Project Steampunk Vol.2

[NickMaul]

Weld washer install. I have to really plan and stage certain tasks moreso than ever since this is currently my only means of transportation besides on foot. It keeps thing fun.
I just call it a backyard welding party that nobody shows up to unless there's food and free beer....and then they still don't.
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My objective for the night was to get the weld washers on my lower links completed. Once I did, it's put the Jeep back together to drive to work in the am. Tomorrow night will be same procedure, just with the uppers. My Esab 161LTS is holding in there like a boss. Still a surprisingly durable and smooth running machine on stick. I've YET to even try the TIG function. I will be needing it once I start my new SS fuel cell.
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Sooner or later I'll start replacing the current parts for all new 1.25 Heims and Al links. Next year at the earliest.
The Hobart 7018s are OK for cheap rods.
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Working on the uppers is gonna bring the suck.

I went through a 10lb case of the Hobart 7018. Not a bad alternative in my opinion. Lincoln Excalibur’s are still where it is at

Love the updates.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[XJsavage]

I went through a 10lb case of the Hobart 7018. Not a bad alternative in my opinion. Lincoln Excalibur’s are still where it is at

Love the updates.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I ran across a screaming good deal on 10 lb tubes of 1/8" Excalibur 7018s and 309Ls. 30 lbs of unopened leftovers from a guy that welded freelance across the US and landed in SC. ($25)I was gonna use those but I figured they were slightly overkill for this project. Especially considering the awkward position I had to weld in. Laying on my back, sitting down, on my side, 6 beers in at 11:30 PM with rocks and tree roots ruining my life. Welds didn't turn out great, I can't lie. I blame the rods.

 

[ghost]

6 of those Coffee Lager's would make welding interesting to say the least.....

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

Hobart rods straight out of my portable oven run darn good. Readily bought in a hurry at my Tractor Supply.

Y'all try any ESAB atom arc?
Excalibur rods are good, but I wouldn't call them always outstanding. When not stored well they act up just like any other rod......however MR designated rods in a Washington Alloy suprised the Heck out of me.

Really want to try some ESAB fillers. After 20 plus years Lincoln fillers just don't seem the same. Especially various batches of 6010 and 7018 I have ran. When I taught we was getting hundreds of pounds of each weekly.

 

[XJsavage]

Hobart rods straight out of my portable oven run darn good. Readily bought in a hurry at my Tractor Supply.

Y'all try any ESAB atom arc?
Excalibur rods are good, but I wouldn't call them always outstanding. When not stored well they act up just like any other rod......however MR designated rods in a Washington Alloy suprised the Heck out of me.

Really want to try some ESAB fillers. After 20 plus years Lincoln fillers just don't seem the same. Especially various batches of 6010 and 7018 I have ran. When I taught we was getting hundreds of pounds of each weekly.

I have not tried the atom arc, and I would like too. I really need to get into the habit of cooking my rods more often. I usually only do it if I'm going to burn through pounds on one job. I do sometimes take a piece of round steel tubing, throw a few rods inside of it and lay it over my grill for a while. A dry vs wet rod is night and day for sure!

 

[XJsavage]

6 of those Coffee Lager's would make welding interesting to say the least.....

If you can weld drunk....you can weld sober!!

Sort of, maybe.

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

I have not tried the atom arc, and I would like too. I really need to get into the habit of cooking my rods more often. I usually only do it if I'm going to burn through pounds on one job. I do sometimes take a piece of round steel tubing, throw a few rods inside of it and lay it over my grill for a while. A dry vs wet rod is night and day for sure!

My oven holds 50 lbs. Portable and runs on 110volt. Made in the USA.

 

[Caver Dave]

Has been a few (decades ) since I've done any stick welding, but when I was building factory fixtures, LOVED the Eutectic "Beauty Welds"!
Used them for both joining and repair (pre-WW2 machinery was bad about bearings eating shafts that were cost prohibitive to reproduce) with surprising results.
IIRC, they commanded a premium price over others at the time...

