Bad weld on my titanium frame??!!
04-09-19, 04:14 PM
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If only people would post good NDS photos of their bikes, I could look for others like the OP's weld 
It looks like Salsa has redesigned that joint, extending the dropout, and not doing the second over-weld.
It looks like Salsa has redesigned that joint, extending the dropout, and not doing the second over-weld.
04-09-19, 05:45 PM
#27
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04-09-19, 10:13 PM
#29
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Aerospace industry welding has been my profession since I first qualified to the old MIL-T-5021 spec in 1982- superseded my MIL-STD-1595 now AWS D17.1. That said every Ti process spec in existence does not allow any discoloration of material beyond light amber/straw color. The brushing or sanding areas on the welds were probably done to remove discoloration indicating inadequate gas shielding (they better have argon purged the ID of those tubes) which is still evident at the very edge of the weld bead in small areas. The small crater at the tie-off (end) of the weld in Pic 2 indicates poor technique & probably would fail a fluorescent penetrant inspection but in this case is cosmetic only. Since no cracks in the weld, parent material and joint area appear to exist it will probably last your lifetime without ever failing. I wouldn't fret over it.
Just my 2 cents.
West
Just my 2 cents.
West
04-10-19, 10:45 AM
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https://www.kgbikes.com/product/sals...et-80834-1.htm
Hmmm, I would have thought it was newer, but it looks like it was a 2012.
But, looking at it closer, it looks like Salsa has really redesigned the rear dropouts for the newer models. More of an I-Beam construction.
Hmmm, I would have thought it was newer, but it looks like it was a 2012.
But, looking at it closer, it looks like Salsa has really redesigned the rear dropouts for the newer models. More of an I-Beam construction.
04-11-19, 01:56 AM
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04-12-19, 08:15 PM
#32
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Aerospace industry welding has been my profession since I first qualified to the old MIL-T-5021 spec in 1982- superseded my MIL-STD-1595 now AWS D17.1. That said every Ti process spec in existence does not allow any discoloration of material beyond light amber/straw color. The brushing or sanding areas on the welds were probably done to remove discoloration indicating inadequate gas shielding (they better have argon purged the ID of those tubes) which is still evident at the very edge of the weld bead in small areas. The small crater at the tie-off (end) of the weld in Pic 2 indicates poor technique & probably would fail a fluorescent penetrant inspection but in this case is cosmetic only. Since no cracks in the weld, parent material and joint area appear to exist it will probably last your lifetime without ever failing. I wouldn't fret over it.
Just my 2 cents.
West
Just my 2 cents.
West
I love forums for content like this. Thanks for the post.
04-12-19, 08:17 PM
#33
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I just went and looked at my Lynskey and my Litespeed welds. Their welders must have gone to a better school.
04-12-19, 09:12 PM
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04-13-19, 02:54 PM
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So I was rinsing down the bike and I noticed this. It's a titanium frame. That's the left chain stay. It's a little hard to reproduce here what I see, but along the top edge of the weld, it *appears* to have a non-flush edge, like a crack. I can't feel an edge there, and I tried to see whether the edge would catch the point of a knife or the edge of a piece of paper, but it doesn't. The right chain stay seems normal. Additionally, although I know next to nothing about welding, I did read a bit about the art of welding titanium a few months ago, and if I remember correctly, a good weld is supposed to have many overlapping lines, like the intersecting weld shown there has....not that "smear" of a weld, the one in question. So what do you think?
