Welding 101 with Rich

wow rich.... that looks great...

what gauge is the steel you used?

 

I used 10 gauge (.135") steel.

Rich

 

sandblasting is almost complete... theres that shock mount that needs to be replaced.... eewwwwwwww...

i got mud out of it.... thinking... where was THIS picked up and when?

found some small pinholes in the MAIN frame that i will need to address...

maybe the deadline needs to be pushed back?

 

Your frame is a tough call...it's got a lot of good qualities (cab mounts are surprisingly healthy), but the bad areas are pretty rough.

Those rear shock mounts look like the worst part of them is the lower portion. Judging by the pics, maybe you could just cut out the section below the top frame flange (leave the top section of the mount alone), weld in a piece of channel iron, to replace the rotted section, than weld the new channel to the original top section. BUT...only you can see how bad it really is...I'm going by the pic.

I read this post after I PM'ed you, BTW.

Rich

 

ok... now that i think i have decided to maybe go with a 75 frame, and i have looked into mounting the 76 tub to a 75 frame....

how feasible IS it really?

if all that needs to be done is moving some mounts, thats no sweat...

any opinions?

 

Looks great there, though I would have personally made a wider bead on it all. Stronger.

I have welded up countless frames mostly quick repairs, but I have fabricated and welded entire frames together from scratch. 2 of them have been Race car space frames made from chrome molly steel, fish mouthed with a grinder and used an angle finder to get the geometry right so that it would be super strong and light weight. Welding tubing is really tricky at first, but after you figure out how to control the puddle it becomes second nature...

Tig welding is easier than Mig welding, but getting the settings right is the hard part. Just like sodering, but way hotter. I can TIG alumimum, but I am still trying to figure out that "clean" part.

I use a Hobart Handler 187 220V mig welder most of the time. Good reliable welder, I use .024 for fine work like sheet metal, and .030 for general stuff, and .035 and for bumpers, and c channel. I have welded 7/16 steal no problems, and I actually burned a hole through because I had the wire speed too fast.

anything thicker I break out the Forney Stick welder also 220v. A little sloppyer but much stronger.

I have taught myself how to weld 4 years ago, and I am getting complements from professional welders and fabricators on my work. I have probably close to 1,000 hours under my belt. Its just another thing to put on my long resume.