Welding Question

[Imacarguytoo]

I am looking around on the forum, learning alot. I think i have mostly decided how i will do my front suspension. Can i use my Lincoln weld-pak 100 to atleast tack everything into place. Meaning making the radius arms and so forth? After i get it all done i will have a friend use his big welder to finish it all up.

 

[Capt Jay]

That will work fine as long as someone is going to do it with something stronger. Just don't go nuts welding with the little one. It will make a weld weaker trying to weld over a weak weld. Just tack with the 100. Good luck and have fun.

 

[metalmacguyver]

x2

 

[Destroyer000]

exactly!

 

[JohnnyU]

It depends on the material. If you use 0.035" flux-cored wire, you could probably weld the 0.120" CRS wall tubing of a cage or bumper quite effectively. If you are using cast iron radius arms (F-150 or EB), then you will need a special alloy wire (Er70s-6).

According to mfgr specifications, you can safely weld up to 0.25" material, if you don't know what you are doing. I might not trust it to a novice/poor welder, but if you are only tacking things in place, it will probably be fine.

My biggest problem with a tack weld is that it introduces impurities into the weld. This can in some cases greatly reduce the strength of the weld. I do about 75% of my welding with a 135 MIG. Anything larger than 0.25" can be welded with multiple passes, or I'll pull out my larger Lincoln AC-225.

 

[Imacarguytoo]

ok Thanks guys

 

[raiper]

if you think you are going to do a bit of welding in the future yourself look around for an old buzz box...the big old looking stick (arc 60-225amp) welders. and practice with one of those. its old school compared to what they have now, but you can virtually weld anything with a stick welder and have it last. the welds wont look as prety as a mig unless you get really good. i dont care what others say...i just dont trust those mig welders.....i like sticking my stick in there getting a feel for the penetration

 

[klogtruck]

all car and truck frame's are welded with a mig.

 

[raiper]

ok mister smartie pants true, but i was stating my preference an opinion...man i must sound like an ass, but im not i swear. i learned on a stick and went from there, becuase generally speaking if you can stick it you can mig it. not the otherway around cause i know many people that can mig the hell out things, but cant stick worth crap.

 

[JohnnyU]

I've seen some nasty welds in my day. Many of them come from people booger-welding with an arc welder. I don't care what type of welder you are using, an ugly weld is not a good weld no matter what defense someone gives you.

A "pretty" weld is also a "proper" weld. No two ways about it.

 

[BlackBII]

A "pretty" weld is also a "proper" weld. No two ways about it.

Very True.

Making welds pretty with a Stick welder is easy, just gotta choose the correct stick for the correct application, and keep yer hand steady.

 

[JohnnyU]

Usually, the biggest problem I see is weld preparation. It seems like no one prepares the mating surfaces properly before welding. That's the #1 source for impurites in the weld as well as poor penetration.

 

[94xcab4x4]

Yeah i'm a welder by trade and cleaning the material before you weld is the most important thing to do. Wire feed i think is even picker on how clean it needs to be. 95 percent of the stuff i weld is with 7018 its an aswesome rod makes nice welds if it is clean with a little practice.

 

[Dishtowel]

I've seen some nasty welds in my day. Many of them come from people booger-welding with an arc welder. I don't care what type of welder you are using, an ugly weld is not a good weld no matter what defense someone gives you.

A "pretty" weld is also a "proper" weld. No two ways about it.

I have some input here, you might just shrug me off thought. I have found that it is very easy (too easy) to make a good looking weld with a mig, but in reality the weld may be cold. Not enough penetration. Migs are nice to use, but easy to think the weld is good, when infact it will pull apart with a small load. No substitute for training and experience.

It has also been my experience that you know if you got good penetration with a stick or not. With stick I agree that a 'pretty' weld is a proper weld. I dont feel the same can be said when useing mig.

"an ugly weld is not a good weld no matter what defense someone gives you." Agreed!

I am no master welder by any means, but I work in the industry and get to see alot of different work.