welding update 01/03 (new pics on page 5)

[boostedsl2]

so eash collector takes me a good 6~8 hours to machine and weld. i can do them by hand with a angle grinder and a belt sander, however i have some pretty cool tools at work to make things especially bling.

i draw everything up in cad first, then transfer it over to 2d to get dimensions and where to cut. then i start the process. its slow, but it turns out pretty good.

this is half of a collector. i cut two angles so the outlet on the collector will fit the t3 flange. i'll mill them, then put them on a 20" disk sander to get them completly square and flat.

this section will be trimed after its welded, then welded to the t3 flange. the waste gate port will be drilled next.

welding has improved quite a bit in the past couple months. i'm finally getting close to the quality i want. i weld .063~.035 aluminum sheet usually. i'll have to get some pics of that stuff soon.

hope you like it

[boostedsl2]

so i found some aluminum at my apartment. i got bored and welded a pen holder together. its out of 2024 t3 .125. i was messing around with different styles of beads, so the welding is a little different on different sides.

[DasPirate]

Those are some nice, clean welds. Congrats. Nothing like having to do a lot of it to get good, eh?

[phat95nosdsc2]

mike i know hate you hahah nice job bud!

[TheMU47]

hmmm, a pencil holder. +10hp

welds look good. That collector half came out great.

[S.Bretz]

What do you use to cut those with? Looks to clean to be a chop saw...and the angle is greater then a chop saw will cut. Bandsaw and something to brace it against?

[DasPirate]

Those are typically rough cut and then the final cut is done with an end mill.

[slowion2]

hawt

[boostedsl2]

Those are typically rough cut and then the final cut is done with an end mill.

bingo! i set the pipe up and trace the cut with an end mill. i'll take it out and cut about .1 off the line with an angle grinder. i'll put it back on the mill and finish the cut. even with the mill, it comes out kinda fucked up (+- .005). there is a lot of flex in the pipe the way i have it setup. you wouldn't think you could see it, but its pretty noticeable.

hardest thing is to get each cut perpendicular. i've got wedges, however its still kind of tough to get it straight. even a fraction of a degree can screw up the cut. thats what the belt sander is for.

stainless is pretty hard to machine, especially a thick pipe. i can usually only take off about .04 per pass. i'm pretty new to machining, so i'm sure there are way better ways to do it, but this seems to work out alright.

if you are interested in trying to cut one of these on a low budget, i used to cut them with an angle grinder and a grinding wheel. if you've got a good eye, you can get it pretty damn close. take about a 1/4 of the time, but you get shit flying in your face and burning your hands.

belt sander or disk sander is possibly the most important part. even an $60 robi combo pos will work fine. just get a good belt or disk for it.

[johnny95sl2]

Nice work, real clean welds.

[DasPirate]

Those are typically rough cut and then the final cut is done with an end mill.

bingo! i set the pipe up and trace the cut with an end mill. i'll take it out and cut about .1 off the line with an angle grinder. i'll put it back on the mill and finish the cut. even with the mill, it comes out kinda fucked up (+- .005). there is a lot of flex in the pipe the way i have it setup. you wouldn't think you could see it, but its pretty noticeable.

hardest thing is to get each cut perpendicular. i've got wedges, however its still kind of tough to get it straight. even a fraction of a degree can screw up the cut. thats what the belt sander is for.

stainless is pretty hard to machine, especially a thick pipe. i can usually only take off about .04 per pass. i'm pretty new to machining, so i'm sure there are way better ways to do it, but this seems to work out alright.

if you are interested in trying to cut one of these on a low budget, i used to cut them with an angle grinder and a grinding wheel. if you've got a good eye, you can get it pretty damn close. take about a 1/4 of the time, but you get shit flying in your face and burning your hands.

belt sander or disk sander is possibly the most important part. even an $60 robi combo pos will work fine. just get a good belt or disk for it.

We do this all the time on the FSAE team (chassis, exhaust collectors, etc) and there's really no great secret to it (as far as I know. I'm only marginally more experienced at machining than you by the sound of it). What we do is make sure we're using the sharpest mill we've got and work slowly, taking off .030 each pass (more or less depending on how critical the cut is). We also made a jig to clamp the tube so that we can choke up on it and grip it as close to the cut as possible.

[Plastic Fury]

Nice work, real clean welds.

What he said, that stuff looks great man.

[LowSL2]

Those are nice welds!

[SupraCharged007]

A+

[tebriel]

that's hot mang. so what is going on with those flanges?
-teb