I am building a military 6x6 truck. It doesn't matter if it looks bit rough and it won't be in any car shows. I need to build some fenders a bit larger than the '34 Ford Model AA truck. I only have one of the cheap HF flux core mig welders. From what I can tell from reading the board, this is going to give me no end of grief. My budget is stretched really thin. I have a spot welder. I am considering using a backing strip to spot weld either side of the seams. I was thinking of brazing the gap in the 20 gauge steel. Is this a viable alternative to welding? Neil This is the proposed truck:
20-30 years ago everything was brazed, and not alot of folk were using mig... perfectly acceptable. traditional even. just make sure to keep cold wet rags around the area being brazed, and check thier dampness often
You can't get much easier and cheaper than a mig. Anything else will be a waste of money because you will soon find that you are just fooling yourself and you'll end up buying something else - which will then be more of a waste of $ than if you just bite the bullet and get a decent unit to start. I started out cheepo like you and then later went and bought something - useful - and have never regretted it since. You can really do a LOT with a decent little mig and it doesn't take long to get up to speed and start to produce stuff. Make sure to go with argon instead of flux tho.
The absolute best thing you can do in your case is to buy an oxy-acetalene set-up. Learning to gas weld is a great intro into welding. It is more difficult thatn MIG, but teaches you the same skills youwill need for TIG. It is more forgiving than MIG if doing your finish work (hammer-welding, or metal finishing). Besides welding, you can cut with it, heat stubborn parts to loosen them, do leadwork, solder, silver-solder, braze, etc. A GREAT all in one tool for a beginner....believe me, it will be worth the extra time it takes to learn to gas weld. It's also the first thing they teach you in welding school, again, good skills, hand-eye coordination.
That's why I never could do anything but mig - got no hand-eye coordination. But I can pull a trigger
I do have one of those little oxy/mapp welding sets. I was planning to use that to braze the joint. I was afraid with my poor welding skills, I would heat the panels too much and warp them too much. I want to get a proper GAS Mig or TIG welder so I can do Aluminum. It just isn't in the budget right now. Neil
Cleatus, if your car is any indication of not being coordinated......most guys would GLADLY be uncoordinated!
You can flux core sheet metal no prob Hell just get a couple test pieces and ply with it a little while and see what you can come up!! I am sure that you can handle it. Keep a damp rag close to keep from getting to much warpage and just weld in small spots and keep moving around and cool each weld and you will have it!!!!!!
Hit the swap meets or Craigs list, or whatever. If you find a gas welding set-up - go with that, or if you find a stick welder or a mig then go that direction. It all works. p.s. thanks chopolds
if using a torch setup to weld and are afraid of warping then weld an inch at a time in different locations and then hammer-weld them
No matter what you use, you have to learn to control the heat. There's only one way to learn to do it and that is to do it. Sometimes that means that you just weld 1/4" at a time to keep from overheating it. Sure it takes forever, but it does get done.
You can practice, but you will still likely warp, which is how you learn. I started on a cheap-*** HF Mig w/ no gas and was basically forced to learn all this **** about heat, stiching, not blowing through, listen to the weld, etc. and all those mistakes combined with learning from those mistakes is what builds confidence. Grind & Fill, Grind & Fill... From one lousy-worthless noob to another, good luck. Tyson
Once again...gas welding to the rescue! You CAN gas weld aluminum, go to Kent WHite's site (he's called the Tinman). He's got videos, and sells tiny torches, flux and filler rod to do aluminum gas welding..and special lenses for doing it, too. In fact a lot of "old school" aluminum panel beaters prefer gas welding aluminum....as do quite a few steel panel beaters. You'll HAVE to build up your skills to do any sort of welding on aluminum, it's tricky even with a TIG. Start learing NOW, so you'll really be good in a couple years, instead of using MIG as a crutch. (Not that I totally dismiss MIG as a way of working...I do most of my work with a MIG, but sometimes TIG or gas is just much better!) One more thing...gas welding aluminum is a bit easier with a Henrob (Dillon, Mark 4, Cobra) torch. It uses less gas pressures to get the same temps, so you have less chance of blowing through the puddle when you do alum. It also cuts a lot nicer, if you don't have a lot of experience.
Get alot of s**** of similar gauges as your work peices and start practicing. Work with the welder you have. Take a community college basic welding cl*** when money and time allows. Look into trailer fenders to use instead of trying to make a set. They have them in a m***ive variety of sizes including tandems. Did I mention they are cheap?
Gas weld it. (Ox/Acet.) Brazing will crack down the road and can be a problem to paint. When you weld something correctly, the two pieces and the filler rod melt and become one new piece. Br*** merely glues the two pieces together. The joint will always be there under the br***. Not so if welded. Gas welding is fun. It becomes a dance with the torch and the filler rod. You can add as much or as little heat and filler rod as you need. You can't change the Mig's setting in the middle of a weld. You can with gas. When you get the feel for it, you'll have less grinding. Mig is easy and it's fast but gas welding is a skill. Get a small tip for sheet metal. I have a mig but quite often gas weld small stuff just so that I can make nice fillets and actually shape the piece. Take the time to get the feel for it. You don't loose it. It comes right back. I've gone years without gas welding but it was always there when I needed it.
yes, gas weld(oxy/acet). stay away from brazing, the flux will come back to haunt you later. brazing is only good for broken cast iron parts. learn how to oxy/acet weld you'll be better off in the long run. as "chopolds" and "tommy" have said.
If you're short on cash, give your flux core MIG a try...it will **** compared to a nice gas MIG, but it'll still weld OK. Just practice A LOT on s**** sheets and you'll come out with an OK job, especially if the sheet metal you weld on is of a decent thickness.
2x I'm still pimping my 80 amp century. Does just fine on thin stuff. I do a lot of s***ching of panles together, which you have to do anyhow to keep it from warping. For the thick stuff, I've got a AC stick welder. Or I borrow a friends big mig.
Ok. I am going to get some s**** and practice both with the gas and my mig. I will see how it goes. Thank you for your advice. (...putting down the brazing rod and backing away) Neil
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