mymmeryloss
Member
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- 13bT Mazda B2600i
Sweet!
Welding Thread
- Thread starter magnumP5
- Start date
AzteCypher
black ops modifications..
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- 2001 Mazda Protege LX
Pretty neat. You must be McGyver's cousin or something to rig that up.
PrinceValorum
Member
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- 95 626 FS, 89 Toyota Derux 4x4
Oh hell yeah, I didn't just get this for nothing!
Check out this dude's brake that he built himself... Just nuts...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38hfwvIbnjo
mymmeryloss
Member
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- 13bT Mazda B2600i
Purchased an aluminum spool gun.
Time to weld up some intercooler piping!
Time to weld up some intercooler piping!
PrinceValorum
Member
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- 95 626 FS, 89 Toyota Derux 4x4
Nice! What'd you get it for if you don't mind me asking? What gas do you run for aluminum?
mymmeryloss
Member
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- 13bT Mazda B2600i
Lincoln sg120 spool gun from weldingsupply.com. Shipped for under $200.
Will be running straight argon but u can run helium/argon mix but its crazy expensive!
Will be running straight argon but u can run helium/argon mix but its crazy expensive!
PrinceValorum
Member
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- 95 626 FS, 89 Toyota Derux 4x4
Whoa, that's a crazy price! I wouldn't mind getting one if it's that cheap. Google isn't turning up anything, though. Do you have a link?
I'm sure interested to see how yours works for you.
I'm sure interested to see how yours works for you.
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- MSP 1145
what's the best/cheapest type of welder to do aluminum
also whats the best/cheapest type of welder to do 1/16"? sheet metal, like that of an engine bay?
also whats the best/cheapest type of welder to do 1/16"? sheet metal, like that of an engine bay?
PrinceValorum
Member
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- 95 626 FS, 89 Toyota Derux 4x4
Those kind of cancel each other by nature. The best for alum is a TIG, but you'll spend more, and the learning curve is greater. You can have MIG down decently in a few hours of trial and error after watching some youtube vids. But you'll need a spool gun to run aluminum on a MIG *reliably*. I've read a lot of threads on welding forums about guys trying to run aluminum wire on a MIG with a teflon liner in their lead and they'll get it to work for a while, but then it just bird nests and you waste a bunch of time and wire cutting it and re-feeding it. Ultimately I think every one of them ended up buying a spool gun or getting a TIG after getting fed up trying to feed alum wire. They also weren't able to do anything thinner than 1/8" material from what I saw. TIG will go thinner than that because you can control the amount of heat on the fly, or while welding.
I'd say look for a small MIG on craigslist. You'd want to run gas for the thinner stuff like that, so that will increase your costs, a bit, unless it comes with a tank of C25. It just depends on how much versatility you want. If you only plan to do sheet metal and body work stuff, a 110v machine would be fine. But if you want to do thicker stuff, like 1/4" and more structural stuff, you'd definitely want a 220v machine and at least like 180 amps. Lincoln Electric and Miller are the two brands I'd look for, but I guess it depends on your budget. Good luck!
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- MSP 1145
thanks for the help man! I'll be looking out now!
PrinceValorum
Member
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- 95 626 FS, 89 Toyota Derux 4x4
Didn't you get a 110v welder, Jon? I'm pretty sure they don't have enough juice to properly burn into 1/4". At least that's what I've heard. I'd hate to see you lay a nice looking but cold weld and have it fail when you need it. You might be able to do it by pre-heating the stuff with MAPP gas or something, though, if you don't have an oxy-acet outfit. That's beyond my [quite limited] knowledge field.
Mine does 170 amps and it says it'll do 1/4" (6mm) with the heat one from the highest (out of 5 steps, 30-170 amp range) and that's running .045 flux, which seems to burn a heck of a lot hotter than the straight steel wire on gas. On the same chart, on the same heat setting (with the wire speed cranked up for smaller wire), running .030 wite on C25 gas, it's only good for 14ga (2mm) to give an idea.
What's it look like on the back?
Mine does 170 amps and it says it'll do 1/4" (6mm) with the heat one from the highest (out of 5 steps, 30-170 amp range) and that's running .045 flux, which seems to burn a heck of a lot hotter than the straight steel wire on gas. On the same chart, on the same heat setting (with the wire speed cranked up for smaller wire), running .030 wite on C25 gas, it's only good for 14ga (2mm) to give an idea.
