silly question prepping frame all sanded nice bright steel then sh($ it bed time, how long do you think its safe to just go in there and tig away say after 12h, 24h, 3 days with out sanding and prepping the metal again , may shop is kind of humid (my basement ) but things don’t rust really my spare tube sets look nice while in storage
really this is a question of how lazy I can be with out taking everything out of the jig again and giving it a light sand and clean before welding… I am just wondering what is the exploration date to oxidation also dust and dirt is a factor to…
Being accidentally dirty happens. Sometimes it leads to burn throughs or other bad stuff.
Why risk it?
From someone who recently forgot to clean the inside of a BB before welding.
I kind of figured… Also why have that be this lingering factor worrying you about your welds have oxidation and are shity. I have brazed a bike after 3 days of chilling in the jig but that was my bike and now I am Tig welding also so ya I will keep the metal bright clean and weld right away and keep greasy pizza fingers off of it!!
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We have one of these mounted up in the shop:
It’s noisy, but it works pretty quickly, especially with a scotch brite belt.
These nylon brushes work surprisingly well on a drill: https://dicoproducts.com/products.php?gid=5
You only need to sand/clean ~1in of the ends being welded (inside and out). If you don’t go overboard with the sanding and have the right tools, its pretty quick to prep the tubes immediately before welding.
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I had not seen one of those Vevor tube sanders…now I need one.
No one ever says ’ I wish I hadn’t cleaned and prepped it so well’.
I always clean and prep within 12 hours of brazing (unless it’s stainless, then <1 hour). If I get distracted and can’t make the joint within 12 hours, I re-prep the material. It just removes one variable in case something goes wrong.
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Not a recommendation, but I’ve welded a frame that was hanging on the wall tacked for 3 months. Just used a wire brush and that was all. Nothing bad happened.
