welding/airbags question.

sorry if this is stupid but i'm about to get a new project and am already thinking about doing airbags this winter...so its a long way off. my room mate is a welder by trade. we got a hobart 140 MIG setup at the house. He tells me it will put it solid welds on anything up to 1/4" thick but is nervous about helping me with the bags. i think he's just being extra mindful because if we did it and my shit broke he'd feel bad or whatever. can anyone that has any experience with doing airbags or anything before give any advice on if the set up we got will work? i mean i trust his professional opinion but at the same time anytime i ask him for help he's weird about being liable for anything that goes wrong. and thats why he's being weird about this working or not.

thanks!

 

Uhm, you say he is a welder by trade... I think the welder is capable but I would be concerned if a welder by trade is nervous about his own work. If it's engineering, then that's a different story. Good prep, good penetration and the welding shouldn't be an issue. I am assuming you are talking true gas shielded mig and not just the box with flux wire? As dirty as flus wire welds are they actually can penetrate a little better, just cleanup and appearance will suck.

I would google air bag pics of what you are going to put together but it's really not re-inventing the wheel unless you really want to do that. Technically the bag goes where the spring was and maybe notching out the frame for clearance. It's more technical than that and I'm sure someone else will chime in, but not that much more technical.

Simple to say, harder to do well.

 

I’m doing this very thing now with a similar welding machine using a shielding gas. The machine will do the job no problem. What I would be concerned with is my friend not feeling comfortable doing the job. Your friend being hesitant is ok; after all he’s worried about you.
I’m building my own brackets using ¼” steel and I haven’t had any issues. These are being welded to a frame that, when new was 3/32” thick; so there is a different technique to welding these two metals together. Find a couple piece of steel the thicknesses you’ll be using and have him weld them together. A professional welder will always want to show his abilities. Have him take them to work and have a bend test performed; this will determine if the weld will be sufficient.
If he’s still hesitant you might need to find someone who is experienced doing this type of work. Good Luck on your project.

 

The 140 is plenty. I have a Hobart 140 and penetrates 1/4 steel pretty good. Just give the machine a rest every once and a while. Prep is the key to as someone else stated above. Clean metal, beveled edges your good to go

 

Sounds like he does not want to do it...so just practice with the welder and do it yourself (maybe ask for a little instruction).

 

Fillets are your friend on a 110 mig