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Project Eat Soot

Here's a photo that might help you. See if you can enlarge it a little and look at the way the weld melts the parent metal from both sides... notice the discoloration around the weld showing that there was some good heat in there (but not TOO much!) and the overall profile of the weld is pretty flat.

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Get some closeups of your welds from both sides and post them up. We'll get you sorted out! :deal:

-G
 
Perfect! I will get some closeups of my welds....they do not look that good! I will have to tweak on the welder some more. Thanks for reference.
 
Ok Gents....got some pics of my welds looking to dial the welder in. Looking at -G's welds I think I need some more heat. -G this is the gauge I was talking about I had it set at about 7...it doesn't say psi...so :dunno:. I'm sure I will get some crap for this post....just starting to learn to weld.
Keep the kicks above the belt. Thanks for help all. Hope these pics turn out.

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What is your gauge reading while you have the trigger pulled? They don't look like they are starving for gas but it does look pretty cold to me and possibly too much wire speed.

Don't be afraid to play with the settings to find the sweet spot for each combination.
 
They look like tacks to me, except for the far one on the left. The second one from the left looks like its digging in real nice. Have you blown through at all yet? A little more heat and some more gas I would think will work. I run my gas at about 18-20. I've been told that it's a little too much and I'm wasting some, but they seem to come out OK for a noob.

Rene, is the resident welder here. If all fails, he will get ya dialed in.

Do you have any pics from the back to show some more of the HAZ?
 
Here's where I keep my regulator set when I weld.

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I've been told it's too high, and I'm probably just wasting gas.... yours doesn't look like it's even off the zero mark. You should probably try for around 20 - 25 (the red numbers on your gauge) as a starting point.

Looks like you could use some more heat also. Turn the knob up until you start blowing through (on test pieces obviously) and then back it down until the weld can finally hang on without blowing through.

Are you using 75/25 ArCo2 gas or what they call "Gold Gas"....? Gold is closer to 90% Argon and when you weld with it it seems "softer" and less aggressive. I use it for everything and feel like it's more forgiving on thin stuff, but that might just be in my head.

Keep practicing.... you'll be finished with that 40CuFt bottle in no time and ready for the 80CuFt upgrade. :waytogo:



Watch your wire "stickout" too.....be consistent with it each time you pull the trigger. Trim it back to around 3/8" with a set of cutters if it's too long.... you want consistent, repeatable welds and if your stickout is all over the place then your distance from the sheetmetal is going to be all over the place too.


-G
 
Thanks for the help from all of you. I will hopefully make it out tonight to try all the new tips. I am using the 75/25 ArCo. I haven't checked to see what the gauge reads with the trigger pulled. I have blown through on some practice pieces. I didn't have anything to show the back side of the weld. I will give it another shot. Thanks again.
 
Your gas pressure definitely looks low, but the welds are clean and un-oxidized so I wouldn't worry about that too much, but if you do start having splattering bad welds, 20 scfh is a good spot to start like Greg said. Also, the only pressure that matters, and when you should set i,t is when gas is flowing (trigger pulled).

Turning up your wire speed is what will give you more heat/amperage. If you can adjust up your voltage that will help your welds lay down a little more flat as well. Your welds should be making a "sizzling" sound not a "crackling". You can't listen for very long when your doing the quick spot welds, but if you use a practice piece your not worried about blowing through, try running a bit longer of a bead, and sometimes listening for the sound can help you dial it in when your getting used to things.
 
Thanks for the help on the welder settings guys, I think I got it dialed in better. I have worked on the rockers at night and it's coming together decent. Guess we will see when I hang the door. I have the outer rocker mocked up now and should burn it in Saturday hopefully. Few pics of progress. Summer is coming trying to push it again! Sorry pics are a little fuzzy.

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I would hang your door first before you burn it in. I have done my outer rockers twice as they just didn't line up the first time. Actually they didn't the second time either, but I changed up how I manipulated the rocker.

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A nice piece of 6x6 works well for drilling all of the holes in the outer, too.
 
Eat Soot said:
Thanks for the help on the welder settings guys, I think I got it dialed in better. I have worked on the rockers at night and it's coming together decent. Guess we will see when I hang the door. I have the outer rocker mocked up now and should burn it in Saturday hopefully. Few pics of progress. Summer is coming trying to push it again! Sorry pics are a little fuzzy.
Click to expand...

Summer only matters for people with running trucks.... :whistle:

Here on the dark side, seasons are meaningless.




:haha:

-G
 
Well right or wrong got the ps rocker project completed. One concern is the fender doesn't line up 100% I have about an 1/2" of gap at the bottom but I haven't messed with it much at this point. I did back it out of the garage just to flip it around to do the driver's side!...can't wait to start that side:rolleyes:. It appears to be worse. I will get some more pics of the door/fender alignments soon, maybe get to feedback on getting them lined up.

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No matter how you did.....it's still better than spray-foam! :)


-G
 
No doubt huh! Half nervous about what I'm going to find on the driver's side!...I know they riveted a plate over the floor that is about 12"x12" so let the fin continue. Still trying to decide what to put over the epoxy primer...so many choices out there. I like the bed liner idea but if I have to go back to fix something it might haunt me later. Also going to put down some Dynamat and then carpet.
 
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Nice work!

Buy yoyr dynomat from eBay, far cheaper than buying through Eastwood or similar.
 
I you are going to use carpet, then i'd just paint it. You can always bed line over the paint in some areas if you want it later.
 
Being half cocky and a pro now....:rolleyes: I dug into the drivers side rocker. It didn't look too bad from the outside...but it kicked my ass back to amateur status..:whistle: After digging in it's simply amazing how much crap gets in these through the years....this had a nest, pine cone, 3/8 tapping bit, hair and a ton of left over inner rocker parts just for starters. The floor support was half gone so I decided to try a slip on support this time it seemed to work out ok. It's a hell of alot stronger than what was there before. I could tell someone had been in this area before...most of the front portion of the outer rocker had a layer of body filler along with the kick panel. Anyway I fought through it all and managed to get it close last night...still have to final fit the outer rocker and spot weld in. I'm having a line up issue with the door, the outer rocker is sitting about 3/8 of an inch too far in on the inner rocker. The pile of dirt doesn't do the pic justice it was about 6 inches high. Anyway on to pics.

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