What's it look like on the back?
flatlander937
Member
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- '11 Mazda2 Sport
On my HH140... I run a double pass on anything 1/4" that really matters. It is SUPER critical that you bevel the hell out of any joints to properly prep them for welding since you are using a machine that is marginal for the job at hand.
Turn the heat all the way up, and then adjust your wire speed to what you need.
How quickly are you welding? When I'm welding thick stuff... I'll generally cover about 1in in about 5 seconds. Let it burn in if it needs to be strong.
As far as quality welding machines... stick with Miller/Lincoln/Hobart and you'll be fine. Anything else is either cheap crap or overpriced and rebadged Miller/Lincoln/Hobart stuff(I'm talking Snap-On, Mac, Matco rebranded stuff).
Turn the heat all the way up, and then adjust your wire speed to what you need.
How quickly are you welding? When I'm welding thick stuff... I'll generally cover about 1in in about 5 seconds. Let it burn in if it needs to be strong.
As far as quality welding machines... stick with Miller/Lincoln/Hobart and you'll be fine. Anything else is either cheap crap or overpriced and rebadged Miller/Lincoln/Hobart stuff(I'm talking Snap-On, Mac, Matco rebranded stuff).
PrinceValorum
Member
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- 95 626 FS, 89 Toyota Derux 4x4
When I did my 1/4" pieces, I beveled them a lot, and ran a bead on both sides. By double pass, do you mean two on the same side, or one on each side?
Gross... Flux..
Yay, all cleaned up, but tons of spatter, inherently.
Yeah, it's a 110V welder and I had it set for slightly above the 1/8" settings (almost maxxed out) because I didn't want to burn through the 1/8" base. It may be cold for the 1/4" but I know I am getting some penetration and it's welded on 3 of 4 sides. There is some consolation in the fact that if that particular weld fails it won't result in my seat flying out of the car. The 1/4" stock is essentially a "welded nut" but the 1/8" base is threaded as well. So if this weld happens to fail it'll just turn the 1/4" stock into a "backing plate" of some description as the bolt tension will hold still hold everything together.
By "back" do you mean the other side of the 1/4" stock or the other side of the 1/8" base?
These are single pass, and a little more than 3/4 power on my welder (a tad more than 1/8" requires). I did not bevel any surfaces as it's essentially a lap joint. Everything was cleaned VERY well before and during welding as well. Regarding speed it's about one second per "dime" in the picture above so easily 8-10 secinds per 1 inch second.
mymmeryloss
Member
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- 13bT Mazda B2600i
Definitely flux for thick stuff!
Nice work on the bevelled edges!
Nice work on the bevelled edges!
flatlander937
Member
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- '11 Mazda2 Sport
I mean two times on one side... but this is generally speaking about things that you can't ACCESS both sides... so a pass on each side is probably the better way to go. Less warpage too.
This is actually two passes... I had a relatively large gap to fill, so the first one is further down in there... then I added a fatter bead over the top to bridge it and make it a bit stronger.
And just because I found it, here's a pretty good looking weld with my HH140... not bad for flux core eh?
This is what 2... maybe 3 passes looks like when stacking them like I said.
As MagnumP5 found out, you do want to try and concentrate more of your heat/weldment on the thicker of two materials when welding two different thickness things together.
flatlander937
Member
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- '11 Mazda2 Sport
Another one of my fancier looking welds:
Here you can get an idea of how big of a gap I was filling on the double pass in my last post:
Here you can get an idea of how big of a gap I was filling on the double pass in my last post:
PrinceValorum
Member
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- 95 626 FS, 89 Toyota Derux 4x4
That's good thinking, Jon, to thread both pieces. I'll sleep a bit easier knowing that. I guess the back of the 1/8", as far as I can tell in the pics, it looks like you welded the 1/4" onto the 1/8". I was just wondering how much it burned into the base metal (1/8").
That's a crazy gap! A better fitup would have saved you a lot of time and hassle, but I know the right tools aren't always available! A pipe bender and notcher are on my wish list at some point down the road!
That's a crazy gap! A better fitup would have saved you a lot of time and hassle, but I know the right tools aren't always available! A pipe bender and notcher are on my wish list at some point down the road!
