I want to practice squaring up material and adjusting for warp-age. I see a lot of people weld cubes so I figured I would like to go for it. One question I have is that since eventually a welded cube will be a sealed container is their risk of it exploding once sealed. You always hear how only professionals should welding sealed containers and they are aware of the pressure risks etc. Things like fuel cells are sealed containers, however they have holes for gas flow that are assumed to be drilled prior to welding. What should a beginner looks out for when welding up cubes or any metals that will eventually create sealed container.
People usually hide a vent hole in on of the sides you don't see in the photo. Though if you want it completely sealed, leave a spot at the very end and weld that spot shut after the entire thing has had enough time to cool, or fill in and sand flat a vent hole that was elsewhere.
"Your welds should sound like bacon. If your welds smell like bacon, you're on fire." - Uncle Bumblefuck (AvE)
A vessel that is intended to be pressurized, is engineered and certified for pressure is different than an object that is sealed. Also tanks or piping that will contain critical gas or fluids are different as well. Welding up something decorative or even structural that will be sealed is much less of a concern. Just letting it cool entirely is usually sufficient to get the last bit welded without blowing out. That’s common practice for critical work as well.
I have more questions than answers
Josh
Josh
Not sure how sesitive anything else is, but when tigging an aluminum cube, Ive found that after letting the cube (or what have you) cool entirely, that jamming a piece of filler rod in the vent hole (assuring the fit is extremely tight- no air leak) and mushrooming the end over, one will be able to get that last corner welded.