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Hurmeez' 1977 Mk2 Escort Estate


Hurmeez

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Just now, Hurmeez said:

That's an interesting exhaust manifold setup they've got going on. The filters are cool too. I'm not sure what I'm going to do at that end yet. 

Yeah......that's also interesting. Because if you want trumpets for bmw ITBs ... I found them to be around $1500-$5000.Lol.

Still looking at having ago at alloy spinning... but for now I went pod filter adapters.and will cut them up to fit....and make them into 1 bit20180704_154519.thumb.jpg.7e673d2455c74df14f3ce54d6d734c4a.jpg

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On 19/09/2018 at 10:55, d.p.n.s said:

I have wondered that with cast parts ...if it was well heated 1st would if burn most of the oil and crap off 

I reckon that intake shape /path looks spot on - good work!

 

The other thing you can do is a high frequency quick cleaning pass without attempting to weld at all. Then give it a dose of acetone, a scrub ( wire brush scotch brite) ,  and another dose of acetone. 

I'm still battling a bit with AC tig. One thing I was doing was dumping my filler wire down on my filthy bench and then introducing crap into my weld next time.

Now I acetone my filler rod before welding.

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Thanks for the tip. I've just been tacking so far but it's not too bad. The biggest difference I find is how it doesn't "jump" the way steel does when you've got two puddles next to each other. You've really got to force them together with the filler which can be a pain when you run out of hands to hold things together. 

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44 minutes ago, Hurmeez said:

Thanks for the tip. I've just been tacking so far but it's not too bad. The biggest difference I find is how it doesn't "jump" the way steel does when you've got two puddles next to each other. You've really got to force them together with the filler which can be a pain when you run out of hands to hold things together. 

use to have a stand that i would tack vise grips to.....to hold shit.

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3 hours ago, Hurmeez said:

Thanks for the tip. I've just been tacking so far but it's not too bad. The biggest difference I find is how it doesn't "jump" the way steel does when you've got two puddles next to each other. You've really got to force them together with the filler which can be a pain when you run out of hands to hold things together. 

If your tack takes more than ~ 2 seconds turn your amps up some more. 

Cold tacking causes the material to pull away from each other. 

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I'm really struggling to find the sweet spot between too hot and too cold. I'll either take ages to make a tack, or it'll just melt and piss off on me. I realise that as I keep welding it gets pre-heated and I shouldn't need as much heat in it to continue but it's just so much different to steel it's like learning to ride a bike again but the pedals turn sideways and the handlebars make the wheel turn the opposite. I've given up for tonight before I turn all my donuts into a puddle on the floor. 

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I have a remote on my hand piece but I don't really use it as much as I should. I tend to just compensate by going faster when it heats up or by doing a manual pulse by on-off-on the trigger if things are getting too hot.

I feel like I have less control when I use 4 step and have my thumb on the adjuster. 

Other than cleanliness , torch angle and tungsten distance from the work piece are FAR more critical than steel.

I find for tacking having the torch square to the work piece and the tungsten very close is netting me pretty decent results- (most of the time) and occasionally it turns to a disaster.  

The other thing which is handy is Pyrex lens so you can see the weld pool if you can't get your head in the right spot to see what you are doing.

Tig is far more about technique and mig is all about machine setup.

 

Link below is handy to think about some variables 5&6 are the ones I struggle with when fillet welding if the access is a bit rubbish.

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/welding-aluminum.html

 

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Just keep practicing. Make sure any and all oxide is off the areas you want to weld. Even alloy that's been cleaned off and then left to sit for a good time will re- oxide enough to need a clean again. Get a stainless wire brush and keep it for alloy only. When you've made a few tacks or welds and it's really hot give the area a good scrub with the brush. Really helps clean it up. 

If the wild is not critical and you're just practising and you get a little crap on the tungsten then just keep going. It burns off and will be fine. Seems to be only the case with alloy this as its not the same case with steel or stainless?Better than constantly stopping to swap it out. 

Oh and a really good helmet. Wow what a difference it made for me to see things more clearly. I spent the money and got one of these. If I look after it then itll last a very long time. Money well spent I thought. 

https://m.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/Equipment/welding-gear/Pages/product.aspx?product=K3034-3(LincolnElectric)

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See the thing I'm tossing up right now is that for the price of that helmet, or a foot pedal for the welder, I can get a mate to weld it up for me professionally. He's been doing it for a living for god knows how many years and is bloody good at what he does. It being such a central visual piece of the engine bay obviously makes me want it to look good but with my current equipment, I don't think I can make that happen. It kills me to not to do it myself but this will be pretty much the only ally welding I'll need to do on the car and I don't think I can justify the investment at the moment, especially since pretty much all work on the car is going to have to stop next year while I'm studying down south with nowhere nearby to store or work on the car. Somewhere down the track I'll definitely get more into it and upskill but for now, I think as much as it sucks, I'm gonna take the easy (and cheaper) way out and get someone else to do these particular welds.  

Thank you guys for all your tips and I think I'll keep trying and practicing and teaching myself on scrap but I think it's a big ole no bueno on the actual intake. 

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I did the same thing mate...

I could have made an inlet manifold for mine but it would have never looked good and it would have missed me off.

So I just got all the bits made  and gave it to an engineering mate and told him what I wanted.   He did it with no problems and a million times better than I could have done.

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In the mean time when you get time you can just practice alt welding and be ready for the next project! :-)

Oh and get used to not using a foot pedal. Being able to alloy weld without having your foot on something opens up loads more jobs you can do and cuts down time too. 

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The TIG I bought came with a foot pedal fitted. As a learner I found it hard to judge how many amps I was giving it (can't look at the machine display in the middle of a weld).

I took it off and went back to the trigger switch the first time I needed to weld away from the bench - can't really use a pedal when you are kneeling on the floor welding a chassis tab.

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