 

[XJsavage]

Has been a few (decades ) since I've done any stick welding, but when I was building factory fixtures, LOVED the Eutectic "Beauty Welds"!
Used them for both joining and repair (pre-WW2 machinery was bad about bearings eating shafts that were cost prohibitive to reproduce) with surprising results.
IIRC, they commanded a premium price over others at the time...

It is so much fun!! Never gets old. I wish I did more where I work, but with the crew of welders we have here, when the chance comes up to fire up the Trailblazer we almost fight over who gets to burn some rods on site. I'm typically tied up with Waterjet cutting, fixing broken stuff and everything imaginable. My buddy Jeff (who's currently building a TJ w/ 70/14 bolt combo on 38.5s) is now a full time manager over powder coat and sandblast and also does programming. He rarely gets to weld at all, and he is universally phenomenal in all process.
I do thoroughly enjoy jumping into a TIG on stainless project though. Of course, who doesn't?

I'm just damn glad I chose stick on the entirety of this Jeep. Yes, MIG is easier, and probably why I dislike it.

 

[XJsavage]

I'm kinda putting off the other half of the weld washers til this weekend. It's Halloween weekend, it's a full moon, and going anywhere is a bad idea. Not again....
It's also very tight up in there. I'll just pull the entire rear axle and do it right, then hang out around the house and get stoned.

Besides... This is a damn cool chill spot anyways.

 

[XJsavage]

Now this feels like Halloween.... Calm, cool, overcast night. Get rowdy. Let's do what we do.

Weld washers are complete. Rear axle is back in.

I ran out of stuff to work on so I pulled the transmission/transfer case skid to finish up some loose ends. I precariously pieced together a bolt-on skid about a year ago to fit as tight as mechanically possible and securely house the downstream parts of my drivetrain. One transmission mount and one transfer case mount, all built using the same rubber bushings as my engine mount. Here it is, many moons later. The bushings have held up very well.

Serviceability is good.

Since I've ran this skid now for a while and like it, it's finally time to build a cover plate for it. Easily removable and impact resistant. And that's my project for this weekend.

Yes, I am a lunatic. Confirmed.

 

[XJsavage]

I pretty much said screw it and finished plating the hole, all but a corner drain. Skids that hold mud/grime and water get on my nerves.
I overcomplicated the hell out this thing.
This is all A572 .188" material that was in my scrap bin at work. It's essentially a big crazy puzzle stuck together with 100 amps DCEP on some very nonchalant Sunday afternoons.

 

[XJsavage]

Simple update. Just hanging out on the river with some friends at work.

Chris Stuyck himself showing off his custom J-bolt fabrication skills.

Trailblazer doing work.

 

[XJsavage]

Our excavator operator today, Mr. PeePee Quan.

Mixing concrete in the bucket, drilling anchors, setting J's, moving around several hundred pound stones and flood-proof outdoor furniture.

One piece at a time, we're building Columbia SC a kick-ass new chill spot, and we've barely even gotten started good.

 

[XJsavage]

Yesterday after work I decided it would be a good time to go ahead and completely dismount the front 60. Over the last few years of driving this Jeep, I can honestly say it's held up great. I haven't gotten a chance to wheel it much, but when I did I hammered on it pretty damn hard. Hard enough to break a 60 stub shaft first trip out and about a half dozen other things since.

Pulling the front axle out gives me a chance to go through and inspect everything not just with the axle but in the front suspension as well. I did use some nearly 30 year old leaf springs I found in the junkyard and pulled from a 91 half ton Dodge Ram. The original bushings were in good condition when I bolted them up and haven't worn any that I can tell. The Liquid Iron slider boxes will probably need a set of replacement UHMW slide pucks soon, but overall the suspension is all in A+ condition still.
As far as steering goes, the 1 ton TREs I bought through Barnes years ago have been holding up very well. No slop, no play, almost as if they are still fresh out the box. About a year ago I replaced the worn out original YJ box with one from a junkyard ZJ, which made my steering worlds better given the difference in ratio.
There's no major changes I need to make to anything on the 60 aside from a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. That's subject to change throughout the day of course. I may end up modifying the spring perches a little if anything.
I also went ahead and built a set of jack stands specifically for this axle. A few pieces of scrap material and a few hours later....

