All things welding

[sab]

Good luck. I'll never be good enough to spend the time to Tig up any stainless exhaust. I only use stainless because it is cheap and easy which makes welding it all up with the wire feed also cheap and easy. Just looks like ass.

Yeah, I'm not sure I will, either. Twenty years ago, I had better TIG skills, but never to the point that I'd be proud to show off a weld. Skill atrophy and arthritis hasn't helped, unfortunately. A feller can dream, though...

In these parts, finding a good TIG welder (person, not machine) ain't easy, either. Not a lot of industry calling for that.

 

[mrblaine]

Not a lot of industry calling for that.

No doubt but when they do need someone, they steal them from SoCal. The gent that welded this had a very good fab and welding business here. A commercial plumbing company specializing in SS stuff had him do up some sub assemblies. After they got them back and installed, they made him an offer he could not refuse and imported him to the Ft. Worth area.

 

[BC Moto]

No doubt but when they do need someone, they steal them from SoCal. The gent that welded this had a very good fab and welding business here. A commercial plumbing company specializing in SS stuff had him do up some sub assemblies. After they got them back and installed, they made him an offer he could not refuse and imported him to the Ft. Worth area.

That's true fab guys do get picked up when they are really wanted. I almost moved to the east coast to work on nissan skylines but I really didnt want to live there in winter.

 

[Mike_H]

Yeah, I'm not sure I will, either. Twenty years ago, I had better TIG skills, but never to the point that I'd be proud to show off a weld. Skill atrophy and arthritis hasn't helped, unfortunately. A feller can dream, though...

In these parts, finding a good TIG welder (person, not machine) ain't easy, either. Not a lot of industry calling for that.

Must be regional…I know a handful of guys that I can call out of my phones contacts that can TIG with the best of them. Lots of plastic injection molding here, so lots of guys doing repairs on smashed parting lines.

 

[sab]

Must be regional…

It absolutely is regional, depending on nearby industry. Where I am now, there's not a lot of manufacturing that requires welding.

 

[Woodrow]

No doubt but when they do need someone, they steal them from SoCal. The gent that welded this had a very good fab and welding business here. A commercial plumbing company specializing in SS stuff had him do up some sub assemblies. After they got them back and installed, they made him an offer he could not refuse and imported him to the Ft. Worth area.
View attachment 504689

Beautiful. The farther I get into this hobby, the more I want to do everything myself. The welding on that tank would be a very lofty goal, though.

I'm more than able to fuck it up without using special wire and gas so it looks like I'll keep doing just that.

I'm generally more satisfied with my own F ups than having paid a shop to do work that I'm unhappy with. Both are learning experiences but in the case of my own poor job, there is normally opportunity to learn and improve.

 

[BC Moto]

Welding and fab takes some time... I do more of it now on the side rather than full time these days...

 

[sab]

I have a 2 lb roll of stainless wire that I've used twice over the years. Like you, I also didn't want to buy another bottle, so I thought, what can it hurt to try on a simple project where failure is no big deal? I have a large Yeti cooler that I use to age small white-tail deer quarters in, so I built a drop-in cage out of small diameter stainless rod which was welded with normal 75/25 gas and stainless rod. It welded just fine, but corrosion was a possibility. I haven't used that cage in years, so I'll have to take a look at it. The last time I looked, the welds were not corroded. It's got to be going on a decade old now.

I built this cage in fall 2015, so it's about 8 years old and has been sitting on a shelf in the garage most of that time:

Here's a close-up of the bottom welds:

There's no more rust on the welds than on the rods themselves. The 75/25 gas was definitely not recommended, but for this application, it worked just fine.

 

[tworley]

Looking to make a flag nut using a 1/2-20 grade 8 nut and part of a 1/8" (+/-) welding coupon. It will just be a tack or two, but should I focus most of my weld on the nut? Or, since heat will change the grade of the nut, should I concentrate my tack on the coupon?

 

[BC Moto]

I would start with the focus on the nut, tig or mig?

 

[tworley]

Mig

 

[sab]

Looking to make a flag nut using a 1/2-20 grade 8 nut and part of a 1/8" (+/-) welding coupon. It will just be a tack or two, but should I focus most of my weld on the nut? Or, since heat will change the grade of the nut, should I concentrate my tack on the coupon?

