(Welding question) Did I go too far?!

If you get lazy, fill it with weld. If you want it done right, cut a filler piece. You asked the question, so I think you already knew the answer-filler piece with good weld/penetration. If you start to half *** welding, where do you draw the line? Good luck! Bob

 

Why not just cut all the way threw and bring the two together?
Then next time make your fist pie cut smaller … now you know its harder to put back than take away.

 

Well, the consensus is that nobody agrees.

My two cents.

Don't weld top down.

Fill it with weld is o.k. Watch for the weld to pull when it cools.

Neal

 

I have to laugh at the ignorance of alot of inexperienced hacks on this site that give bad advice. Like an old man I work with says "If I can walk through it, I can fill it.....but that doesnt mean its right". If you were "good" with a mig you would know its wrong to fill in gaps material!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I totally agree, cept I didn't say it.

I can't believe this thread is still going. I could have had that "gap" welded in less time than it took to make the original post.

 

It's a structural weld that is being discussed not sheet metal. The gap shown in the photo is excessive but if the welder is experienced it will be fine to weld it as shown.

When making a **** weld using GMAW (MIG) in thicknesses such as what is shown the best weld is one that has a gap such that the welder can ***ure a full penetration weld. Backer bars, a.k.a. "sissy bars" by welders that make a living doing open root welds, are not the preferred method.

 

Well young feller, I wouldn't fool around with all that new fangled technology like Mig and Tig. When I need to fill a gap, I use my Dynamic "Super-Charged" electric welder. It works every time.

 

Sorry if this has already been suggested, but I can see you haven't cut all the way through on one side. Just cut through the whole joint. Dress the faces so they fit nice together. Groove the joint, and weld the whole thing together. The final part will only be about 1/4" shorter.

EDIT: Opps! I see 296 V8 above has already made this same suggestion...

 

Grandpa Munster wants his welder back.

That thing is wicked cool!

 

Hey Voodoo, Believe it or not, it does still weld, 1/16 rod max. I just thought we needed a little humor, and I have been dying to show it off.

 

Yeah, I was just messin with ya. Humor is definitely needed.

 

When cutting frame tubing to match body contours I think a band saw or Porta-Band would be better than any cutting disc. You'll be able to make smaller cuts and have much better control of your bends.
When I was helping my friend cut and bend the tubing to match the cowl contour of his new 23 Roadster it worked out real well. More slots to weld but better cleaner curves.

 

If your using one of the small pack around mig welders to weld it your crazy. A big industrial mig welder would weld it with multi p***es or a stick welder. I won't weld anything structural with my Lincoln 135 you just can't get enough penatration. It's good for tacking stuff together, welding sheet metal and making brackets

 

X2!!!

I would fill that gap in a second, with a good arc welder. I would fill it with a tig, or a bigger mig welder as well, as long as it is just subframe. If it is the frame holding the whole car up, then I would cut it apart, and bevel as mentioned. By the way, he didn't take a "pie cut" out of it, he cut it and the bend is what opened the gap. If he took a pie cut, He would have bent it the other way, so the gap would have narrowed...which it how I would have done it to begin with....

Try to calculate your future bends to allow you to bend to narrow gaps instead of widening them out, you will get a lot more welding done, and sleep better at night...

 

As the old time fitters used to tell me. Get your gap rod out.

 

I think my lights dim when you turn that thing on!

 

Turn the welder up a little and burn it in..Spots...burn a little ...let it cool just till it stops glowing and stack another dime on it(spot weld) and add a gusset plate on the inside and id say you will be ok..(little tighter next time)Usually id pull a 1/16 gap between the tubing if your planning on mig welding..

 

Wow, a whole buncha replies, and the consensus is.........there is no consensus! However, thanks for all the feedback. I took everyones input into consideration and came to a decision. I decided to start over! I made the cut a little narrower this time, checked for proper angle, opened it up some more, checked angle, etc., etc. until finally I got it to where I needed it. Tacked it up and called it good. Much better!



As you can see, I clamped the **** outta it! Even so, I'm not gonna finish weld it. Did I mention, I'm not a welder? I own a 220v MIG but I'm NOT a welder! The plan is to have Scotty (Chuckles Garage) finish weld it on a real frame table. He doesn't know it yet, though!

 

I'm not laughing, just shaking my head. These guys all scream that the sky is falling in front of everybody else, but they all know that can be puddled in just fine. And they would be the first to do it. Get real.

 

actually you are worse off now than you were before, (especially if you are going to grind the welds) you should have champered the **** joint, So that your root p*** would have been fully penetrated. When I build a model A frame using 2X4 tubing I only cut 3 sides (inside and top and bottom) That allows you to bend the tubing at the angle you need and just leaves you a pie opening to weld up. and it holds the tubing in line. Please don't think I am trying to sound like a smart*** or a know it all, I just think you were better off before with the gap. A 1/4 gap is not too much to weld fill even for a novice welder. You have a good machine, vertical down, side to side would have s***ched that right up with good penetration. Also 2 X 3 tubing is a little light for frame rails unless it is 1/4 inch wall thickness. I know that the model T had a 2 X 3 "C" channel frame, but they also had a go kart motor in them as well. I only point this out because I have seen alot of Un safe stuff guys built just because they did not know any better. If I can be of any help to you feel free to PM me.

 

my shop teacher in high school used to tell us "if you can step across it , you can fill it"

 

That's exactly what I did! I only cut 3 sides, inside, top and bottom. If you look close you'll see a V where I beveled the edges of the cut. The tacks got good penetration, all the way through.

 

Finally!
A post that makes sense!

Do what he said.
Myself, I also would rather have the larger gap than none at all.
I would also use flux core and gas. Lots of misconception about flux core wire, but with gas it is by far the strongest weld.
By the way I am certified to AWS D1.1 (structural welding code)

 

I see the chamfer now, My pics are a little dark, and it looked like you just closed the gap. You will be fine here. I bend my tubing the other way and fill the pie gap,

 

Chalkboard,
Is Flux core with Gas a pro welders trick? First time I have heard of that combination and
always have used ER70S type wire with gas.

 

Weld a bead on each side to build it up then one p*** down the middle to join them.

 

yep just cut some wedges and weld,Make sure you get penetration for a good weld

 

Chalkboard this must be driving you as crazy as me. Judging by most of the previous posts there are a lot of lucky car builders out there. Most welding supply stores sell books with basic AWS procedures. A little knowledge will go a long way. There seems to be a misunderstanding of what a complete penetration weld is. Bevel the new fitup and and weld as necessary.

 

Just another thread that proves opinions are like ***holes.......

 

I'm shaking my head in disbelief here. I'm going to check the stupid thread about welding without a hood, the other one about welding without gloves, and the other stupid one about what have you burnt. I need to know who's who and who's giving welding advice in flip-flips.

Un****ingbelievable