As many times as I've built my own brake lines, I should know better than to use steel flare fittings. They suck ass. Stainless is the way to go. Both lines will get reflared with stainless fittings as it goes back together.

 

[XJsavage]

F*** it, we're going live.
Not that I'm in a time crunch or anything, but I've got a paycheck that still needs cashing, groceries that need to be bought and I'm damn near out of beer and Grizzly wintergreen. If you're familiar with how the Ford SD trucks mount their driver side leaf packs to the axle, you'll know all too well the conglomeration of bolt on wargarhble that hangs 97 miles south of the axle housing with bullshitty yield-to-tourque long ass U-bolts. It's ghetto, stupid, and ugly.
I've got to somehow build a solid clamping system to adjoin the driver side leaf pack to the driver side axle housing that won't fail. How I had it before was makeshift. Now that I have the entire axle housing in front of me and can take the time to design and fabricate something that'll work, I'm all over it. Rather than spending all afternoon boons deep in preheat/reheat/repeat procedure on cast to mild steel welding, only to inevitably cook the bearings and seals, I've opted for a slightly different approach.
Weld where applicable, drill and tap where I can't. This'll keep me busy til it's time to drive to work Monday.

The rest will be plating, more drilling and tapping and making it up as I go. And it looks like I'll be walking my happy ass to the store for more beer with a bar stop or three. Woosah.

 

[Drunktaco]

I’ve got some beer you need to try man. I’ll send em your way. Until then, keep the wands burning and the sparks soaring.

 

[XJsavage]

Well, I overcomplicated the hell out of this too.
I love Sundays.

3/8-16

The jack stands I built Friday night are a lifesaver. Being able to securely spin the axle as needed makes welding on it a lot easier. There was nothing cut and dry about the fitment of some of these pieces, within this improvisational perplexia that it turned out to be. I've welded some funky weld joints before. I'm not sure if a "two pass butt lap" even exists, but I assure you there's one on here.

Now I've got all night to watch paint dry and casually bolt the axle back in.

 

[XJsavage]

Until then, keep the wands burning and the sparks soaring.

Oh I did. It's all fun and games til you catch your own sock on fire.

 

[Scooter402]

Oh I did. It's all fun and games til you catch your own sock on fire.

I know that feeling.... In a previous life, I was welding overhead under a platform while standing on an I-beam about 30 feet off the ground...was working 2nd shift, it was sometime approaching midnight. Was enjoying the cool fall breeze while watching nice puddles of molten steel fill and flow mere inches from my face. Occasionally I'd see the flashes reflect in my sheld as sparks hit the beam below my feet...then the flashes turned into a warm orange glow...which transformed into warmth creeping up my leg.

I stopped my beautiful welding, raised my hood to look down in time to see my entire right leg engulfed in flame. After I carefully danced about on the 8" wide I-beam, beating the shit out of my leg to extinguish the flame, I glanced over at the next beam that a fellow welder was perched upon, casually taking a drag from his cigarette. "I was wondering when you were gonna feel that." he says to me, barely even cracking a grin. Asshole.

I'm digging the over-engineered spring perch. Me thinks it's not going anywhere for a while, unless it is removed intentionally.

 

[XJsavage]

I know that feeling.... In a previous life, I was welding overhead under a platform while standing on an I-beam about 30 feet off the ground...was working 2nd shift, it was sometime approaching midnight. Was enjoying the cool fall breeze while watching nice puddles of molten steel fill and flow mere inches from my face. Occasionally I'd see the flashes reflect in my sheld as sparks hit the beam below my feet...then the flashes turned into a warm orange glow...which transformed into warmth creeping up my leg.

