Killer Weldz Thread

DavidG4x4 said:
I would like to mess with a spool gun, I'm guessing its pretty hard to make it look that good....
Looking Great for what I understand about mig welding aluminum!
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the first thing they teach you in testing and inspection:

IF IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD MOST LIKELY IT ISN'T

But having said that I've seen some purty stuff fall apart.

As for the Aluminum its 75% set up and 25% input and 100% got to be clean to start with. The number one user error is the angle of approach, you gotta forhand the bead and push the weld. 25 to min of 15 degrees approach angle set on "sizzle".
 
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It looks like you triggered the weld at the top cause I see the pits between the dimes. But the weld at the bottom looks like a normal circle pattern constant weld. Are you using different techniques or Does it just look like it?
 
Nah its all pulse welded, its really hard to make pulse welds on the cheap ass ERW mild steel tubing look right because it burns it so fast and timing gets messed up. Harder steel tubing seems to look better because it is more constant temp.... Plus perfect fits make the biggest difference and I have to get my rig done super fast so I won't be taking the time to do all that on my rig....

I've only ever welded an entire chassis one time, and it was tig welded. So therefor I have never pulse welded a chassis and I am using mine as a learning experience, strategy, etc for future builds....
 
Is it a pulse machine, or a pulse on pulse machine that syncronizes the wire with the current? Its weird that you're getting craters in the weld with a pulse machine. That usually indicates that the wire feed is momentarily stoping.
 
I'll play

these are just a couple. Nothing fancy They just turned out good.. MIG
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triggering?!

hey guys school me on this. i have no training, just a cpl weeks of gmaw stick- then bought a mig and self taught from there, (going on 15 years.). and it may just be a difference in terminology; but i caught alil flack about some mig triggering welds( or tack-tack as they called it) on my sheet metal in my copper crawler build, here and on pirate. warrior welding gave me some very technical input on the downfalls of this method, which sounded logical to me, yet i see this everywhere from garage builds to full custom shop builds, and no mention of any criticism on those. not that i mind being given any advice in a constructive manner and always willing to learn; especially the correct way. and again it may be a totally different technique or difference in terminology. :popcorn: pass me down some knowledge boyz!

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Chris as Marsfab welded some additional tubing to my cage and it came out amazing!

Some of his TIG work:

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Virtually invisible after being painted:

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Chris does some awesome stuff with his TIG machine!

Just saw your post mcutler. Have nothing to offer other than who really cares about sheet metal...

Granted, I don't get paid to do this for a living, but there are very few things that I work with where sheet metal matters. If you're building fuel cells or something, ok, but I don't really give a crap about a dash or floorpans...

also, keep in mind that there are a ton of people on pirate that only know how to run their mouths, and that is about it.
 
mcutler said:
hey guys school me on this. i have no training, just a cpl weeks of gmaw stick- then bought a mig and self taught from there, (going on 15 years.). and it may just be a difference in terminology; but i caught alil flack about some mig triggering welds( or tack-tack as they called it) on my sheet metal in my copper crawler build, here and on pirate. warrior welding gave me some very technical input on the downfalls of this method, which sounded logical to me, yet i see this everywhere from garage builds to full custom shop builds, and no mention of any criticism on those. not that i mind being given any advice in a constructive manner and always willing to learn; especially the correct way. and again it may be a totally different technique or difference in terminology. :popcorn: pass me down some knowledge boyz!
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I was wondering about this also. I've been MIG welding for about the same time, but I'm certainly not an expert. I've also read that the tack-tack-tack- method produces a good looking but "cold" weld. I've read this on welding forums and also on pirate. What is the concensus here? Is this acceptable for a structural weld on link mounts or a cage? I'm not trying to start :poop:, just trying to see what works for what we build.
 
The tack tack method is not ideal for anything structural because you get a cold lap between each tack. IMO for what you're doing with all the sheetmetal thats not so structural its fine but not for much else. If you were to cut a triggered weld in half lengthwise you would see that there is a gap or small hairline crack between each tack.
If you prefer to have that nice dime stack look. Practice doing a continuous weld and varying your pattern. I typically use lower case cursive e's and change their over lap and height based on the look I want and the material I'm working with. Works for me in any position, pushing or pulling. I always picture that I have margins to touch as I make the circles just like having to type between the margins on paper. Focus on the margins always go up and down the same amount so you get that nice uniform bead. Once you get that down you can work with different amounts of stickout and how far you dip back into the puddle to really tune the weld like you want it. It's kinda like a golf swing, you've got a hundred things to do and think about but the more you do it the more natural it'll be.
 
Most people try to tac tac with there welder settings way too low. Crank the heat, slow down the wire and go with it....
 
