1982 C/K 6.0L Caitlyn Mall Crawler (Interior time)

[Babaganoosh]

He's trading me the rear out of his buggy. no he needed it for a friend.

Shawn suggested I plate the Inside rather then the outside of the frame. Little bit confused on this thought the strength was needed on the outside more. Or am I not seeing the big picture?

 

[Babaganoosh]

Honestly, im surprised he hasnt come over sooner.

He said he will be back and plans on trying to knock a few things out. We talked about the rear springs and what I could do. Some 56's or 63's would work well.

 

[y5mgisi]

If it was me, i would plate the shock hoop areas and down to the link mounts under the body mount and call it a day.

Bot think about it, if you have two plates, you have two plates. Doesnt matter much what side they are on as long as they are stiffening and distributing load.

 

[Jester1]

What's he need a ten bolt for? He looks at ten bolts and they snap in freight.

He may be building a go kart.

As far as learning to weld....

#1 put aside your irrational fear of it. If you don't you won't learn. I know your fear is more on screwing up the part than the actual welding.

#2 prep prep prep.... Clean metal and square cuts (no gaps) will be 80% of the weld.

#3 practice practice practice.... Visualize the weld in your mind before you start. Make sure there is nothing in your way arms can move, body can move, so you don't interrupt your weld. Pull trigger, then "feel speed", hear the weld, your eyes are there to see what you are doing but you need to get to where you're using all your senses for the welding.

#4 examine the aftermath and remember what a good weld felt, sounded, looked like through your hood. Then do it again.

 

[Babaganoosh]

Now that my legs are healed up and it isn't a chore to move around. (2nd degree burns) I put in a few hours of welding in.

 

[y5mgisi]

That already looks pretty good!

 

[Babaganoosh]

It will hold but I want it better. It looks a lot worse in the picture, I can't make it consistent enough yet.

 

[ktmoutfront]

Circles and upside down are the hardest welds to make look good when you are learning.

 

[Babaganoosh]

It was in my scrap bin and instead of trashing it I'll weld it.

 

[andyblack]

That actually does look pretty good. Did the weld penetrate the steel good? If so I would say that's an acceptable weld.

 

[ktmoutfront]

By some anti splatter spray and use it.

 

[Babaganoosh]

Had some one it but it was popping to much.

 

[andyblack]

Are you using gas or flux core?

 

[Babaganoosh]

gas, I just had my wire speed up to high I think and it was causing the wire to break and pop.

One of these.

 

[andyblack]

That's looks like a good machine. Sometimes I get splatter like that if I don't hold the gun close enough or try to go too fast. Actually I always seem to get a little bit come to think of it.

 

[Greg72]

Had some on it but it was popping to much.

A light mist coat is all you need, you're not shooting spray paint!!!

I've never had a problem with anti spatter complicating the weld process....

Sputtering could be a bad ground on you welder clamp, or wire speed that is either too slow or too fast for the amount of voltage you are running. Typically if the wire speed is too fast you can actually feel it hitting the metal and pushing the nozzle back into your hand. Too slow, and the wire will vaporize and ball up before it gets into the puddle.

Keep practicing and posting pics..... The welding pros can tell you a lot about your technique and settings from a decent photo.


-G

 

[jekquistk5]

Id say add more heat if you can, otherwise good looking weld.

Practice practice practice

 

[Babaganoosh]

Thanks guys, keep the tips coming as long as I post pics .

 

[folkenheath]

Did you grind the base metal clean on both parts before welding? That can cause a lot of splatter if it has any oil, dirt, paint or anything besides bare metal on the surface. I always grind or flap disc or blast anything before welding it.

Also, something I see a lot of people do (and I did it too in the beginning), is they turn the wire speed down because they can't keep up with it (and the weld appears to be on the metal instead of in it), but this also turns down your amperage, which leads to less penetration. If you want the weld to melt in better you are better off turning your voltage up a little vs turning the wire speed down. You appear very close, maybe a tad more voltage and some better cleaning prep before you weld.

Also, when welding in funny shapes or positions, do a "dry run", move the gun where it needs to be without welding anything, this can minimize the stops/starts and also keep your gun angles better.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I took a wire speed and had the welder up as high as it would go, I'm pretty sure I just wasn't moving fast enough for my wire speed.

Either way it was to much of both and I want to try with more appropriate settings.