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Welding Near PTFE

HurleyByrd

Aluminum
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Location
WV United States
I just finished machining stanchion tubes for a set of 3 1/2" guide posts for a sawmill. Once the machining was complete, PTFE bearings (approximately 3" in length) were pressed into the tube top and bottom, turned/aligned to size and then sealed up with wiper holders. The stanchion tubes were then jigged to the mill's head and tack welded into place. Once the tack welding was done, the guide post mock up was performed to confirm the head to stanchion tube to guide post fit was aligned correctly...........

NOW......... How am I going to weld the stanchion tubes fully without removing the PTFE? I was originally going to leave the areas near the PTFE unwelded. (As noted above, the PTFE is at the end of each tube and about 3" in length each. The tubes are roughly 24" in overall length.) I want/wanted to do this because the PTFE bearings are sized and aligned in-situ and removal will break down this nice feature. But the more I look at the assembly, the more I don't like the idea of leaving a lot of unwelded area. Since PTFE melts at 620°F..... Obviously, I cannot weld these up unless someone has a great idea.

Thoughts anyone???

Thanks
Pete

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You do realize that one of the combustion products of PTFE is HF which in the presence of H2O (water vapor), becomes hydroflouric acid which is very very nasty as in, absorbed through the skin and dissolves bone.

I would not even consider going in the direction that you were thinking. Either weld before inserting the bushings or come up with some other way to eliminate the welding.
 








 
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