Welding General Thread - A general guide on turning hot steel into trucks, trains, and airplanes as well as posting your own welds.

[Rakovnik]

What electronics?

I meant wiring, starter and lights at least

 

[KittyGremlin]

Ohh it's a Beetle, I haven't worked on one but I assume the air cooled engine and minimal electronics make it a breeze. Not rare but cool nonetheless!

There's barely any. Just enough to get the ignition going. Which makes it great because it's super simple. Disgruntled Austrian Painter really knew his cars.

 

[gohi_trout]

Gonna be picking up a oxy acetylene welding setup for brazing and gas welding and such. At what point are used torches worth it compared to a new harbor freight kit?

 

[TheGoodNamesHaveBeenTaken]

I have never used a HF kit but have heard from those that have.
From what I have heard they are pretty decent.
Work fine out of the box and are compatible with Victor torch tips.
I don't know how they hold up.


Used kits are a crap shoot.
If the torch handle and the tips look OK they probably are.
Check the hoses, if they look worn or dried out a new set should not be that expensive.
$50 or less depending on length.

The regulators can be a problem.
If you can test the set out with a set of tanks, great.
Most of the time that isn't an option.

Regulators can wear out and you can't tell just by looking if they are worn out.
Back in the olden days you could get them rebuilt or even rebuild them your self.
That isn't really a cost effective option anymore.

My thoughts on the matter are if you can try them out or get them cheap, go used.
Other wise for your first set HF is fine.

Subscribe to their email and even get their text messages for a while to try to get the best deal. They don't hand out flat percentage off coupons as often as they used to but it still happens now and then. Also watch their Inside Track sales. On big ticket items one sale can pay for the membership for a year.

One nice thing about the HF set and most of the other "import" outfits is they are Victor compatible. That means Victor torch tips will fit the handle. Victor has become some what the defacto standard for torches. Even other brands like Harris make Victor compatible tips.

The major brands are Victor, Harris and Smith.
Victor is associated with ESAB now, Harris with Lincoln and Smith with Miller.
All 3 have been around forever and each one has its fans and detractors.

I have only used a Victor set and I only used it for cutting (it worked great.)
My father in law, who was a certified welder many years, ago bought a Hobart import set about 10 years ago (Victor compatible).
He said it was good quality.

Best of luck!

 

[Rakovnik]

I've been doing maintenance on my 1960's baler, one of the knotter hold downs was completely rusted out and was causing 1 side of my bales to be loose. The piece laying on its side is supposed to be vertical where that big hole is.


Cutting out the base was a pain because it's a tight fit between a piece that can't be removed just out of frame to the left and the entire knotter assembly that would take over an hour to remove sitting above it and to the right.


Set up with a new piece of flat stock for the base and cleaned up the vertical piece to reattach.


On the first pass I used 5/32" 7018 that I didn't store dry enough so the welds had lots of air bubbles but looked good on top. It was also too big of a rod for this but those are my only 7018's on hand.

I ground down the weld and went over it with 1/8" 6011, it worked to fill in the couple problem spots and wasn't porous like the 7018. However, they do look like shit from a butt so I'll hide that. The less ugly weld you see holding the vertical piece is 2 passes of 7018, it's holding fine so I didn't grind that one.

Spoiler: Don't look

I ground it down again to help the paint cover it completely, this area of the baler is extremely dusty and I don't want rust starting again in some tiny gap. Also you can see I didn't quite start my weld at the edge in the far corner, it wasn't an access issue just a mistake, oops.


I didn't get that vertical part completely straight but all it does is hold that knotter assembly from swinging up and it's not worth my time to adjust it.

 

[Rakovnik]

I've been dealing with rusty sheet metal this week, my favorite. It started out as removing rust to repaint a dump cart, turns out the rust was all the way through and had to be cut out.


I dug around my barn and found a couple 1/16 6013 electrodes and used one of those for the top weld since it's the thinnest part.


I used my usual 1/8 6011 for the bottom weld, I figured that being on the corner it'll have more metal and not need such a thin rod. I was wrong of course and blew through the bottom weld several times.

After that I was more careful, letting it cool instead of trying to get it in 1 continuous weld, it's not something that needs to be water tight after all.

And here's where I left off with everything ground smooth, I'm still not too happy with it but it's holding fine and I have important projects to get done before the hay season starts.

 

[gohi_trout]

I have never used a HF kit but have heard from those that have.
From what I have heard they are pretty decent.
Work fine out of the box and are compatible with Victor torch tips.
I don't know how they hold up.


Used kits are a crap shoot.
If the torch handle and the tips look OK they probably are.
Check the hoses, if they look worn or dried out a new set should not be that expensive.
$50 or less depending on length.

The regulators can be a problem.
If you can test the set out with a set of tanks, great.
Most of the time that isn't an option.