I stopped my beautiful welding, raised my hood to look down in time to see my entire right leg engulfed in flame. After I carefully danced about on the 8" wide I-beam, beating the shit out of my leg to extinguish the flame, I glanced over at the next beam that a fellow welder was perched upon, casually taking a drag from his cigarette. "I was wondering when you were gonna feel that." he says to me, barely even cracking a grin. Asshole.

I'm digging the over-engineered spring perch. Me thinks it's not going anywhere for a while, unless it is removed intentionally.

That's awesome! I love working beside guys (or gals) that can have fun and break the mold of expectations at the same time. I can tell ya some stories of jobs passed that would absolutely piss off every OSHA cowboy communists out there (which I happen to be very good at doing)
I'll refrain.
What happens in my backyard, stays in the backyard....
Heres a somewhat finished product picture of the spring perch. All 5/8 bolts.

 

[Scooter402]

That's awesome! I love working beside guys (or gals) that can have fun and break the mold of expectations at the same time. I can tell ya some stories of jobs passed that would absolutely piss off every OSHA cowboy communists out there (which I happen to be very good at doing)
I'll refrain.
What happens in my backyard, stays in the backyard....
Heres a somewhat finished product picture of the spring perch. All 5/8 bolts.
View attachment 330441

I definitely have stories too that would piss off the OSHA folks. It was a running joke at my last job that people constantly said "Good thing OSHA never walks through here!" If I were closer to SC (or ever make it down that way in my travels) I think we'd probably have a few good laughs over a couple (6 packs) of IPA.

Confirmed - That's not going anywhere.

 

[XJsavage]

Another simple update. I typically carry a good bit of stuff in my cargo area. Mostly tools, coolers, groceries, rusty truck parts... yada yada. It's either because I'm a really horrible driver, or stuff just magically slides around like crazy. I can't have anything scratching my pristine condition 1995 paint.
So I did a little painting of my own. Three coats of Rusto truck bed liner.
*Caution* This jazz takes eons to cure.

I'm betting on this product being a little more UV resistant than Herculiner, or at least hoping anyways.

 

[XJsavage]

There's really no logical explanation for this. My plan was to simply investigate some stress cracks in the front bumper where my spring hangers attached. Then I was going to install a legit turn signal switch after I got done with all my shopping and invite a honky or two over for a cold beer around the fire.

I wasn't going to bury myself in yet another overly involved time consuming project like I have for the last few weekends. Nope.
Well, the grinder results determined that that was a lie.

After 14 solid hours of work, I now have a Barnes YJ bumper I won't be using, an inch and a half lower ride height in the front with a clocked/relocated steering box. There were a lot of changes made to the suspension and steering geometry. I've only gotten it back together enough to drive it to work tomorrow and see what all I got right and what I didn't. As far as the winch mount goes, I'm still trying to come up with something. Good thing I have access to a press brake.

 

[XJsavage]

I may have actually gotten something right. Yesterday and last night was chaotic. I'll include Saturday night also. When I started the tear down on the front around 6pm Saturday, I had no idea I'd end up changing as much as I did. Around 1 AM Sunday morning was when I called it quits. Sunday also included a 9 mile bike ride that left me royally butthurt. Bicycle seats hurt like hell. But either way, here I am parked next to my little coal roller Nissan 50 forklift. I love this damn thing.... WTF was I even talking about?? Oh...

When I jumped in the Jeep this morning to give it a test drive, my first observational assessment was, "oh wow, so now my steering has built-in detents? Well isn't that just fuckin dandy".
I'm not sure how I overlooked this, but in the steering box clocking, I placed the steering shaft a little to close to the shock hoop. At least it's an easy fix.

If only Jeep actually got things right, but of course that'll never happen. Sorry about your feelings.