Welding the airframe in winter or moving air

[way_up_north]

ok...another question about welding from someone who knows nothing about welding

I`ve noticed the notes about letting hot welds cool in still air, but what if this is not possible

If you were building an airframe in an un-heated garage or outside in the moving air, is there workarounds

I was thinking if you worked outside in colder temps, could you cover the frame with welding blankets and put a few layers over the hot weld as soon as youre done. So it cools slower

Wondering if anyone has delt with this, I dont have a area to work indoors right now, so everything will be done outside on larger parts and in the cold depending on the time of year.

Thanks

Michael in Toronto

[whee]

I'd buy a fully enclosed carport, stick a propane torpedo heater in it and go to work. I personally wouldn't weld outside in the winter months especially if you are tig welding.

[bergy]

I had a member of my EAA chapter weld the first 4 joints in my longerons for me. He owned a large welding shop in town and charged me $65/hr for his services. Since these welds connect the front of the aircraft to the back of the aircraft, and they were required welds before I could really do anything on my fuselage I thought it would be worth the extra $$ to get the right start. Maybe he was puting on a show for me, but he first polished everything until it looked like jewelry, then preheated everything until it was hot to touch, and as soon as he finished the weld he would lay it across the top of the smoking-hot coal-fired heating stove in his home-shop .... and that was all done in a shop that was already heated to shirt-sleeve temperatures. I suspect it was overfkill.

[jaredyates]

Based on what we know about the best practices for 4130, my advice would be to work on something else until you have a warm space for welding.

[Mark Moyle]

Read up on martensite crystal formation. Cold thin wall tubing...TIG weld.....cold temperatures.... practice welding a couple tubes together in the cold. Then clamp one end in a vice. Then try and bend it... will break right at the edge of the bead. Paul Minelga has a quite a few You-tube videos of this. Search YouTube for "Alaskabearhawk". Paul has posted 45 videos...