Sam, other than using pulsed mig to minimise distortion, did you take any other steps to avoid distortion, such as backstepping, welding in a sequence that, for example, mimics the torqueing down of a cylinder head, and letting it cool for a few minutes between beads?

Sam, are you discovering parts of your truck full of kit that you never knew you had? If Aladdin were alive today, he wouldn’t have a cave full of treasure: he’d have your truck.

You have such a wide range of skills that I’d describe you as “an engineer’s engineer”.

I subscribe to ScannerDanner’s premium content, and he, too, loves, and makes constant use of, his power probe.

Good to see that you use Fluke kit; I’d never seen a detachable meter readout unit before; what a clever and useful idea.

Still waiting to see your first-aid kit 😉

Martin

I love all this testing, rather than theorising, Jody. I’m so glad you raised this topic, because when I’ve seen the puddle holding backing at the tip of the puddle, I’ve always thought it can’t be really punching deep into the root. On the other hand, when I’ve seen the front of the puddle flowing ahead and deep into the root, seemingly being pulled forwards by capillary forces, I’ve thought that is the optimal case. But your cut and etch proves beyond a doubt you’re getting perfect penetration even when it doesn’t look like it. And the toe of your puddle certainly looks nice and fluid. As you said, increasing the current runs the risks of nipping the corner or casing undercut. It’s really good watching this as an observer and under high magnification, and it beats all the theorising in the world.

Thanks, Jody.

It was indeed another excellent podcast; they’re always worth setting the alarm clock and waking up for so I can listen live.

Thanks again, Jody and Sam for making it so interesting and entertaining.

Martin

See you there, Jody & Sam.

Jody, you might be disappointed that you got it too hot in the second pass and should have let it cool after the first half, but that’s exactly what we need to see to know where the pitfalls are and what happens if you fall foul of them. Hopefully, a lesson like that gets seared into our brains for good. So thanks for keeping that and not editing it out.

Martin

Many thanks, Jody. Never mind the physics: the results speak for themselves.

And those arc shots of the puddle freezing behind the advancing arc are stunning. It’s like seeing what’s on the dark side of the moon: when welding, we focus on what’s happening just ahead of the arc, so these arc shots are invaluable for forming a mental picture of what will be happening in the trail of the arc (providing we’re maintaining the right technique).

Thanks again, Jody.

Hey, Jody,

I remember recently asking about the shallow electrode angle Andrew was adopting, with a similar joint configuration, and the reasons for it. Looking at the seemingly shallow angle you also use here, I think I can see why: with a relatively shallow angle, you will have plenty of leeway to manipulate the tungsten side to side in a contolled manner, taking your time, with little danger of dipping the electrode. And your cut and etch proves that you can still get perfect penetration even with a shallow angle.

Would you say that’s a fair assessment?

Thanks for another great video. It doesn’t matter how many times you video the same kind of thing, there’s always something new to come out of it.

Martin

Nice one, Sam. Very pretty, and pretty awesome, too.

Martin

I can imagine how annoyed you are: a few years ago my torch fell off the welding table and broke the #8 clear cup, and I’m still annoyed sbout it! The only consolation is that you only ever make that mistake once. Sorry it was a BBW cup in your case, Roy, but you can keep the internals as spares?