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Welding Chainsaws.

Discussion in 'Chainsaws and Power Equipment' started by Mag Craft, May 24, 2017.

  1. scotts_4x

    scotts_4x

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    there looks to be a fair amount of porosity in the welded area. is this the case or just an optical illusion due to photography?

    -scott
     
  2. Mag Craft

    Mag Craft

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    You are correct scotts. It is not severe and does not seem to affect the strength of the part being welded but because the cast is porous and there is oil soaked into everything a certain amount of the pitting will happen. It is just part of the welding game when working on chainsaws.
     
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  3. scotts_4x

    scotts_4x

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    it's no necessarily part of the welding game, it's just dirty base material. the cure is usually a torch to burn it out before welding. I've welded on many aluminum parts of engines etc. and it's always a tough job to get all of the base metal clean but it's part of getting the job done right.

    -scott
     
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  4. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I have welded up a few chainsaws when the need arrived. One Sunday I did not even have Tig Rod so I just cut a chunk of aluminum off an tig welded my chainsaw handle with that. Tig welding is very easy and versatile; all you really need is spare metal off the piece you are welding to make it work. By doing that you are assured you have the right metal.
     
  5. Mag Craft

    Mag Craft

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    Yes it is true that the parts still have some kind of contamination in them and that is causing the pitting. But it is not as easy to get clean as you might think.

    I have talked with others and looked at pictures of parts that have been welded from others and they all seem to have the same problem.
     
  6. Boomstick

    Boomstick Banned

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    Yep the oil soaks INTO the cast material.

    The castings themselves have porosity usually.
    The welded area can be stronger than the rest of the cast material.

    You can get away with porosity.

    The question is how long do you spend making it nice or good enough! You can spend all day washing out porosity and still end up with it.

    Constructive criticism...
    Most "welders" pro or ameteur can't even tig weld much less tig aluminum so kudos!

    Critisism.. Heat control and..
    You can butter the joints without filler (washing it with your ac balance)really taking your time and using good heat control.
    Leave a few critical areas alone where the parts can "match up"
    Other than that welding cast is....welding cast. Its not always perfection sometimes not even close:rofl: :lol:
    The welds look strong and the results obviously speak for them selves!:smoke:

    Alot of people have problems with aluminum or in this case a mag aluminum alloy seeing the puddle.
    After doing aluminum steel is easy!
     
  7. scotts_4x

    scotts_4x

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    [​IMG]

    I think I've got the welding of aluminum part licked, therefore giving me the latitude to talk about the ins and outs ;)

    it's not easy at all to get good results, but it is the way to do things. a thing you can try when done is immediately peen the surface of the weld with a ball peen hammer. lots, until the weld looks like hammered dog chit. the result will be a slightly denser weld area and considerably less (the goal is none) visible porosity once the weld is machined or ground off. this comes in handy when repairing things such as combustion chambers on used cylinder heads.

    -scott
     
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  8. SKEETER McCLUSKEY

    SKEETER McCLUSKEY

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    nothing like being #1 in your own book!!! 4 posts too,holy cow
     
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  9. scotts_4x

    scotts_4x

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    what does my post count on FHC have to do with the price of tea in China? same thing it has to do with my welding credentials and experience: absolutely nothing. if you'd like to call my welding knowledge into question I'd be more than happy to have an adult conversation that has nothing to do with how popular either one of us are on an Internet discussion board.:yes:
     
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  10. eatonpcat

    eatonpcat

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    Good points, welcome to FHC. If you did the welds in your photos, you definetly know how it should be done!! Please remember that 99.9% of us are here to have fun, popularity doesn't come into play. Sit back, have a beer or 2 and enjoy the friendliest forum on the Interweb!!
     
  11. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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    Agreed.:)
     
  12. Mag Craft

    Mag Craft

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    Yep that is some nice welds with out a doubt. That is a lot of practice right there to get that good. Thanks for the advice.

    My hobby is chainsaws and I noticed that there was not a lot of people around that would weld on a chainsaw.

    So I took it upon myself to learn how to do it. I have done welding for folks all over the United States and Canada and I never charge a dime for any of it. Because I like chainsaws and I like the people who like chainsaws and it is just a hobby. After all a person needs to do something when they are retired, and I do like this site and the people here.
     
  13. 94BULLITT

    94BULLITT

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  14. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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    Wow, that sure is purdy! I have just enough aluminum welding experience to say with 100% certainty that something that perfect is 100% impossible on used aluminum...unless maybe it was an oxygen tank used in some sort of an aseptic lab environment or something...
     
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  15. Scotty Overkill

    Scotty Overkill Administrator

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    I'll be sending you out some pieces real soon....I've just been so dammed busy.
     
  16. Mag Craft

    Mag Craft

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    No Problem Scotty. Just thought I would show what is possible.
     
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  17. MasterMech

    MasterMech The Mechanical Moderator

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    There is a big difference in welding sheetstock or aluminum extrusions (c channel, angle, box tube, etc) and welding on a magnesium casting that's seen decades of oil and grime from field use. Welding perfectly prepped materials is easy, it's supposed to be, and that's why we spend all that time on prep. It's when the abnormal, uncomfortable and unusual jobs get presented that the truly talented tradesmen earn their stripes.
     
  18. scotts_4x

    scotts_4x

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    yep, try making repairs to a combustion chamber. crap has been beat into the surface 1000's of times per minute. very unforgiving. helps to have a machine that let's you tailor your wave shape and makeup. you can pick up much of the impurities with a little more electrode positive mixed in. often I will open up the surface with the arc and no filler just to boil out impurities before brushing and then welding.

    -scott
     
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  19. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    My hat's off to both of you!
    In my few (tig) attempts, there is apparently a disconnect in my foot. Left hand, right hand, and foot not all wired together.:thumbs:. My spool gun gives me enough challenge with new material.
     
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  20. MasterMech

    MasterMech The Mechanical Moderator

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    Ditch the foot pedal then. The beauty of TIG is that it is so configurable/controllable. I like the foot pedal for small work at the bench but more often than not I'm running a torch switch with appropriate settings dialed in. I really like 4T mode (push the switch turns on the arc, release the switch ramps up to weld current, push it again and it ramps down, release the switch and the arc shuts off) with a programmable machine. You can do some great work upside down jammed inside of a machine with tools like that.