Looking for someone to tig stainless

GearHead11

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2013
Location
Winston Salem
Ordered a diy turbo manifold for my rig. It's schedule 10 304 stainless with a mild steel flange and I wanted to see if there was anyone local to Winston that could tig and back purge it for a reasonable price. If I can't find anyone I'm just going to mig it with stainless wire, figured I'd try to find someone that can do it right before I go that route
 
I would not mig it... Make sure who ever tigs it back purges it or you will have ALOT of sugar and the hot side fins of your turbo will get some snacks.. I could do it but I don't have access to a tig rig anymore :(
 
Slut99 said:
I would not mig it... Make sure who ever tigs it back purges it or you will have ALOT of sugar and the hot side fins of your turbo will get some snacks.. I could do it but I don't have access to a tig rig anymore :(
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I was reading about some kind of flux you can coat the inside with and it shields the inside while welding. Any experience with that or know what I'm talking about?

catfishblues said:
Sending a PM.
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Replied
 
GearHead11 said:
I was reading about some kind of flux you can coat the inside with and it shields the inside while welding. Any experience with that or know what I'm talking about?
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You are talking about Solar Flux.

It works well in some situations and not so well in others. While back purging is ideal, for your use I think Solar Flux would be just fine.
 
GearHead11 said:
I was reading about some kind of flux you can coat the inside with and it shields the inside while welding. Any experience with that or know what I'm talking about?



Replied
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Solar Flux or any other brand of backup flux or tape is what you're thinking about. I've never messed with it, but I'm not sure it's what you want. Cleanup might be a bitch, and you don't want chunks blowing off into your turbo. You could dip it in muriatic acid, but that would wash off all the pretty rainbow colors from the weld. I've got a mandrel that might be able to sand it off, but getting it super clean before assembly is going to be key. I wouldn't mind trying it, I just never have.
 
Solar Flux isn't bad to clean off with your preferred pickling paste or wire brush, etc.

Tape is a PITA and I wouldn't want to do it somewhere tight that doesn't allow easy access for removal.
 
I'm going to have to get a tub to play with now. I wish more people would use it. I can't tell you how many stainless exhausts I've seen crack along or near the weld seam. Seam looks great, backside looks like the inside of a cave from all the sugar. Good enough for ebay, I guess. I've got a turbo manifold off a Honda at the shop that's a good example. Rams horn style. More cracks than you can shake a torch at. One runner is completely broken off the flange.
 
rockcity said:
Solar Flux isn't bad to clean off with your preferred pickling paste or wire brush, etc.

Tape is a PITA and I wouldn't want to do it somewhere tight that doesn't allow easy access for removal.
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Well the manifold is 1.5" tube so I might be able to get a brush or something through there to knock it off. I just don't want any of it to run through the turbo. I might have to pick a tub up though, I'm looking at building a stainless exhaust coming off the turbo as well. All that residue would just blow right out
 
Send me a pick of what your talking about. I can set this up with and run it. Just need an idea of size. Would give me an excuse to buy the ideal purge set up I have in mind.
 
Manifolds aren't difficult to back purge, once the tube sections are tacked together and the joints are relatively tight. You just need to use a rubber stopper (or make a plate, depending on runner/flange shape) to insert the purge tube into each runner, and then do something similar on the other end to control the flow out of the other side without building pressure. You don't need much flow to displace the air from inside the runners while welding. You could do it in a purge box but I've seen a lot of beautiful manifolds that are professionally done using the method I'm talking about.
 
catfishblues said:
I'm going to have to get a tub to play with now. I wish more people would use it. I can't tell you how many stainless exhausts I've seen crack along or near the weld seam. Seam looks great, backside looks like the inside of a cave from all the sugar. Good enough for ebay, I guess. I've got a turbo manifold off a Honda at the shop that's a good example. Rams horn style. More cracks than you can shake a torch at. One runner is completely broken off the flange.
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Although the eBay manifolds are known for shitty welds, the big problem is making really gnarly manifolds without any form of expansion control or proper turbo support. A rams horn manifold has a lot of thermal expansion in a small area, and the expansion is in many directions because of the twisty runners. Then you hang a turbo from it without supporting the weight, or you support the turbo but constrain it too rigidly so it doesn't allow the manifold to expand at all, and you have a recipe for really bad cracking.

