Signs of Ti weld contaminated? (pics)

[Kirt_Dillion]

I've never seen pit marks on Ti welding. This just looks terrible... is a result of contamination? The welds look overly buffed...

Pics here http://imgur.com/a/XcIbe

[Blown Reek]

Those welds do look horrible. Is Wraith now in the Ti business?

[Cicli]

Looks like it was welded with jumper cables and a coat hanger.

[batman1425]

Plenty of folks with more metallurgy experience here than me, but visually that looks terrible and I'd be concerned about premature failure over time.

IMO, that's completely unacceptable for a finished Ti product from any reputable builder.

[pbarry]

Someone needs more instruction and practice time. :eek:

The pits look like maybe the edge of the tube started to burn away because of too much amperage and/or not moving quickly enough. The miters may have had gaps as well, and someone with this skill level couldn't handle bridging a gap, (which is far from ideal), and trying to run a decent bead at the same time.

If you purchased this on eBay, it should be returned. If it's a bike you are considering, walk away.

[dustyrider]

At least it's a seatpost and not a stem.
Everyone knows you can ride a bike without a saddle!:hello:

[livingminimal]

Those welds do look horrible. Is Wraith now in the Ti business?

haha ha ha hahhaaaaaaa. Well done.

Seriously, is this a known builder? People should be alerted to this kind of crap.
We do too much dealing with the unknown on the custom bike front. Information definitely needs to be shared to protect the potential purchasers.

[pbarry]

Ha! I didn't look closely enough to see it was a seatpost. Still junk.

[Ken Robb]

Looks like it was welded with jumper cables and a coat hanger.

VERY funny!

[FriarQuade]

That's a pinhole along with some undercut and a crater at one of the stops. Could have been caused by a variety of things but it's not acceptable. Any one of those defects are a spot where a crack could propagate from and it wouldn't take much to break the head of the post clean off once the crack starts. That said, you would be surprised how strong an ugly weld can be. It's not hard to fix, another pass around the whole joint with filler would smooth things out and actually give the weld some throat.

[sw3759]

Those welds do look horrible. Is Wraith now in the Ti business?

:) ouch,but I really laughed out load

[skiezo]

That is impurities and lack of fission in the weld zone. Ti has to be clean when welding. After it was welded it was buffed out and the hole became visible.
I've welded lots of stainless and that is what happens when the base material is not spotless.
Whoever the weldor was looks to be a amateur at welding Ti. Looks like he was running a bit cold as well.


Brian

[skiezo]

I showed the pics to a few few of the welders I am working with to get their thoughts.
Both said it likes like the surface had some type of surface contamination.
The most likely cause would be oil on the surface. Another opinion is that if the area was touched with bare hands the oil from skin can leave oil in the surface.
When I am welding SS tubing the #1 thing that I make shore of is to clean the area with denatured alcohol and dry with oil free air.
The weave is not real tight either and it shows signs of freehanding instead of walking the cup around the joint. Not enough heat either.

[Hombre]

Did you happen to buy that seatpost from ebay? I bought one just like it and the welds on mine were actually quite nice. But that clamping guts tends to rotate if you put enough weight on the tail or nose of the saddle.

[Kirt_Dillion]

Yes, this is an eBay seat post. I bought it more out of curiosity then anything else...

[54ny77]

It's where tiny people live rent-free in peace & harmony.