Regulators can wear out and you can't tell just by looking if they are worn out.
Back in the olden days you could get them rebuilt or even rebuild them your self.
That isn't really a cost effective option anymore.

My thoughts on the matter are if you can try them out or get them cheap, go used.
Other wise for your first set HF is fine.

Subscribe to their email and even get their text messages for a while to try to get the best deal. They don't hand out flat percentage off coupons as often as they used to but it still happens now and then. Also watch their Inside Track sales. On big ticket items one sale can pay for the membership for a year.

One nice thing about the HF set and most of the other "import" outfits is they are Victor compatible. That means Victor torch tips will fit the handle. Victor has become some what the defacto standard for torches. Even other brands like Harris make Victor compatible tips.

The major brands are Victor, Harris and Smith.
Victor is associated with ESAB now, Harris with Lincoln and Smith with Miller.
All 3 have been around forever and each one has its fans and detractors.

I have only used a Victor set and I only used it for cutting (it worked great.)
My father in law, who was a certified welder many years, ago bought a Hobart import set about 10 years ago (Victor compatible).
He said it was good quality.

Best of luck!

I found some good cheaper old sets on local classifieds, so I think I'll probably go that way, I also have a guy who can show me how to rebuild regulators. I'll be sure to buy a new hose too if I do go used, thanks for advice!

 

[0FEE FIVE FOUR FOME0]

Now this is the thread for me.

 

[Big Fat Frog]

Anyone else hear music that’s not there when welding? I’ve recently been doing a lot more MIG welding and I hear distinct sounds of music every time I weld. I would hear it occasionally when stick welding and sometimes TIG but MIG seems to be a more common experience.

 

[Rakovnik]

Here's the finished body of the dump cart I was welding



I used bondo to smooth out the area I patched in, first time using it, I think it went alright for not having the proper tool to spread it.


Here's a spot I didn't show before, the door had rusted out where it touches the body when closed. It's made from 2 thin pieces of stamped steel welded together, you can see how they are separated at the lip. The hole was on the bottom of the inside raised piece (door is open so it's on top in photo) I tried welding it shut but it was too wide and thin so I filled it with bondo instead. I'm not sure how long it'll last in a spot that gets slammed into the body of the cart but it's better than a giant hole.

 

[0FEE FIVE FOUR FOME0]

2G bevel 1 inch test

 

[Barry McKockner]

That's ok for a first time.

 

[0FEE FIVE FOUR FOME0]

That's ok for a first time.

I'm still disappointed by the result. My root is good but everything else on top is completely ass.

 

[Barry McKockner]

I'm still disappointed by the result. My root is good but everything else on top is completely ass.

7018 fill and cap I'm assuming. Without a LOT of practice, 7018 can be a bitch to use on anything but flat due to the puddle and slag characteristics. The puddle is so fucking runny it just wants to go down with gravity. But the main thing you need to fix right now is keeping a consistent (correct) travel speed with rod angle. I used to run my 7018 much faster than the 6011 root passes.

 

[Darkholme's Dungeon]

I have a question on eye damage from wielding. I've been told its bad for the eyes even with proper PPE. I have some genetic eye issues including high astigmatism. Should I avoid metal wielding in general since I like being able to machine parts precisely??

If not, does anyone have suggestions for wielding aluminum. I've got to build a custom radiator someday.

 

[WelperHelper99]

I have a question on eye damage from wielding. I've been told its bad for the eyes even with proper PPE. I have some genetic eye issues including high astigmatism. Should I avoid metal wielding in general since I like being able to machine parts precisely??

If not, does anyone have suggestions for wielding aluminum. I've got to build a custom radiator someday.

Wear proper gear, don't be retarded. Will it take a toll long term? It can. You can mitigate that by wearing your helmet and not trying to look cool.

As for aluminum, learn TIG.

 

[Darkholme's Dungeon]

Wear proper gear, don't be retarded. Will it take a toll long term? It can. You can mitigate that by wearing your helmet and not trying to look cool.

As for aluminum, learn TIG.

Thanks.
I'm mainly worried since I make parts within tolerances of .0001" (0.025mm) consistently. Some folks I've seen get up to .00004" (1um) by naked eye alone.

 

[geckogoy]

Should this go into self sufficiency?

 

[Troon_Patrol]

Honestly I can't tell, nice work that's too smooth, I'll throw my guesses out there anyways

View attachment 5452986


Isn't that the best part, hours of disassembly and prep for a couple minutes of welding! I don't think you mentioned it in your last post, what car are you building?

I forgot this thread was still alive. 2" lower than #1 circle on the dustcover. You can see the oil make a funny pattern.


I fucking love building guns and gunsmithing.

 

[WelperHelper99]

Whoever moved the thread, thank you!