Intro to Oxy-Acetylene Welding - Part 1
Summary
TLDRIn this instructional video, the host demonstrates oxy-acetylene welding, starting with setting up the regulator tanks for oxygen and acetylene. They emphasize safety, including using eye protection and gloves. The tutorial covers adjusting the torch for the right flame, tacking to join metal pieces, and performing a fusion weld. The host highlights the importance of controlling the heat and movement for a successful weld, resulting in a flat, well-penetrated joint.
Takeaways
- 🔥 Safety First: Always remember the rhyme 'Acetylene before Oxygen' to avoid mistakes.
- 🛠️ Check Equipment: Ensure the torch tip is clean and the correct size for welding.
- 💧 Purge Valves: Purge the valves to release any residual pressure before use.
- 📈 Adjust Pressure: Set acetylene pressure to about 6 psi and oxygen between 8 to 10 psi for optimal welding.
- 🚨 PSI Limit: Never exceed 15 psi for acetylene to prevent dangerous pressure buildup.
- 🥽 Protect Your Eyes: Use a number 9 screen for eye and face protection against heat and sparks.
- 🧤 Use Gloves: Always wear leather gloves to protect your hands from burns.
- 🔨 Handle Hot Material: Use pliers to handle hot materials to avoid burns.
- 🔨 Set Up Metal: Place flat bars with a slight gap for better penetration during welding.
- 🔥 Flame Adjustment: Start with acetylene and adjust the flame to get rid of black smoke, then add oxygen for a clean weld.
- 💧 Tacking: Start welding by tacking both ends of the metal pieces to hold them in place.
- 🌐 Fusion Welding: Practice fusion welding by pushing the molten puddle along the length of the joint.
Q & A
What is the purpose of the rhyme 'always acetylene before oxygen'?
-The rhyme 'always acetylene before oxygen' is a mnemonic to help remember the correct sequence of setting up oxy-acetylene welding equipment, ensuring safety by following the proper steps.
Why is it important to ensure the torch tip is clean before welding?
-A clean torch tip is crucial for proper gas flow and flame control during welding. A dirty or clogged tip can lead to an uneven flame, which can affect the quality of the weld.
What is the significance of the half-turn rule when opening the main valve of the acetylene tank?
-Turning the main valve half a turn is a standard practice to ensure that the valve is opened correctly and not over-tightened, which could lead to safety issues or damage to the valve.
Why is it necessary to purge the valves before starting to weld?
-Purging the valves removes any residual gas that could mix with the fresh gas and cause an unsafe mixture, ensuring a clean and safe start to the welding process.
How does adjusting the regulator knob on the torch handle affect the acetylene pressure?
-Adjusting the regulator knob on the torch handle allows the welder to control the acetylene pressure, which in turn affects the intensity of the flame produced during welding.
What is the recommended pressure range for acetylene when setting up for welding?
-The recommended pressure range for acetylene when setting up for welding is about 6 psi, as mentioned in the script.
Why is it advised not to exceed 15 psi for acetylene?
-Exceeding 15 psi for acetylene can lead to an overly powerful flame that may cause safety hazards or damage to the equipment, which is why it's important to stay within the recommended pressure range.
What type of eye protection is recommended for oxy-acetylene welding?
-A number 9 screen is recommended for eye protection during oxy-acetylene welding to shield the eyes and face from the intense heat and light produced during the process.
Why are leather gloves and pliers necessary when welding?
-Leather gloves protect the hands from burns, while pliers are used to handle hot materials after welding to prevent burns and injuries.
What is the purpose of using fire bricks when setting up the welding area?
-Fire bricks are used to protect the welding surface from the heat generated during welding, as they can withstand high temperatures without exploding or cracking.
How does the welder create a molten puddle during the welding process?
-The welder creates a molten puddle by heating the metal pieces until they become molten, then moving the torch back and forth to allow the shiny, molten parts to join together into one puddle.
Outlines
🔥 Setting Up for Oxy-Acetylene Welding
This paragraph introduces the basics of oxy-acetylene welding, including setting up the oxygen and acetylene tanks. The speaker emphasizes the importance of following a specific order for safety: 'acetylene before oxygen'. They also stress the need to ensure the torch tip is clean and the correct size for welding. The process of setting up the tanks involves opening the main valve half a turn, purging the valves if necessary, and adjusting the regulator to achieve the desired pressure (6 psi for acetylene and between 5-10 psi for oxygen). The speaker also highlights the importance of safety gear such as eye protection and gloves, and the use of pliers to handle hot materials.
