Probably a question aimed more at people who have welded in the past ... (craigo if u read this - HELP!) Ok so i want to angle my exhaust up from the very shallow standard fireblade angle. i can slacken the link pipe at both ends and rotate it which gives me a bit more angle upwards but if i go too far it starts pulling the silencer away from the bike so it sticks out (due to the combination of bends at either end of the link pipe) ... [hope that makes sense] ive worked out if i cut the link pipe in the middle, nice and square, and rotate each end in relation to the other, i can maintain a nice up angle and also keep the can close in to the bike ... so my question is how would i be best re-fastening the two halves of the pipe together, its stainless steel, 1mm thick and i have a TIG set up here ready to go. im no expert but im fairly neat with no filler rod on stainless so i would give it a go. should i just butt-weld it as it is, should i sleeve it internally and weld it, sleeve it externally and weld it or just buy a joint piece with slotted ends and clamp it up (that means il have 4 clamps within about 30cm, probably look ugly as hell). im looking for a reliable idea, as i cant seem to find a spare link pipe to mess with. cheers
shame you couldnt find somewhere that could make a new pipe with a pipe bending machine,it would look a lot neater than welded
Butt weld it m8, take ur time with it. I would use a filler rod as it gives the joint strenth. the trick with tig welding is to go back over the weld to tidy it up Do i right m8 and it will look GP style ! I it look bad then just smooth it off and polish it.
Cheers for the replies lads, Joe i didnt even know that ! but how would i do that sorry if stupid question) but the pipe is off on the bench, its open ended obv but i could fill with argon then soon as i stop it'll 'fall out' no? i understand purge, just not how to do a short section of 2" bore pipe. tape ends up and fill it ? XJR i thought about it but a) its extra expense (budget build) and b) i kinda wanted to do everything myself bloke and ian, i kinda struggle with the filler, lack of practice tbh ! if i rest both arms on something i shud be ok. my main concern was blowing a big hole in it and then it really will look s**** ! dya think i could butt weld with no filler, then run back over it just jabbing filler in and moving it into place with arc? thanks for the help, i just wanted to be a bit more informed before jumping in. like i say i dont wanna mess it up as i cant seem to find a spare. will give it a bash i think, worst case is i mess it up, have to shorten it and just clamp it with a joint piece and then heat wrap it. will let u know how i get on
ok iv cut it ! gonna make a brew (standard) then tack it, offer it up then weld it fully. small bit at a time yeh so it doesnt heat it all up too much ? just a quick general tig question as well, whats the purpose of the ramp up/ramp down gas adjustment ? Is it just to allow more gas into the area of a bigger weld, to do a kind of localised purge before the weld starts ? So they can be very low for this particular job ?
It is hard to tell. Don't have anything pulling it anyway or the weld will take it that was as its stainless it will pull all over the place if you put more heat in one place than another.
yeh it is a bit hard to see, i tried to get pic in-line, i just cant remember if standard cans point out very slightly anyway or whether theyre parallel to the subframe (or even point inwards) ... yeh im gonna make sure i dont heat it too much, probably do an inch at a time and let it cool. cheers guys, next pic will be fully done, let u assess my mediocre skills
It will pull than mate your best doing it in 4 and do opposites that way it won't pull if you put heat in one place it will pull that way till it gets heat to pull it another way trust me
aye think i got ya mate, do a bit one side then spin it and do the opposite ? like i say, il do small bit and leave it outside for half hour to cool. its fairly bloody hard stuff so im hoping it wont move at all
No you can do it all at once not a bit at a time just do the opp side at a time so do it in 4 sections if you get me or you do it the way you have said you will waste loads of argon purging it trust me I am a welder so I think I know what I am on about with it puls as I keep saying stainless will pull all over the place no matter how thick or big it is as its so soft when warm.
I trust u mate and wasnt doubting you, dont worry im definately no welder. Anyhow, i gave it a bash and it looked awesome til i got the middle of the visible bit, the pipe's flat face wasnt perfectly flat and i got to a bit where there was a very slight gap. warmed it for a touch too long before calling it off and it seperated slightly. had to splodge some filler in there and created a small blob. ive wrapped the damn thing now with exh. wrap anyway but the butt weld was mint apart from that little hiccup. looks great on too ! cheers
Well if you can not see it I would not worry too much mate did you purge it tho thats the main thing.
