If your not a welder, know your limitations!

Sorry, I guess we were doing the HAMB on the SHEEP this time!

 

You make me get SERIOUS again. Sheesh. Man, I totally agree. You lay out you box so you have EVERY socket known to man.

I'll fucking guarantee you, when you need a full selection in a pinch, it'll be the cheap crap that fails and leaves you stuck right where you are. (LUCKY if you're at home or in a friendly parking lot.)

We used to say, "Cheapest isn't always the best option." That was 30 years ago. NOW, I say, "You get just what you pay for." You buy sockets on the cheap, well, I hope you don't have to use ny one of them more than once or twice. Sockets break, actually break? Had it happen this summer in the junkyard with a 13/32 (only one I had).

Went home like the dumb shit I felt like, found a conversion chart thta said 10-mm was same, burned gas to go back and get the part I was after. I kicked my own ass, both ways, for buying anything Chinese AND for not having a conversion chart in my glove compartment. Times like that, you just thank God you weren't 80 miles from home broke down and needing that Craftsman part, ya know?

Sorry to ramble. I just hate multi-recycled and adulterated Chinese simi-metal products, that's all.

 

As long as you are discussing safety may I kindly ask for some advice please. I am running a SBF in this '40 Ford truck. I have the frame rails all plum, level and square. Next is boxing plates all the way down. My question is the pitting in the photo, is it ok? is this structurally unsound? Or can I box it and feel comfortable?

 

I bought a Lincoln Pro Mig 180 two years ago, it was made in Mexico. My Lincoln AC/DC Arc welder was made in Cleveland, Ohio, 25 years ago.

 

Must also add....if you don't know how to use your welder, learn!!! you can buy the best their is and still make crappy welds.

 

Well, it's close-up, but if that's the original '40 frame, then it looks like it was made from quality rolled steel to me (and Henry liked Vanadium-quality steel, too).

From what I can see here in these close-ups, it surely looks as though you've got the frame spic & span. My dad was the welder, but I think dressing the surface (with a grinder) where you're going to do the actual weld would help insure success. Don't go crazy, just dress the surface where you want to weld. (There still has to be balance between pretty and functional, ya know?) But that's just aesthetic nuance. A strong, penetrating weld is more important than a couple of surface scratches. You will be fine-grinding down anything unsightly after the important work is done, right?

From here in front of my screen, your frame look sound and clean. Do you happen to have a wider-angle shot?

 

I did these, thought they were perdy.

[/url][/IMG]

 

Goes without saying.

 

My hat's off! As guys have said here, why play around and fool yourself when you can be proud to do it like this? If it's worth doing, structural welds are damn-well worth doing right. NOT ONLY can you be proud of your craft, yousleep well at night knowing people are safe, riding in and on something YOU helped create!

 

well said brother hiram! do it right or dont do it

 

Well said brother Hiram. SW Byers #152, Byers, Co. Welding is just like playing a musical instrument, get proper instruction and practice, practice and more practice. Then get more instruction. Dig out the scrap steel and have at it.

 

Awesome, a couple more brothers on here. That's outstanding. St. Johns #13, Dayton Temple.

 

amen. if you are not a certified welder STFA from structural welds !

 

Haven't touched a arc (stick) welder sence I was in high school.
wouldn't try to use one now if my life depended on it.

 

nice but weres the prep? I see scale still? Or is this a just for topic sample?
As for the stack of dimes refferanced....yes you want the appearance of that, however, I am tired of seeing "tack beads". Yes tack beads can make anyone look like they are a great welder. But us 9-5 welders know....its just a tack bead. Which equals snap....20 nickles.

 

I have the same opinion, I fail to see how a heat setting of "HIGH/LOW" is worth a damn. I have never used the H/F welders, wont waste my money on it. I hear it works like a little lincoln 110, but probably doesnt have the longevity of a lincoln.
not a hatred for H.F tools, or a pro lincoln comment (I personally prefer Hobart and Miller). I love harbor freight, their grinding materials are very affordable

 

Topic sample, it was a jig I fabbed up used to mount hub style drains onto a turntable to turn down. Not something that required any real prep work. I agree a thousand percent on the tack bead comment.

 

I've got a whole pile of failed communist-made sockets that I've welded back together

 

My HF welder sux balls! I only use it for small sheet metal jobs. When I do frames and structural welding I step up to my buddies Hoabart and Miller. Night and day between REAL welding equipment and HF welders.

 

Are you on the level?

 

Western Star #21, Youngstown, Ohio

You guys only have one goat in Lodge? Your ritual must be different than ours.

 

No professional but i can do a little. I bought a miller 180 3 years ago maybe. And thats what i really learned how to weld on. But i can pick up my buddies 212 miller and no weld worth a crap, same thing with a friends hobart. Really dont understand. Here is some welds i did the other day welding sleeves in my frame's speed holes-

 

If your on sure if you can do somthing or not to make somthing safe. You should alway ask for help. From some one who can get the job done safe. Thats the smart thing to do.

 

The biggest part of any endeavor is to know what you don't know and find somebody who does.

A squirt welder is like laying on caulking if you don't use enough heat to penetrate the metal. You're using a wire that melts at a much lower temperature than most steels except for thin sheet metal. It's easy to make a good looking weld that won't hold anything.

Don't count on guys that make a living by welding either. One of my friends had a guy who works as a certified boiler welder on his pit crew. He welded some mounts for ramps on the back of his hauler and one broke off when they loaded the car at the track. He was used to welding joints on new steel that were prepared for him with a welder that was set to the proper current and feed speed. Most production welding is done this way.

In welding class, we had some guys that could lay down some beautiful beads that didn't stand up to the test breaker.

Many people fight having inspections for our custom cars but it seems to be a necessary evil.

 

A question: I used to do production mig welding & got good at "hat, fast, & downhill". Is it safe to weld downhill on a frame, or do you need to weld it flat?

 

I don't like to do any pure vertical welds on a frame due to structural considerations. I'd rather it be at some angle to vertical. [tilted toward the front or rear] If I weld it in the vertical position, I weld from the bottom up.

 

I don't weld much now. I was a pipefitter befor I retired
Showed our boy how to weld.
The oldest one stuck with it and now is certified ,He told me not to even tack it together(laughing ,said it screws up his welds.) also says MIG stands for maybe it's good.
later Russ

 

Don't count on guys that make a living by welding either. One of my friends had a guy who works as a certified boiler welder on his pit crew. He welded some mounts for ramps on the back of his hauler and one broke off when they loaded the car at the track.

Certified boiler work should be 6G certification test. That's the highest level, hardest to pass, best there is. If you can't trust welds by a man who holds a 6G, then you can't trust any weld.

 

That's a complicated question with no easy to explain answer.

An up hill vertical is almost always better than a down hill.
The answer to your question lies in the amperage of the machine and the material thickness.

With a big enough machine, you can get 3/8" penetration running down hill. With a bigger machine you can get even more. They don't sell those machines at home depot.

Try your own test on some scrap of like thickness and break it.

 

That stack of dimes weld was nice.