very new at this... but trying... Small aluminum project - Page 2

LS Customs · Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:59 pm

and did a few other "designs" real quick... a couple that will mean something to specific people when they see them... either their favorite team, etc... sent my files off to my machinist (friend with cnc) to cut...

LS Customs · Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:03 pm

i also started playing around with the render functionality of the program... and will explore this on a way bigger scale in the near future with some crazier ideas of mine... most of this small stuff... or mini bike stuff, is simply easier for me to play with... but i am doing all this to be able to practice, while actually accomplishing something... that will translate well into the other hobbies i a into or things people often ask me to help them with that are more involving or expensive... like harleys, and race cars, etc...

LS Customs · Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:05 pm

and a couple of days later, i have my hands on my parts... just waiting for some 4943 to try out (should have within a couple f days)... and will weld these up with that...

LS Customs · Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:06 pm

LS Customs · Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:09 pm

going to make about 6 or 7 tanks and see if anyone will buy them, for a nice price

LS Customs · Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:28 am

got one welded up...

LS Customs · Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:49 am

for this set of "tanks" I designed the end caps to match the filler cap... but i had the intention of smoothing out the welds around the end caps to make it appear one piece...

there seems to be info all over the place on this.. i welded this particular tank with 5356... i do have some 4943 coming and will more than likely be using that on anything that will not get a coating, as it is supposedly better/stronger/etc... not sure if it is necessary...

question is, what is the actual "rule" if any, as it relates to grinding/sanding down the welds on something like this... that may hold fuel or oil, etc... is there a way, other than to continue to gain experience and confidence with tig welding, where i can test, or tell if something should crack? is this something that happens right away, or can happen over time and without warning? with proper fusion, i should be able to smooth the weld polish or brush the material for a nice consistent finish and be fairly confident it will not crack? I do and will check for leaks under pressure (i checked this tank for leaks, there are none)... just trying to figure out how to gain confidence in what im trying to do as i go along, without having to wait for something to crack etc, if that makes sense... theoretically and hopefully nothing would... but i would like a way to tell for sure, if possible...

or is the hard fast rule that i should not ever... i have also designed two piece end caps, where the tank would be welded up and welds not touched and end caps bolted on too... but for these next several parts, i wanted to weld the end caps on... i would weld ends on the tank counter sunk, where the end cap would butt up against straight edges on the tank and be a nice uniform seam... i think i will go with this, for future if these go to new homes... but would like to have a decent answer before i smooth any welds off these next few parts...

will push a flat end cap in for the future ones and then weld a blind bung to bolt the end cap too, so i dont have to worry about this when building these in the future

and then bolt on the end cap

Poland308 · Fri Oct 21, 2016 7:11 pm

If you know ahead of time you are going to grind it flush then it's a good idea to prep it to an open but weld. I.E. a gap and also bevel back the parts as mush as you reasonably can. This will leave lots of weld material even after you blend in the top.

LS Customs · Sat Oct 22, 2016 11:27 pm

Poland308 wrote:If you know ahead of time you are going to grind it flush then it's a good idea to prep it to an open but weld. I.E. a gap and also bevel back the parts as mush as you reasonably can. This will leave lots of weld material even after you blend in the top.

i thought about that too... i will bevel the rest of the tanks i make with these end caps, and if i do more of them, ill make the end caps set in on the tank ends... and make the caps bolt on... i am doing a custom tank for a friend like that... and should have done them all, it is a pain to smooth all these welds out... in my current (painful) state...

but here it is one roughed in

LS Customs · Thu Oct 27, 2016 9:17 pm

welded another one today.. tried out some 4943...

LS Customs · Sat Oct 29, 2016 8:35 pm

the 4943 does seem to weld different than the other rods... and the appearance is different too... but welded nicely...

LS Customs · Sat Oct 29, 2016 8:35 pm

LS Customs · Sun Oct 30, 2016 11:32 pm

and another... i have a friend who like this team, lol, so im sure he will want it when he sees it...

Jakedaawg · Sun Nov 27, 2016 7:48 pm

What you are doing is really cool. I see you mentioned using the 4943, do you know if it can be anodized?

GreinTime · Mon Nov 28, 2016 3:09 am

Jakedaawg wrote:What you are doing is really cool. I see you mentioned using the 4943, do you know if it can be anodized?

I've never seen anyone ask, but being that it has silicon in it like 4043, the end result would likely be the same. The reason 5356 doesn't turn black is because it has magnesium as the alloying element vs silicon.

Hobart lists the color after anodizing ad Grey, just like 4943. 5356 lists as white.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk