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'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

This is the build description. I will improve this later. (GB)
Overview Gallery Discussion
chevyfumes said:
They won't be once you flex it out. Everyone will rush to the droop side and go... Oooh aaaah!!!! Sexy kraken headers!
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Only guys like YOU, Rob! :haha:

Besides.... Once they are all lovingly brushed, welded, cleaned and perfect.... I'm coating them with black JetHot so that they disappear into the engine bay. All that hard work will become nearly invisible.

Got to preserve the "stock" look of this truck you know! :waytogo: :haha:


-G
 
Vibrant clamps seems to be a popular choice in the diesel world, I have not looked through what they carry though.
 
Cili said:
Vibrant clamps seems to be a popular choice in the diesel world, I have not looked through what they carry though.
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DONE!

Vibrant clamps - ORDERED
308 filler rod -1LB - ORDERED
309 filler rod - 1LB - ORDERED
Argon Regulator for purging tank - ORDERED


Whew!....I wish I could earn $$$ as fast as I'm spending it lately. :haha:


EDIT: I was surprised to read in that Burns Stainless article (above) that they prefer 0.030" filler wire for 16GA tubing. Up until now I'd seen most people say to match the filler rod (and tungsten) to the thickness of the base material.... which in my case would be 0.065" (16GA) or roughly 1/16".

0.030" is super thin.... like 1/32", half the thickness of the material that's being welded. I'm not sure if they expect you to really feed a LOT of wire (quickly) into the puddle, or if that is maybe more of an expectation that your fitment is SO tight and good that using the .030" wire is all that's needed and it keeps the weld profile nice and flat? :dunno:





-G
 
If the filler rod is the same thickness as the metal they'll all melt at the same point/temp. then you'd get more holes and it'd be harder and take more time/caution to weld. having the rod smaller allows it to melt a little sooner and gives you more control.
 
shady said:
If the filler rod is the same thickness as the metal they'll all melt at the same point/temp. then you'd get more holes and it'd be harder and take more time/caution to weld. having the rod smaller allows it to melt a little sooner and gives you more control.
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Interesting!

Makes sense.... Is there any reason to buy 36" long filler rod (0.030" 308L or 309L) instead of just picking up a 2LB spool that would normally be used on a MIG machine? It seems like the wire is SOOO thin that it's never going to stay straight for very long anyway and maybe it's a little easier to find that really thin stuff in spools instead?? :dunno:

I definitely want to pick up a few different types / thicknesses of filler rod so that I can experiment while I'm practicing my TIG. So I don't mind buying a variety of materials (in small 1 or 2 LB quantities).


-G
 
never seen anyone use the mig wire :dunno: but trying a few different methods would be a great idea because everyone welds different... what works for 1 may not work for all... I know I set my stuff different than the guys I work with so..? Really I have limited tig experience Due to not having to weld much in quite a while. only actually did it for a little while years ago. I just mig now because I don't mind seeing weld beads:D I LIKE the look of them. sadly most all of my stainless experience is with a stick though. not sure how different it welds with tig. when I was using tig it was on 1/8"x12" tube... not as fine and intricate as yours and like back in 01 lol.
 
I have heard of people using the MIG wire for filler rod to weld stainless tubes. The fit of the gaps is supposed to be so small you don't need much filler, in fact sometimes they don't use filler at all to weld some of the food pipes I believe.

I have used .035 4043 MIG wire to practice TIG on pop cans, worked just fine.

Greg did you get a dual valve flow regulator with the ball valves? Which one? Smith? Victor?
 
folkenheath said:
I have heard of people using the MIG wire for filler rod to weld stainless tubes. The fit of the gaps is supposed to be so small you don't need much filler, in fact sometimes they don't use filler at all to weld some of the food pipes I believe.

I have used .035 MIG 4043 wire to practice TIG on pop cans, worked just fine.

Greg did you get a dual valve flow regulator with the ball valve? Which one? Smith? Victor?
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I just bought a standalone Argon regulator from Amazon... picked the one with the best customer rating. :D

http://amzn.com/B00CBIZWY8

After doing some reading on how to split the Argon, and the fact that you still need to regulate both sides and know your flow rates it is probably just better to get a second tank of Argon (and a simple flow meter) and dedicate it for use as purge gas.

With as much TIG welding as I'm expecting to do, having a single 80CuFt tank of Argon (for both welding and purge gas) isn't going to make sense anyway... so I'll buy one more (maybe 2) so that I have spares available when I run out. I keep 2 extra bottles of SteelMix around for the same reason on MIG.

AirGas always seems to be closed when I run out of gas, so this strategy gives me more flexibility to drive over there at my own convenience. :waytogo:


-G
 
Greg72 said:
DONE!

Vibrant clamps - ORDERED
308 filler rod -1LB - ORDERED
309 filler rod - 1LB - ORDERED
Argon Regulator for purging tank - ORDERED


Whew!....I wish I could earn $$$ as fast as I'm spending it lately. :haha:


EDIT: I was surprised to read in that Burns Stainless article (above) that they prefer 0.030" filler wire for 16GA tubing. Up until now I'd seen most people say to match the filler rod (and tungsten) to the thickness of the base material.... which in my case would be 0.065" (16GA) or roughly 1/16".

0.030" is super thin.... like 1/32", half the thickness of the material that's being welded. I'm not sure if they expect you to really feed a LOT of wire (quickly) into the puddle, or if that is maybe more of an expectation that your fitment is SO tight and good that using the .030" wire is all that's needed and it keeps the weld profile nice and flat? :dunno:





-G
Click to expand...



Called up Burns Stainless today and spoke directly with Vince (the guy who wrote the article Heath linked to above)....

Turns out they sell that super thin (0.030") welding rod directly, so I placed an order for the 308 and 309 versions today and got an email that they are already shipped out via USPS Priority Mail. :woot:

My house is going to be overrun with boxes in the coming days..... looking forward to getting all of this new swag unpacked, so I can start REALLY practicing my TIG welding.

.....and as I've said in the build many times before, this ISN'T one of those TV reality shows where I say I'm going to learn how to TIG weld....then two minutes later I show you images of perfect weld beads. Whatever I get, is what you'll see. I'm hoping to be a quick study on this new welding process, but if I'm not..... then I hope someone out there will jump in with some advice on what I'm going wrong. :bow:


-G
 
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Greg72 said:
Called up Burns Stainless today and spoke directly with Vince (the guy who wrote the article Heath linked to above)....

Turns out they sell that super thin (0.030") welding rod directly, so I placed an order for the 308 and 309 versions today and got an email that they are already shipped out via USPS Priority Mail. :woot:

My house is going to be overrun with boxes in the coming days..... looking forward to getting all of this new swag unpacked, so I can start REALLY practicing my TIG welding.

.....and as I've said in the build many times before, this ISN'T one of those TV reality shows where I say I'm going to learn how to TIG weld....then two minutes later I show you images of perfect weld beads. Whatever I get, it what you'll see. I'm hoping to be a quick study on this new welding process, but if I'm not..... then I hope someone out there will jump in with some advice on what I'm going wrong. :bow:


-G
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I feel so amateur..... you're learning to TIG ss, and I'm learning to MIG Al.... :doah:

that said, I want a bottle of tri-mix so I can start MIGing SS too.. I'd be my bosses hero if I can do that... :woot: :haha:


anxious to see the headers come together! :waytogo:
 
ryoken said:
I feel so amateur..... you're learning to TIG ss, and I'm learning to MIG Al.... :doah:

that said, I want a bottle of tri-mix so I can start MIGing SS too.. I'd be my bosses hero if I can do that... :woot: :haha:


anxious to see the headers come together! :waytogo:
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You're not the only one! :waytogo:


NorCal69 said:
Lots of Blah, blah, blah going on up in here... :tongue1:


Lets get some progress pics going. :deal: :waytogo:
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Unless you've got an insider at UPS \ USPS who can magically make my stuff appear tomorrow, I'm not sure how I can meet your expectations. :dunno:


-G
 
Greg72 said:
Unless you've got an insider at UPS \ USPS who can magically make my stuff appear tomorrow, I'm not sure how I can meet your expectations. :dunno:


-G
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Dammit man, I'm sorry. I forgot that's all that is left on the rig before some super wheelie type burn outs. :whistle:

Carry on. :waytogo:
 
Or post more cookie pics. That will slow them boys down a bit from givin ya hell.

Or we could always bring back burrito......

I think they mentioned it in baba's thread.
 
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