Welding

I've seen some seriously horrible welds holding things together, going through plenty of stress and twisting, yet still I'm told my welding isn't sturdy enough to get into anything structural. I can lay a pretty good looking bead with decent penetration and being raised by farm-fabricators (loggers actually) I know how to get things to "work".

Anyway...anyone got any advice or horror stories?

 

Somebody p*** the popcorn..... :0

Rich

 

Who is telling you your welds aren't good enough for structural elements? And what are you defining as structural - ch***is, frame, etc. ?

 

Haha...I just had to ask.

My definition of structural goes about as far as actual frame work. Shortening, front clip work, etc.

I haven't done much work with Flux or MIG, but I'm pretty good with a stick. Occasionaly I'll get an slag inclusion or something like that, but otherwise I do pretty well for the time I have in it.

And yeah, I did take a welding cl*** to try and step-up above the farmer level of welding/fabrication. Instructor ***umes most new guys are there so they can melt stuff for free I guess.

Regardless, I've seen some seriously unsturdy **** holding things together. I know its better to be safe about things, but I don't plan on putting an 500+ horsepower engine in anything I build either.

 

Got pics of anything recent you've done that we can look at?

 

apperance is nothing unless it penetrates . mabye the guy who told u that ur welds wouldnt hold up ****s *** u never know if u clean bevel (depending on what u are doing . run a lil hot. ur gonna get penetration . then work on apearance. beleive me ur gonna see some crazy stuff. i was out in the field welding the foreman told me to fill a gap it was 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide i was stunned but i did it . i must have went through 100, 7018 rods . come to think of it mabye i shouldnt be working for this company

 

If you have had any training and experience at all, with a buzz-box, you are probably ok. Don't let this newer welding technology intimidate you. A hell of a lot of hot rods were built with a torch and stick welder. If you are in doubt just weld some s**** pieces together then attack them with a BFH; you'll see. Just my thoughts. .....Bob

 

I second that -- break a few of your welds and you'll learn a LOT

DAMHIKT

 

I havent had much expierence with structural welding, but i can tell you that the strength of a weld is far more than just its apperance. Ive seen some damn good looking welds that werent **** because they didnt penetrate.

The newer welding technology is great once you learn how to use it. Im a youngin' but was taught by my grandfather on stick. MIG and TIG are much easier to weld with and make good looking welds, but stick welding will do most of the same jobs, just takes a little time and practice.

If you get the chance though i recomend learning how to mig or tig. Its pretty amazing what you can do with them. especially with tig.

 

Never had experience with TIG, but done plenty of MIG and Stick. MIG is way easier to deal with. Very user-friendly, and when using flux-core, it's hot as hell. Gas is a little cooler under the same cir***stances, but when properly beveled, turn down the wire speed, up the heat, and practice, you can weld damn near anything you'd ever need to on a car.

Love my MIG

 

Welded a bit of sheetmetal off of a hood with a flux, it turned out somewhat decent.

Anyway, I'm not saying that my welding instructor (I actually like the guy, haha) said my welds were ****. Its just that I don't see much a point in fretting over the apperance of a weld if it does its job and holds together.

Which is my point about a stool I threw together out of some s**** metal, it looked like ****, but worked, had to s**** it though for liability.

 

Most new welders tend to not have enough heat to get enough penatration. The guy that first told me how to weld said to crank up the welder and burn holes in whatever your welding, then back off the heat until you don't burn through anymore. Kind of crude, but you learn what you need to do to get penatration. You really got to crank up a stick welder to burn through 1/4" plate... You can tell a lot about the quality of a weld by the way it looks. Weld beads laying on top of the metal is a sure sign the weld ****s. Gaps in a weld caused by slag inclusion is another indication of problems. Before you weld on your frame, lay some beads on some 1/8" steel s**** and then rip it apart. When it gets to the point where it rips the steel apart side of the weld everytime, then you can consider welding on your frame. Work on pretty after you learn to stick the metal together. Gene