I am enjoying your thread! I recently purchased this 5 HP, 1750 RPM CP unit from Portland Compressor and the IR electric air cooler. Between that and the copper cooling tower there is no water in this system. Compressor now has rubber pads and tie downs.
I had that other piece of metal that had been stick-welded to the frame that I needed to remove, so that was the latest task. I used a cut-off wheel on my angle grinder and a cold chisel to get at it. It came off a lot easier than I expected. But the frame looked pretty ugly thanks to the sloppy welding that had been done. He blew through the frame to the point that I'll probably have to put a piece of angle iron inside there to reinforce it. That curvy piece of metal that is riveted to the frame at this point is the rear transmission mount for the old gearbox. I expect that I'll have to take it out when I modify the center-section to get clearance for the new transmission. At that point it should be relatively straight-forward to repair. Next, I used my cleaner-upper: Came out pretty smooth but then the holes look even uglier than before. I may try to weld fill them before I reinforce at some point. Anyway, here's the evicted culprit: So, I touched the area up with AfterBlast and a 3M pad. That should protect it for the time being. And at last, the plastic sheet on the floor is gone: So then I spent the afternoon down in Manassas picking out my new toy. I suppose I should take it out of that nice box and figure out how it works...
The paperwork that came with my new welder left a lot to be desired. I guess they assumed that anyone buying their equipment would be knowing what they are doing. Fat chance here! So, I've spent a bunch of time searching the Lincoln Electric site (looking for set-up guidance and not finding much) and then YouTube. Of course there is the usual no-nothings posting there, but I found a couple of good ones and got my welder all set up: I also ordered some metal "coupons" to weld on. Nothing the exact thickness of my frame, but I managed to bracket it by ordering 1/16th and 1/8th thick steel. They come in 4" by 8" rectangles or 4" by 4" inch squares so I can practice on them. Right after I retired I signed up for a Tig welding class at the local community college (I didn't mean to sign up for Tig, they just didn't provide very good descriptions of class content.) After that class I took a class on Mig from them. That was a few years ago and now I have to try to remember it all. So, I started by running beads on a plate of 3/8ths scrap: Not too realistic since there isn't any 3/8ths thick steel anywhere on this car. I ran these beads starting on the left and going down in column. I changed wire speed, voltage, and gas CFM just to see what would happen. I think I need more practice! While I am waiting for my practice coupons to arrive I'll practice on this. It is the partial cross-piece of frame that I had removed earlier from my 40 frame. I clamped it in my vice and ground most of the rust off. And that tiny amount of progress took most of a day (plus I mowed the lawn!)
What size wire are you using 0.23, is for sheet metal. I Like to use 0.35 on fabrication , 0.45 you don't need. Also what wire are you running I use ER70-6 most of the time. Also are you using 75/25 mix, you only need 100% Aragon for aluminum. I don’t like 100% CO2 because it seems to spatter more. Also you C.F.H. Is important too little and you get porosity and too much and your waiting gas’s. There should be a wire side and heat range and wire speed on the inside of the door. Also pay attention to the puddle. Look at the back side of your weld also your travel speed effects it. IE how fast you move your torch. Go on welding tips and tricks with Jody a d he has some really good tutorials. But nothing beats padding beads, change your heat setting and see what it does, change your wire speed also. You just have to practice patience is your friend. Always try a test piece first till you get comfortable. It’s a art form. There other good welding sites on UTUBE. Good luck and don’t give up. Hope this was helpful. Frank
This goes on a a 18 wheel wrecker and i goes under the axle of the truck you are pulling. It wsually takes a root pass two more to follow and three on top of that.
Hi Nice Car. I am building a 39 coupe with SBC and would like to know how you have mounted your same block. I am using a Hurst mount probably. Any pictures?
My 140 has suggested settings on the inside of the spool cover. They are great settings for starting out.
Frank: thanks for the comments. I got a roll of .023 with my welder. But for boxing the frame I should get some .035? Yes, I am using a 75/25 mix.
I used a Hurst mount and an adaptor plate back in 1966. I think I also had an adaptor in the throw-out bearing. Long time ago. My biggest mistake was trading off the 283 for the flathead as I thought I'd restore it to original. Not what I wanted. I wanted a hot-rod.
You can use a copper back up plate wonder your weld to help with burn thru. You can find them at welding suppliers, horrible freight, and evil bay. They are helpful in filling holes on sheet metal where you don’t want a blob of weld on the back side. Copper buzz bar out of a old electrical box is a good source also. Nozzle spray or jell helps keep your nozzle clean. Also be sure to get plenty of extra contact tips in 0.23 and 0.35 and some extra nozzles. They call them consumables for a reason.dirty wire can pack up in your liner and cause feeding problems, if it does that just replace the liner. I have a felt looking wiper just after the feeder to clean the wire and it helps. NEVER use rusty wire it will pack the liner fast, and also cause bird nests. Home Depot also carries parts for Lincoln Welders. Remember practice on running beads on similar metal till you get it down to the way you want it to look. There is a learning curve to this, Hope this helps. P.m. me if you have a question or a problem. Frank
I would grind a considerable bevel on that hook and even introduce a little preheat in the tube and the hook before welding the pair together. Multiple passes on a hot setting as you stated as well.