MarsFab said:
The tack tack method is not ideal for anything structural because you get a cold lap between each tack. IMO for what you're doing with all the sheetmetal thats not so structural its fine but not for much else. If you were to cut a triggered weld in half lengthwise you would see that there is a gap or small hairline crack between each tack.
If you prefer to have that nice dime stack look. Practice doing a continuous weld and varying your pattern. I typically use lower case cursive e's and change their over lap and height based on the look I want and the material I'm working with. Works for me in any position, pushing or pulling. I always picture that I have margins to touch as I make the circles just like having to type between the margins on paper. Focus on the margins always go up and down the same amount so you get that nice uniform bead. Once you get that down you can work with different amounts of stickout and how far you dip back into the puddle to really tune the weld like you want it. It's kinda like a golf swing, you've got a hundred things to do and think about but the more you do it the more natural it'll be.
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thanks chris. yea i never tack on structural stuff. and this is the most i had worked with sheet to date so i was learning as i went. i was still using .035 wire im my miller 185, i probably shoulda went to my spoolgun with some .020 and practiced alil more technique. but is triggering the same as tack tack?, guess that's what i am trying to determine.
 
willness33 said:
I was wondering about this also. I've been MIG welding for about the same time, but I'm certainly not an expert. I've also read that the tack-tack-tack- method produces a good looking but "cold" weld. I've read this on welding forums and also on pirate. What is the concensus here? Is this acceptable for a structural weld on link mounts or a cage? I'm not trying to start :poop:, just trying to see what works for what we build.
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I wouldn't feel safe with it. 3/8" thich plate to 3/8" or more axle tube. Maybe at 300 amps I would feel a little more comfortable trying it.

My question is; why would you want to trigger weld something like that? I can understand on sheet metal up to maybe 14 ga. to keep from burning through but why do it on something that thick. Strictly for asthetics?
 
mcutler said:
thanks chris. yea i never tack on structural stuff. and this is the most i had worked with sheet to date so i was learning as i went. i was still using .035 wire im my miller 185, i probably shoulda went to my spoolgun with some .020 and practiced alil more technique. but is triggering the same as tack tack?, guess that's what i am trying to determine.
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As far as I know. Tack tack is the same as triggering.
 
Here is a theory....

If a chassis was built structurally sound and all of its tube continuity was perfect, it would most likely live a super long time and take tons of abuse with shitty welds....

on the other hand

If a chassis was not built structurally sound BUT had perfect welds it would most likely crack up and fall apart....




I disagree that trigger welding is a bad thing.... Not only was I taught to do it in school, but I have been around multiple sand car companies, and trophy trucks for that matter that trigger weld everything....

Trigger welding is a bad thing when someone doesn't understand what they are trying to accomplish other than it looking cool.:confused:

Think about it like this.... On .120 wall tubing to get a perfect weld all you have to do is get complete penetration past the .120 mark on both pieces.... So if you make a bead thats not undercut, no matter how you make your bead.... Look at the back of the weld and you can see the filler in tact all the way across, you have accomplished your goal....

If your welding a 3/8 steel plate to a .120 wall tube.... Chances are, your not going to get the right penetration any way you go about it.... It all goes back to fabrication and chamfering the edges on that 3/8 plate

Trigger welding takes around the same amount of time and preparation as tig welding does in my opinion.... Plus its always good to know a few trade secrets:flipoff2:

Practice makes perfect and this type of welding definably takes a TON of practice and is the hardest to get right!!!!
 
I'll agree with you. Yea it is probably strong enough to hold up forever if you do it right. The fact of the matter is that a trigger weld and a continuous weld compared side by side the cont. weld wild always prevail.

With all the bad blood that comes with trigger welding and the fact that the AWS doesn't even recognise it as a legit weld procedure why would a big trophy truck or buggy builder even think about doing it. To me on tubing a continuous weld that looks like a stack of dimes is much more complicated to make look nice and be stout than stacking tack welds up on top of each other. Seems like an easy way to make a "stack of dimes"
 
MarsFab said:
I'll agree with you. Yea it is probably strong enough to hold up forever if you do it right. The fact of the matter is that a trigger weld and a continuous weld compared side by side the cont. weld wild always prevail.
With all the bad blood that comes with trigger welding and the fact that the AWS doesn't even recognise it as a legit weld procedure why would a big trophy truck or buggy builder even think about doing it. To me on tubing a continuous weld that looks like a stack of dimes is much more complicated to make look nice and be stout than stacking tack welds up on top of each other. Seems like an easy way to make a "stack of dimes"
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I guess those companies don't go to the AWS to hire the top chassis welders in the off-road industry.... I'm just telling you how it is bro.... Sex Sells and "Naked" or "Under a Coat" those welds are Tits:D
 
that also why most chasis fabricators can't pass a weld test
 
Now I am understanding what you are describing by tack-tack. Never ran across this idea before. I am not a professional welder, but have some schooling on welding and welding theory. It would be very hard to get proper penetration with this so called tack-tack method on anything structural. TIG is totally different because the torch does the heating, with the filler being added. MIG welding requires a little time for the weld to get up to temperature. Tacking something in a continuous pattern generally would not get it near hot enough. Plus, it would take forever...

It would be fine for thin or sheet metal. In fact, most vehicles are spot welded. I prefer to spot weld sheet metal myself. It is a lot quicker. Chris has drawn the template out pretty well. The rest is practice and testing your welds. When starting out, use flat steel to get a good feel for everything. Tube is a lot harder.
 
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