🔥 Starting the Welding Process
In this paragraph, the speaker describes the process of starting the welding process. They begin by lighting the torch with a striker, adjusting the acetylene valve to achieve a clean, feathered flame without black smoke. The speaker then adds oxygen to the mix, which changes the flame's appearance, creating two distinct cones of flame. The goal is to adjust the oxygen until the flame becomes a small, concentrated cone. The welding process involves heating both ends of the flat bar to create a molten puddle that joins the two pieces together. The speaker demonstrates tacking, which is the initial joining of the metal, and then proceeds to a fusion weld, pushing the molten puddle along the length of the joint. The technique involves maintaining a 45-degree angle with the torch and using a zigzag motion to evenly distribute the heat and push the puddle along the weld.
🔥 Completing the Weld and Post-Weld Cooling
The final paragraph covers the completion of the weld and the post-weld cooling process. The speaker demonstrates how to continue the weld by maintaining even heat and pushing the molten puddle along the metal, using either zigzag or circular movements based on personal preference. They caution against moving too quickly to prevent burning through the metal. Once the weld is complete, the speaker advises turning off the acetylene and then the oxygen valves. They discuss the cooling process, noting that while it's acceptable to cool the weld in water for practice, it's better to let it cool naturally to avoid cracking and becoming brittle. The speaker also mentions cleaning the weld with a brush once it's dry and provides a final assessment of the weld's quality, noting that it appears flat and well-penetrated. They suggest increasing the gap between the metal for more penetration if desired.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡oxy acetylene welding
💡regulator tanks
💡torch
💡tip cleaner
💡acetylene
💡psi
💡eye protection
💡leather gloves
💡fire brick
💡tack weld
💡fusion weld
Highlights
Introduction to oxy acetylene welding and setup of regulator tanks
Safety tips for using a welding torch
Basic fusion welding technique using flat bar steel
Setting up the torch with a clean tip for optimal performance
How to use a tip cleaner for maintaining the torch
Regulator tank setup with a rhyme for remembering the sequence
Opening the main valve for the acetylene tank
Purging the valves to ensure safety
Adjusting the regulator to control the acetylene pressure
Setting the acetylene pressure to 6 psi for optimal welding
Oxygen tank setup and adjusting the pressure between 5 to 10 psi
Importance of eye protection during welding
Use of leather gloves to prevent burns
Setting up the welding area with fire bricks to protect the table
Torch lighting technique to achieve a clean flame
Adjusting the acetylene valve to eliminate black smoke for a clear flame
Adding oxygen to the flame to create a hotter welding temperature
Tack welding to join both ends of the flat bar
Fusion welding technique by pushing the molten puddle along the joint
Cooling down the weld naturally to prevent cracking
Inspecting the weld for quality and penetration
Transcripts
[Music]
[Music]
hi everyone today we're gonna do some
oxy acetylene welding I'm gonna show you
how to set up your regulator tanks how
to safely use your torch and how to do
some basic fusion welding with some flat
bar this is just regular steel so first
off setting up your tanks we've got two
here we have an oxygen tank and we have
an acetylene tank I have a little rhyme
that I follow for all of these steps
it's always going to be a before oh
acetylene before oxygen or up you go
don't ask me why but it's going to help
you remember every single step so before
I get started setting up my tanks I need
to make sure that my torch and
everything has been set up correctly we
need to make sure that the tip is a tiny
little hole here we need to make sure
that the tip is clean it's hard to see
need to make sure the tip is clean if
you do need to clean it and you can tell
once you actually start welding you can
use a tip cleaner tip cleaners look
something like this you need to pick the
right size for the one that fits in that
hole first we're gonna do the acetylene
first we're gonna open up the main valve
here half a turn so if this is my start
I want it to get to here and I've drawn
a little line here to help remember half
a turn now the last person who used this
did not purge the valves but usually
when you get to it let me just purge
that valve for a second
really some pressure on my regulator
there we go
this is basically how much fuel is left
in the cylinder and this is how much
pressure will be coming through so in
order for me to increase pressure that
is going to be coming out of my torch
I'm gonna have to adjust the regulator
I'm gonna open up the knob on my torch
handle for the acetylene or the fuel
just opened up don't worry about how big
it is yet and I'm going to adjust the
regulator here I'm going in the plus you
can see plus or minus I'm going plus and
I'm going to increase it to about 6 psi
there we go we're at three four five six
if you look very closely there and you
can hear the acetylene actually coming
out go ahead and turn off your knob this
one is set and ready to go next we have
our oxygen tank we need to adjust this
to we have between I'm gonna say 5 and
10 psi coming out of this we're gonna
open this valve all the way until it
stops we're gonna take our torch handle
open up the oxygen adjust the regulator
until we have between 8 and 10 psi it's
hard to see the numbers but we just need
that little valve needle to show it just
a little bit right there that's good
turn off your torch valve so if you look
closely you can see that the needle on
the left is just open a little bit and
down on the acetylene it's around 6
that's a zoom in there a little bit you
can see that the PSI is just about 6 if
you look on the left dial you can see
