That's what I figured. I'm not saying you did anything wrong. I got the rear bones, let me know when your ready. Thanks.
im leaving to california on friday so i can do it befor then or after i get back in two weeks it up to you
Nice welds. I'd just use a disc sander to knock off any of the little splatters that might be around the welds, and then sandblast the frame and paint it. I like seeing the welds.
welds look sweet and i agree with the rest once you grind you cant stop and it will end up like crap unless you spend a lot of time. weld it and leave it just do the prep work to make them look good.
Not to throw a stupid monkey wrench into current take on whether to leave and express welds or not, but just curious now if 'back in the day' guys were more prone to grind down and smooth out the welds or not for appearance sake. I don't know myself, just asking out of curiosity. Maybe sweet looking welds back then weren't quite as easy to do because of lack of sophisticated welders or just plain hours of experience or maybe even desire. Anyone with insight on what a good weld might have more typically looked like in the 40's-60's?
From an engineering stand point grinding welds period is a concern, since some will gouge undercut the good weld and or base material (over grind)... thus the end result is compromised. This is a great post! What everyone else says!!!!
i leave all welds just like they are. I have good friends who do all my welding for me,and i would never dream of hiding their work. a good weld is a work of art. i know people who grind down tig welds in aluminum,i still can't figure out why. a nice aluminum part with a stack of quarters weld is a beautiful thing. cars are supposed to be mechanical objects and nothing wrong with welds. now the guy who did those bird shit welds on that exaust in the other thread
If your building a frame and hot rod to compete in the diddlers award you just about have to in order to make it look like glass. Since I have no plans or time for that type of rod I never grind mine down
yea i never understood the point of grinding the frame like that, looks ugly to me. would much rather see the welds.
IM GUILTY! im a weld grinder! not nice smooth critical chassis welds but other welds, im good at grinding! i know it weakens shit but i like smoooooth! NICE WELDS pictured by the way & id never grind those. i may run over them with a fine ro-loc disc ---- those are a work of art!!
I have seen welds on street rods that have broke because they ground them to death trying to make it look pretty. A friend of mine rolled his roadster because the guy he bought it from ground down the suspension mount welds too much. He hit a dip in the road and all hell broke louse. I would rather see the welds just for piece of safety mind. Sure clean them up " a little "but don't over due it.
well i did not start the thread but i did all the welds and appreciate all the positive coments on them
Knock down the high spots with a flapper sanding wheel. Just some quick passes....this takes only minutes.
My stand on this is that grinding a good weld only removes metal and potentially reduces it's absolute strength. If two separate chassis members are obviously joined by welding, then seeing a weld bead there, is not ugly, just because it is there. In areas where you do not expect to see a join, such as in outer body skins, grinding flush is obviously desirable. But then that particular weld probably is not a highly stressed part ! If your welds look like crap, either take a welding course, or pay someone else to do it. Ground welds on a chassis tell me the builder could not weld properly and has probably hidden his failure with grinding and body filler. I guess that is the difference between a cosmetic fairy trailer queen, and a seriously well built performance rod. Where you can see really beautiful welds, there is no bullshit.
The only reason to grind a weld is if it looks like ass. Properly done welds are a thing of beauty and reflect the quality of build.
yes, good welds do not need ground,bad welds are ground to hide the shitty welds...richie..............
what if you are replacing floor pans or something and don't want it to look factory? Just leave em there and tell everyone only crappy welds should be ground off?
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