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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Butterfly cap
- - By argoncowboy (**) Date 08-27-2009 01:36
I ran across this piece of history and wanted to share it with welders that would appreciate it. This weld was off of a mainline valve setting that was installed in 1949. I had to cut the valve header up to allow it to fit on a transport truck. When I saw this weld I was amazed. I had never seen a butterfly cap like this before. But look at the root. There's a large fish eye on it. And this line was in service until a week ago. I hope ya'll will enjoy this as much as I did.
Parent - - By FixaLinc (****) Date 08-27-2009 05:06
Saw a lot of irrigation pipes that were put in around here in 50s with butterfly caps like that most of it didn't look that good.  
Parent - - By chris2698 (****) Date 08-27-2009 05:24
thanks for the pictures thats pretty neat...so how do you make it look like that
Parent - - By Mat (***) Date 08-27-2009 07:07
Start on the left and weld to the right.  Stop.
Start on the left and weld to the right.  Stop.
etc.

At least, that's what it looks like anyway!

Neat pictures!
Parent - By chris2698 (****) Date 08-27-2009 12:50
yeah thats what I was thinking because I can't see how you could keep going with out breaking an arc
Parent - - By John Smith (*) Date 08-30-2009 02:29
that was a horizontal weld; your left is really the top and your right is really the bottom
Parent - By argoncowboy (**) Date 08-30-2009 13:47
No this was a vertical weld. Its just the way I turned the camera to get the whole coupon in
Parent - - By John Smith (*) Date 08-30-2009 02:25
I seen an old guy do that; he pretty much made a vertical down weld then long-arced a backward "C" then repeated. The start and stops looked rough because the whip out and back up ( the backward C motion) was so exaggerated that it showed an inch past the stop
Parent - By chris2698 (****) Date 08-30-2009 17:59
I'll have to play with this sometime and see if I can do that
Parent - - By Stringer (***) Date 09-02-2009 01:46
Lots of rigs in the gulf are loaded with welds like that and many are far more extreme.
Parent - By Tyler1970 (***) Date 09-02-2009 03:57
i figured you could weld to your right, or to your left, and long arc if back to ither side and start over. i have seen a few butterfly welds, and non looked like this. interesting tho.
Parent - - By PipeIt (**) Date 09-02-2009 10:47
What state was this in, it wouldn't have been by chance an old Panhandle & Eastern gas line?

My Grandpa was a welder for Panhandle he had to initial welds, he told my Dad this, he died when I was two but he'd would have been in the field during that time.

He used to tell Dad he welded with "naked rods" (rod with out flux gas welding I suspect)  back in the old days.
Parent - By bigrod (**) Date 09-02-2009 20:09
i have heard of the seen some of the same thing in the oklahoma panhandle, but i was told it had been "coat hanger'd"
Parent - By argoncowboy (**) Date 09-02-2009 22:43
This line is located in North Central Arkansas. Centerpoint owns the line now, I have no idea how many times it has changed hands.
Parent - - By low_hydrogen (**) Date 09-03-2009 00:21 Edited 09-03-2009 00:27
Who was your grandpa ?  I got a friend who's in his 70s he still welds pipe line.  he got his start with panhandle and his farther also work for panhandle that family goes way back with panhandle.  I've seen him run that butterfly on some pump jacks when he would build the bases think he just did it to be doing it.  He would take some 8" pipe saddle it than run that larger butterfly on it.
Parent - By PipeIt (**) Date 09-03-2009 18:55
His name was Henry E. Humphrey we worked on the lines in the Mid West into Ohio, I actually have the old Pan Handle Lines  bulltitens they would send out.

They actually featured him in one of the issues titled "Henry on the Spot".  He worked in Tescola, Illinois, KC Missouri, Fort Wayne, IN and Maumee, Ohio

I can look up the date that was issued if by chance your friend kept those issues I have them dating back into the 50's and 60's
Parent - - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 09-03-2009 02:34
You can arc weld with a bare rod on DC straight polarity, but it ain't easy. Chip off the flux & try it some time.

The Hobart school used to start everybody with bare electrodes. If You could keep an arc lit with them, You could do really well with coated electrodes. Sort of like "Tough Love"
Parent - - By Dualie (***) Date 09-03-2009 06:59
My grandfather did the flux knocked off trick to my father when he started welding and my dad did it to me.

Then after i could hold an arc with the bare electrode he gave me some 7024 out of a can full of water. 

I'm no pipeliner but i thought this was how everyone learned to weld.   Makes you appreciate mig and FCAW every time you strike an arc
Parent - - By mcostello (**) Date 09-04-2009 03:27
Have some 7024 but don't have time to do dunk test. What happens? Never heard of this one!
Parent - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 09-04-2009 12:03
We took out a bunch of gas pipe off the roof of a church a few months back for an addition and that's how all the welds looked. All the roots did'nt look that good though. Some actually had full pen but most did not. Seemed it did not leak or explode for many, many years.
Parent - - By Metarinka (****) Date 09-04-2009 17:59
I was taught not to weld caps like that. Something about more likely to trap slag?

anyone have any information on this?
Parent - By rick harnish (***) Date 09-04-2009 21:28
I imagine you could keep from trapping slag if you cleaned every advance. But why not go ahead and cap the dang thing? Seems like a waste of time.
Parent - By low_hydrogen (**) Date 09-17-2009 02:05
Replaced a 2" check valve (that had been washed out) on a hotoil truck, every weld on the truck had the butterfly cap.  Guy said the truck was built by rush out of midland texas? said everything he had seen that they do had the butterfly style caps
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Butterfly cap

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