that there's a red zone
do not push acetylene pass 15 psi next
you need to have some sort of eye
protection we're gonna be using a number
9 screen here this allows it to protect
your eyes and your face from the heat
mostly your eyes so that your eyes don't
hurt while welding welding with just
bare eyes is going to
for a while you need to have a set of
gloves ready we're using leather gloves
here to protect from burns and I've got
pliers here to pick up hot material
after we've been welding if you pick up
hot material with bare hands you're
gonna get all blistery I'm going to set
up my two pieces of flat bar here with a
slight gap in between and I'm using fire
brick to prevent my table from getting
hot and fire bricks will not explode
when heated or anything so now that I
have my metal set up I have my torch all
ready to go all I have to do is open my
acetylene valve just a little bit or
fuel valve this one's using acetylene
open up just enough that you can feel it
on your hands or you can put it up on
your ear and actually listen I'm wearing
these wicked glasses just enough to feel
it take your striker hold it on a slight
angle side here and you get a nice city
flame all that black stuff is carbon we
want to get rid of that or it makes a
big mess I'm going to open up my
acetylene valve until that black smoke
goes away and I have a nice feathered
flame delicious if you're doing thinner
material you don't need as hot of a
flame in this case we're doing eight
inch flat bar so I'm gonna open that up
so I get a nice roar I don't have a
special number for this beautiful next
we're going to open up our oxygen and
add some oxygen to this mix watch
carefully what happens to the flame
now if you look at it it looks like we
have two different cones here we've got
a very bright one we have a longer one
here
don't try to get tough don't try to
touch it but you can get pretty close
without feeling any heat I'm not gonna
purposely do that though all right I'm
gonna adjust some more oxygen until that
one cone gets nice and tiny so here's
just I'd set the exposure on the camera
down a little bit so you can see the two
different cones when you first have just
acetylene you've got that add your
oxygen and you're gonna see two
different color flames essentially
coming out we've got a short bright one
and a long one there I'm gonna add more
oxygen until I have a very nice little
cone that's maybe less than a centimeter
long all right let's do some welding so
I have my flat bar set up with a very
slight gap in between I want to have a
little bit of a gap to allow the metal
to penetrate when it gets welded
together I'm going to start by tacking
both ends and then I'm gonna do a fusion
weld it's attack first can get heated up
and they'll hold my torch on about a 45
degree angle and kind of zigzag between
the two pieces we'll concentrate on one
area if this is taken too long you can
increase the pressure and get more heat
what we're looking for is both pieces of
metal to basically turn molten you'll
see it start to get shiny on both sides
and then those two shiny parts will join
together into one puddle
back and forth let them join a row there
we have a now a little puddle I'm gonna
do the same thing to the other side I've
dropped the exposure on the camera so
you can get a better look at what's
going on here so I'm holding my torch on
about a 45 degree angle zigzagging back
and forth between the two pieces
I'll hold the torch on the other side so
you can see better and I want to get a
nice little puddle going back and forth
between the two
but I'm just hovering above the metal I
don't want the torch to actually touch
the metal there comes my puddle should
join soon the two sides are getting
molten and I want those two little
puddles there to become one wait for
that moment these little circles or
zigzags there it is to see that now we
have a nice little joint
now that I got my two sides tacked I'm
gonna practice lay in a fusion weld
which is basically taking that puddle
and pushing it down the length of my
joint here whether you're left-handed or
right-handed it doesn't matter you got
to find a way that works for you I'm
gonna go in this direction and push my
puddle that way so I'm gonna heat it up
get that puddle molten again I'm holding
my torch on about a 45 degree angle
if that thing heat it up then I'm gonna
push the puddle if I stay in one place
for too long
once my puddle is going I risk to run
the risk of actually burning through and
burnin aiding my metal there we go keep
your heat even on both parts of your
metal or we go it's getting shiny I'm
waiting for that puddle to join here it
is I'm slowly gonna zigzag and push
forward with my torch now this flame is
extremely hot you're probably looking at
over 3,000 degrees
keep pushing that puddle all the way
down the length of your metal ID zigzags
but you could also do circle movements
I think that's personal preference you
can see that small molten puddle moving
towards the end
you don't have to do giant circles this
is fairly thin material I just want to
work it down to the end don't go faster
than your puddle slow down and let it go
once you're finished your weld turn off
using the acetylene first a and then o
you can take this to a bucket of water
or to the shop sink to cool it down be
careful of the steam when this goes
don't put your face directly above
normal in welding I'm not gonna cool it
down in a sink I'm gonna let it cool
naturally I don't want the weld to crack
and become brittle but when we're just
practicing I think it's okay once it's
dried off you can shine it up with a
brush
we can take a closer look at our fusion
well it's nice and flat I think this
looks pretty good
you flip it over when you flip it over
you can see that the metal did not
really penetrate too much through the
gap there if you wanted to get more
penetration you can put a little bit
more space in between your metal
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