Since a 1/2-20 is about the same thickness (I think they're 3/4" across the flats, which makes it 1/8" thick between the major diameter and the flat) as the coupon, I'd tack at the corners and just aim at the parting line, if using MIG. I recently did some for the transmission cross-member on my Subaru, and I used TIG to try to control the heat a little better (it didn't - I'm still a hack with TIG) and welded around the entire nut (it was just a Grade 2, but the flag piece was 1/4"):

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/what-did-you-do-to-your-other-vehicle-today.51441/post-1500290

Edited to add: Listen to BC Moto - his welding skills, as evidenced by the picture of a header he recently built, are way better than mine!

 

[tworley]

I would start with the focus on the nut, tig or mig?

Since a 1/2-20 is about the same thickness (I think they're 3/4" across the flats, which makes it 1/8" thick between the major diameter and the flat) as the coupon, I'd tack at the corners and just aim at the parting line, if using MIG. I recently did some for the transmission cross-member on my Subaru, and I used TIG to try to control the heat a little better (it didn't - I'm still a hack with TIG) and welded around the entire nut (it was just a Grade 2, but the flag piece was 1/4"):

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/what-did-you-do-to-your-other-vehicle-today.51441/post-1500290

Edited to add: Listen to BC Moto - his welding skills, as evidenced the the picture of a header he recently built, are way better than mine!

Thanks--I'll give it a whirl tonight!

 

[BC Moto]

The mig isn't my choice but I would I would aim for the nut. It should be fine if your tacking.

 

[sab]

Thanks--I'll give it a whirl tonight!

Good luck! Let me explain why I didn't just tack the nut to the flag on mine. Mine was to replace a nut that is welded inside the unibody of the Subaru that was originally tack-welded. Those tacks eventually corroded and broke while removing the bolt. In order to repair it, I had to cut a window in the unibody, and I was concerned about the strength of the mount with that window left open. I decided to weld the flag and unibody to close the window (you can see that in the photos posted in that link). Since the previous nut was just tack-welded, I decided a full weld might be better, since I didn't want to have to cut into the unibody again later. I was concerned with the heat-treatment, which is why I went with Grade 2 for the nut. Time will tell if my method works...

 

[mrblaine]

Good luck! Let me explain why I didn't just tack the nut to the flag on mine. Mine was to replace a nut that is welded inside the unibody of the Subaru that was originally tack-welded. Those tacks eventually corroded and broke while removing the bolt. In order to repair it, I had to cut a window in the unibody, and I was concerned about the strength of the mount with that window left open. I decided to weld the flag and unibody to close the window (you can see that in the photos posted in that link). Since the previous nut was just tack-welded, I decided a full weld might be better, since I didn't want to have to cut into the unibody again later. I was concerned with the heat-treatment, which is why I went with Grade 2 for the nut. Time will tell if my method works...

The heat treat on nuts due to welding is pretty much a non issue. I've welded 100's and 100's of nuts to flags for the front trackbar bolts and then another 100 more for various places I've needed them. Not one single issue ever. Weld them up, run a tap through them to make sure the threads aren't distorted and run it. FYI- most don't know that the front upper frame nuts for the front bumper are in fact 2 nuts welded to a flag that is then plug welded in place. They have a few issues here and there but not due to them being welded.

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

With tacks it's most likely not going to matter. How big is the flag? Since the thickness of the material is roughly the same, make your judgement based on volume. I typically favor the flag.

Also remove the coating before you weld. I think someone mentioned muriatic acid on an earlier post.

 

[tworley]

With tacks it's most likely not going to matter. How big is the flag? Since the thickness of the material is roughly the same, make your judgement based on volume. I typically favor the flag.

Also remove the coating before you weld. I think someone mentioned muriatic acid on an earlier post.

The flag will only be 1.25-1.5" at most. Its for my front track bar.

Yes--I see muriatic acid for $10 at home depot. Wouldn't mind using the rest of the gallon on some floor stains.

 

[sab]

The heat treat on nuts due to welding is pretty much a non issue. I've welded 100's and 100's of nuts to flags for the front trackbar bolts and then another 100 more for various places I've needed them. Not one single issue ever. Weld them up, run a tap through them to make sure the threads aren't distorted and run it. FYI- most don't know that the front upper frame nuts for the front bumper are in fact 2 nuts welded to a flag that is then plug welded in place. They have a few issues here and there but not due to them being welded.

Good to know, and I did have an issue with one of the nuts for the front bumper when removing the monstrosity installed by the PO to put the Savvy on. The threads just needed chasing, so no big deal.

 

[sab]

Also remove the coating before you weld. I think someone mentioned muriatic acid on an earlier post.

I think that was me. I use it all the time to remove galvanizing and zinc plating before welding. Hot tip - store it outside somewhere. It will cause serious corrosion on any painted surfaces near it (don't ask me how I know).