40 Ford sedan. While my Father was station at Offutt AFB, Nebr. I made friends with a kid (Carl ) in high school that had every model of a 40 Ford. Must of had 15 to 20 different types of 40 Fords. All had one item in common, they were all painted, Robins Egg Blue. This was back in the early 60s. Before I retired from the Army, I was given the task to flying up to Offutt to display a A/C at the air show. Went into Bellevue (the town next to Offutt) only to see a 40 Ford sedan painted Robbins Egg Blue. Turn out to be Carl's car, he never left town.
Well, okay, 40 Ford day that was supposed to be last Tuesday but my Grandson came over to play with us and as you know: Grandson trumps 40 Ford. So, Friday was supposed to be 40 Ford Day. Except it became something else because stuff had ground to a halt because of this: That's what's called a gawd-awful messy bench that prohibits any meaningful progress until it gets cleaned. So, I lied. Friday was not "40 Ford Day." Friday was "Clean Up that Gawd-Awful Messy Bench that Prohibits Any Meaningful Progress Until It Gets Cleaned Day." And yes, it did take all day! There were bottles of model airplane paint to put away, and there were parts that got sorted into half a dozen baggies to be marked and put away, and there was lots of crap to throw into the garbage. Good grief! At least now I can see the top of the bench! Since my metal coupons came in I'll be able to play some more with my welder: practice! practice! By the way, even though I put plastic sheet down under my frame to protect the cement floor from drips of Afterblast when I treated the frame recently, apparently I forgot to not step into the Afterblast that ended up on the plastic. How do I know this? Oh, and I got coupons! You only get to see the "before" picture of the coupons since my beads are so bad (very inconsistent - one would look good and then the next two look awful.) I ran through the spool of welding wire that came with the welder. Happily, I had bought a larger one for all the practice I figured that I'd need. I managed to weld the wire into the tip of my gun twice, but was pretty easy to clear. I was actually able to make use of two of my coupons to keep my welding cart from rolling away.
Turns out I wasn't getting gas flow through my torch. Somehow I hadn't inserted it fully. makes a difference when you do: Even better wire brushed: I clamped this into the bench vise and tried to pull it apart as I had the previous. It was a much stronger weld and I couldn't separate it by hand. So, I decided to go ahead and weld on the frame a little, Here is the "before" picture. Notice the burn-through on the edge and the crack and divots that was left by some former owner and his sloppy stick-welds: Here is "after" welding (I used a copper plate underneath for the hole in the edge. It worked well.) I have ground it a little trying to get it smooth. Next time I fire up the welder I'll add another bead in the low spots and see if I can get it looking even better. The sun has now lit up the garage floor and sort of ruined the contrast, but you can see the hole is filled as well as the crack. What looks like a crack is just the low spot at the edge of my bead. I still have some much bigger holes to fill in the cross-section, So, more practice and then onto them: On that cross-section I expect that it may end up being cut out to make room for the transmission. In any case, what is left will probably be boxed in. I am thinking about getting some 1/8th angle iron and welding it into the inside corner to ensure that the frame is strong enough at that point.
Well Scott, it looks like you off to a great start with the welder. The best way to get better is to practice, practice, practice. Keep at it and every time it will get better. You have a great attitude.
I used 1/8 angle on the inside corners of my frame and it worked out well. Just grind the peak off and it will fit in their nicely.
So, I've been practicing with my new toy, running beads on coupons and welding coupons together and trying to run beads on the edge of 1/16th thick coupons and stuff like that. I finally decided to go ahead and start practicing on my frame. You'll recall this area on the bottom of my frame rail that didn't look too hot? I decided to work on it and see what I could do. I used a copper backing plate to fill in the notch at the edge of the frame and then welded the crack. Here's what it looked like after grinding down the beads: After round 2 it looked different, but not much better: And after grinding: Still not happy with it, so laid down more metal and then ground it down: More beads: Ground and hand-filed that down and decided just a little more; And ground and filed those down. Taa-Daa!!
It is sort of funny, isn't it? I spend a month practicing and finally do this little thing. I'm worried about how I'm going to weld in boxing plates correctly. And there are guys on here that can weld like no bodies business. I hope they're not snickering too much....
Okay, so here is the bad one. Let's see how I do on this one... Here is after my first welding session on it: And after filing and grinding: Then more welding followed by grinding and filing: and more welding: Then grinding and filing and more welding: Final grinding and filing: I put on AfterBlast but it didn't turn very grey. The grey must be from the grit-blasting: So, at the end of the day I got my friendly little helper to give me assistance in flipping the frame back right-side up for next activity. So, what is the next activity? Not sure, but I think I want to get it fully leveled as I'll probably be boxing the frame next.
Not sure it was mentioned before but a good welder told me two things - have a great ground and make sure the metal your welding is cleaned/sanded/scarped down to like new metal if that makes sense. Often I had not considered my ground - thought if it was clamped - it was good.
Another tip Scott, is to keep the ground close to where you are welding for best voltage/penetration. You don’t have to have the ground an inch away from where you are welding but in close proximity to the area you are welding. I’ve seen guys that get crappie welds have the ground clamped to the back of the frame while welding on the front.
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