There are two ways to solve that: Design it properly, or make it so massively heavy and thick that it can be poorly designed and still not crack (which takes more blind luck than anything else). Most manifolds that aren't really expensive fall into the second category.
 
Fabrik8 said:
Manifolds aren't difficult to back purge, once the tube sections are tacked together and the joints are relatively tight. You just need to use a rubber stopper (or make a plate, depending on runner/flange shape) to insert the purge tube into each runner, and then do something similar on the other end to control the flow out of the other side without building pressure. You don't need much flow to displace the air from inside the runners while welding. You could do it in a purge box but I've seen a lot of beautiful manifolds that are professionally done using the method I'm talking about.
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A little quality masking tape, heat tape, and purge paper works wonders and is all really easy to use.

We weld a lot of X-ray quality pipes and tubes in stainless, hastalloy, and many other odd alloys this way. It's easy once figured out how to do it. :)


For whoever welds it, take a few minutes and stop by a quality welding supply house and chat with them. They sell more than just gas and welding rods and most working there have worked in the industry and can give pointers and offer products that may work well.
 
Fabrik8 said:
Manifolds aren't difficult to back purge, once the tube sections are tacked together and the joints are relatively tight. You just need to use a rubber stopper (or make a plate, depending on runner/flange shape) to insert the purge tube into each runner, and then do something similar on the other end to control the flow out of the other side without building pressure. You don't need much flow to displace the air from inside the runners while welding. You could do it in a purge box but I've seen a lot of beautiful manifolds that are professionally done using the method I'm talking about.
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Yeah It looks simple enough but I don't have a dual regulator and don't really want to invest in one as this is the only time I'd use it. Same reason I borrowed the bender that I used for my exo.

Fabrik8 said:
Although the eBay manifolds are known for shitty welds, the big problem is making really gnarly manifolds without any form of expansion control or proper turbo support. A rams horn manifold has a lot of thermal expansion in a small area, and the expansion is in many directions because of the twisty runners. Then you hang a turbo from it without supporting the weight, or you support the turbo but constrain it too rigidly so it doesn't allow the manifold to expand at all, and you have a recipe for really bad cracking.

There are two ways to solve that: Design it properly, or make it so massively heavy and thick that it can be poorly designed and still not crack (which takes more blind luck than anything else). Most manifolds that aren't really expensive fall into the second category.
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This is why I went with the log style. It's small and doesnt extend way off the head so I figured the weight of the turbo and exhaust wound have less leverage on the manifold itself. Also plan on putting a flex section in the downpipe to help alleviate shock and vibrations.
 
Purge tape and paper are good for piping where it would be difficult for removal and the tape and paper dissolve during flushing or hydro testing. Beyond that, there really isn't a reason to pay the extra $ if regular tape would do
 
I appreciate the help guys but I've got someone that will do it for cost of materials as long as he doesn't get sent out of town for work. Will update if that's the case
 
catfishblues said:
Hard to beat that deal!
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Haha yup. He's a welder by trade and could get sent anywhere in the world with a phone call so I'm hoping he will be around for a few weeks. I got shipping confirmation on the manifold kit today so I'll let you know if he can't do it
 
now that the welding issue is solved, why on gods green earth would you want a header with stainless tubes and mild steel flange?
 
It's how the diy kits come. All the ones I looked at came with a mild steel flange. I'm guessing because stainless can warp real easy and that's the one piece that really must be straight
 
It's because its cheaper than stainless and easy to cut out and flycut if necessary. A stainless flange will usually cost roughly 3 times that of mild steel, as least that's whats I've observed from the companies selling raw flanges over the years. It makes the cost of a DIY kit much less attractive, to put it that way...
 
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