Welding?????????

[fredintoon]

Learning by pain

One and the same...

Hi BW,
a half-century ago it was called argon arc welding. That was when I learned not to wear nailed work boots when using those machines. Set up the stainless steel test pieces, set the machine according to the book, sit on the high welding stool, put your feet on the welding table cross bar, lean forward to strike the arc and feel 20,000 volts grounding to the table through the nails in your work boots. Musta been a very low current leakage but it sure made you jump.
I also learned that welders don't wear elastic sided boots because they are poofters but because it stops the molten slag from oxy-acetylene cutting dropping between your slip-on loafer and your foot.

[b.walker5]

I also learned that welders don't wear elastic sided boots because they are poofters but because it stops the molten slag from oxy-acetylene cutting dropping between your slip-on loafer and your foot.

LOL, Iv'e done a bit of the hot foot jig over the years, and it's worse with lace up's, takes longer to get them off.

[saddle up]

http://www.xs11.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif

I guess that I am too old school. I have tacked on picking eye's on a four ton load with 7018. No problem, with other's, even nr 232 have seen failure. When your picking a load and moving over people you want something you know will do the job..
That said,, did some google work on the welding...

http://www.knucklebusterinc.com/feat...lding-basics/;)

[EricNW]

So is there any consensus on the proper rod to use?

[mro]

If your good with your hands ...

Mig is pretty easy to learn to use. Bought one twenty years ago and they cost a lot more then. What takes some time and skill to learn is welding upside down or where it’s cramped and hard to reach. Mine is 180 amp and is set up to use gas.
Spent a couple hours practicing on scrap to adjust the welder and technic then fixed some part that was the reason for getting a welder. Since then I’ve made several trailers, repaired a $h1t load of things and made odds and ends. When I picked it out I bought one size up from what I thought I needed. While it’s been a very good machine there’s been a few times I wish I would have got the next size up from that.


mro

[fredintoon]

Length replaces strength (the amateur welder's mantra)

Mig is pretty easy to learn to use. - - - mro

Hi mro,
there's a caveat to that. I did long ago apprentice training with TIG, I currently run oxy-acetylene and a 180 Amp Lincoln buzzbox and my stuff don't fall apart neither. I only ever had a one week use of a borrowed MIG set and had to give it back before I got comfortable with it. But rumour has it that it's real easy for a MIG welder to make a superb looking weld bead that has next to no penetration. What I'd suggest is that a MIG beginner do a bunch of test welds and bash them apart to check the penetration before doing work that holds the wheels onto things.

[CatatonicBug]

Hi mro,
there's a caveat to that. I did long ago apprentice training with TIG, I currently run oxy-acetylene and a 180 Amp Lincoln buzzbox and my stuff don't fall apart neither. I only ever had a one week use of a borrowed MIG set and had to give it back before I got comfortable with it. But rumour has it that it's real easy for a MIG welder to make a superb looking weld bead that has next to no penetration. What I'd suggest is that a MIG beginner do a bunch of test welds and bash them apart to check the penetration before doing work that holds the wheels onto things.

I agree. I'm no pro welder, but I did some unofficial training several years ago with a guy who was VERY good at it. Mig is easy to learn, but not as good with penetration as Tig. If you need to rely on it, TIG is the way to go. It's harder to get right, but it's the better method.

[crazy steve]

[QUOTE=fredintoon;242376]...But rumour has it that it's real easy for a MIG welder to make a superb looking weld bead that has next to no penetration... QUOTE]

That's true, but it has more to do with weld prep that any 'superiority' of other welder types. If you're butt welding stock thicker than about .060" with a mig, you do need to bevel or separate the joint edges to assure that you do get penetration. If you fail to do that, yeah, you'll get a weld that lays on the surface.

Arc is much more forgiving about weld prep vs penetration, but skill when welding thinner stock is critical. Go below about .125" and it's all too easy to burn holes. A DC machine will help with this, as it gives you a more stable arc at lower heat.

Most bike frames use .080-.090" wall tubing with some thicker walls in critical places.

'78E original owner

[mro]

Temp of the work piece makes a difference too.
Reason I mentioned "hard to reach" pieces is you can have a problem with the angle of attack and gravity can be against you.

Thin stuff (3/16" or less) is easy to do with a mig.
All of the trailers I made are still in use. Frames on the tilt trailers are 3/8", and a couple were 3/16" box. I added gussets where I thought it might help. All were a little "over built" and built to haul 2 to 4 tons. Used my forklift to rotate the frames around to make it easy to get to spots that need to be welded. Have put thousands of miles on the ones I did for my business without any problems (except fenders ). Took me a while to learn that it was better (for me) to bolt em to the trailers than weld.

Newbie welding a bike frame I'd be concerned with weakening the metal around the weld (which should not be a problem if the welders set properly).

mro

[DGXSER]

Tig is a PITA

All I know is I took a training session once upon a time and had to tig some parts together as well as braze some stuff and then we hydro tested the pipng, and x-rayed the piece and everything I did failed miserably!! Nope, no welder here!!