Welding tech

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
I finally had a couple of hours for cutting'n'welding yesterday, and started making my new CJ front bumper. Main bumper is a chunk of 2x4x1/4 tube, 36" long.

Just inside of each frame mount, I am putting a shackle mount. Each mount is made from a chunk of 1" plate, measures 1"x2"x5" with 7/8" hole for shackle pin. I have cut holes in the 2x4x1/4 bumper all the way thru, so the shackle mount will slip all the way thru (and about 3/8" out the back side), and be welded on both sides of the bumper.

So...any tips for welding the 1/4 wall tube to the 1" x 2" solid shackle mount? Using my Miller 210, .030 solid wire, unimix gas.
 
Crank it up to 7 on the heat, between 60 and 70 on the wire, and make a relatively slow, circular pattern around the fillet area. Basically, I'd push forward about 1/4" in the corner of the fillet, then swing back on the higher piece about 1/8-3/16" on the top piece, circle down into the lower piece, and hold it there just long enough to eliminate any undercuting. Reallign the torch with the joint and push forward again. This should give you a heap of penetration, a weld area about 5/16" wide, a great toe, and the fish scale look everybody's going for. These are roughly the settings I used when welding thick steel flanges to thick sch. 40 pipe, using the exact same setup you've got. I was using Lincoln wire, though. The brand of wire you're using can make a big difference, but this should get you in the ballpark. Just listen for a nice, loud sizzle. Not bacon sizzle, it's going to be more violent than that, but it shouldn't be distinct popping. Good luck!
 
Bevel the 1" plate where it is going to be welded. If your have a torch preheat it.
 
One more thing...CLEAN THE METAL! A lot of people think that just because they've got new steel, it doesn't need to be cleaned. There is still a protective coating on it that needs to be ground off. Get down to shiny steel before you even strike an arc.

Jeff, preheating and beveling shouldn't be necessary in this case. That welder has the ass to dig into the 1" deep enough that the weld won't be the weak spot. The 1/4" steel on the bumper will. And from what I read, beveling the 1" would be kinda difficult and silly. If I were to bevel anything, it would be the bumper steel. Cut a chamfer around the hole just to give the joint more room for metal to go. However, I don't think it'll be necessary in this case.
 
what ever you say, I only have 20 plus years in the welding. 12 of that being certified.
 
Jeff B said:
what ever you say, I only have 20 plus years in the welding. 12 of that being certified.
Click to expand...

And I knew that from the one sentence you posted. Sorry I stepped on your toes, buddy. I should have read between the lines. I've only been doing this professionally for about 1.5 years, but about half that time I was using the exact same setup he's got, welding similar materials. I give the guy a step-by-step, and you throw out a fragmented sentence and feel like your info is supposed to trump mine? I'm not trying to start an arguement here, but please, enlighten us. How is he supposed to bevel a piece of steel that's sticking out of a piece of .250 wall tube? And what good is that going to do? If anything, it seems like it will weaken the 1", cutting into it to create some sort of bevel. If it were being butt-welded, I'd understand, but it's not. And whereas preheating definately wouldn't hurt, I don't see how it will help in this case either. As long as the metal isn't sitting at around 32° F, that welder should burn deep enough into both pieces to make as good of a weld as one could expect, given the materials he's working with.

Instead of offering up tidbits of advice, why don't you provide some facts to back up the shit you talk? If you put as little effort into prepping a joint as you do typing a post, I wouldn't want you welding on my junk, certified or not. Again, this is not to start an arguement. It's a fact, and a challenge. Get a little more in-depth when offering advice over the internet. It's very easy for someone to take a little piece of information, misinterpret it, and screw things up big time. I don't know you from Adam. Want me to respect your opinion as a welder? Convince me you're a welder with a well-written, informative post. Not a couple of statements that anybody could have picked up off a website somewhere and regurgitated here with no real-world experience.

I don't know you, I'm not trying to piss you off. I might even like you in real life, but you insulted my intelligence, and that pissed me off. No real harm done, though.

-Mark-
 
wow you put allot of time in all that didn't mean to insult any of the intelligence you have nor try to trump any advice. I geuss my e-penis is just not big enough to continue in this thread. The work I have done for the folks that know me on this board will speak for it's self.

Have a good new year!
 
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