,m and old man now ,I was taught to weld in 1975 , still at it , and have picked up a few D.L.I . cert along the way , for stick , mig & tig . welding is all about practice , in all positions .

 

 

[geoffreywh]

I use a TIG welder all the time at home. I can oxy/acetelyne weld but it's too difficult to get a very good result. plus you have that long flame playing about.. TIG's are cheap to buy. You need both hands on the torch, or a hand rest for one-handed operation, to get a good result. If you do it, (TIG) get a auto darken weld helmet....... If MIG welding is not forbidden for aviation use then it should be...It's so easy to get a good looking bead with no penetration. There are all sorts of problems with localised heat with MIG. Have a good look at a MIG weld and see that the weld forms a convex fill in a corner. Just right for cracking...TIG is fine ...BUT practice makes better...(not perfect)....

 

 

[RetiredRacer]

Tig is the quickest and if the right preparation in the right conditions are carefully adhered to you will get a good weld that won't suffer from fatigue.

 

Pick a good warm summers day and close up all doors and windows so there is no breeze blowing through because the weld needs to cool slowly, and use oxy or a butane flame to pre-heat the tube a good foot each side of the join to be welded so that when you do the welding the cold tube near the weld won't draw the heat from the welded area so it can cool slowly.

 

And as others have said it is then up to the operator to be able to be able to do a good weld.

 

Bob