Correct pattern for welding tubing?

[CalRewireMatt]

Hey guys. Ive been struggling to get a good weld on tubing and have come here for help. I feel Im pretty proficient with straight welds such as welding box tubing or plate but when it comes to welding tube I end up with sub par results.

I tend to use a zig zag or crecent type pattern but when I do it on a tube or round joint it ends up horrible. Ive come to the conclusion that what works for straight joints isnt neccessarily good for a fishmouth or any type of round filet.

So my question is, What is a good pattern to use? Ive even considered just hitting the joint with a straight bead but when I do it tends to get a bit cattapillar like which Im not ok with either. Im want to be able to lay down a nice flat bead that is structurally sound, Ive got that down for the straight now I need it for tube.

HELP!!

[nocheepgas]

What weld process? For MIG or STICK I use small circles. TIG, it's pretty much dip and go.

[CalRewireMatt]

Using a Millermatic 180 with 75/25 gas.

I seems when I weave the weld is huge compared to a straight weld I can do. Ive tried to do a straight no weave pattern and the weld is more confined but it sits proud which I know is wrong.

For some reason I cant seem to get welding a tube down . I am self taught so I dont really have anyone to ask other than asking questions on forums or watching videos. I even watched Covells video and I didnt seem to gain anything.

I really hoping theres a resource for me to go after to figure out how to correctly weld tube.

[vin-man welding]

OK so your using MIG. but you left out size of pipe and hard wire or flux?

if it's small pipe 2" and under it's all in your angle of the gun (15degree and pushing).
let's say your doing a pipe rail on a bench T joint. just start at the top center and weld down hand left then right from the top.
if it's a pipe over 2" then same for root and same for cover but with a weave (moving fast side to side)
if it is going to be a structural weld then you should be sticking it anyway.

[vin-man welding]

i only had some pipe pic's that i sticked. if you need i'll weld some pipe with my 211.

[STRENGTH AND POWER]

i only had some pipe pic's that i sticked. if you need i'll weld some pipe with my 211.

I'd be interested in seeing < 2" MIG action

[jpmachado]

I'm in the process of building a chassis with a lot of tubing in it. The tubing is about the same size as you are inquiring about. I TIG welded it all for the very reasons people have mentioned (quality of penetration and being able to better see what I was doing). HOWEVER, it took a very long time. Also, I was watching the 24/7 on HBO that showed them building the NASCAR chassis. I saw they seemed to be MIG welding everything. Next time I build a chassis I would love to MIG in an effort to move a little faster. I'm only a hobbiest, but it sometimes gets hard to stay motivated when you have hours and hours of just welding after everything is tacked up.

I'd love to see some video of someone welding. I can read all I want to, but I find (especially in welding type applications) seeing someone do it correctly is of much more benefit.

Thanks
JP

[cupfab]

I'm in the process of building a chassis with a lot of tubing in it. The tubing is about the same size as you are inquiring about. I TIG welded it all for the very reasons people have mentioned (quality of penetration and being able to better see what I was doing). HOWEVER, it took a very long time. Also, I was watching the 24/7 on HBO that showed them building the NASCAR chassis. I saw they seemed to be MIG welding everything. Next time I build a chassis I would love to MIG in an effort to move a little faster. I'm only a hobbiest, but it sometimes gets hard to stay motivated when you have hours and hours of just welding after everything is tacked up.

I'd love to see some video of someone welding. I can read all I want to, but I find (especially in welding type applications) seeing someone do it correctly is of much more benefit.

Thanks
JP

MIG welding works great when you're building a chassis such as a stock car,which is truly "over built" and have a ton of tubing. We've built a few where we TIG welded the entire chassis~it saved just over six pounds -just from the smaller TIG beads-but it simply takes too much time considering the life of one of these race cars. We've sent both chassis (TIG and MIG) to testing facilities which perform torsional stiffness and rigidity tests on them, and they get virtually the same numbers.

Hope this helps!