My tail gate repair. Don't laugh!

[bmc69]

oh dear gawd....

 

[maverickconner]

Ok, so you have a stick welder. Good. first things first, you are way to cold on the stick. You either need to turn it up or use a smaller rod. Also, if you have damp rods you will get a poor pattern. I think you issue is simple. If you have a stick welder you can clean up those welds with your grinder and get ready to hit them again. Don't get upset with these guys they are just or should be trying to help.
1. Welding with a stick welder is the toughest to master, so do not get down on yourself.
2. Stick welding structural stuff is actually the best way to go simply because of the current and heat exposed through thick metal is more uniform.
3. Do not expect you stick welds to look like a tig job, period... it will not work.
4. The metal needs to be clean, I see lots of rust on there
5. Make sure you have the correct rods, you should be using the 6011 1/8 rods check out the link.... http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/electrodes-wire/electrode-chart/
6. Practice, Practice, Practice---- get comfortable, your welds are directly effected by your body position, so do some practice runs on scrap metal until you can get a good bead through an entire rod.
7. There are different motions you need to master, weather it is the figure eight, repeat c motion or full circle, depending on if you are vertical, you are doing flush welds, corner welds inside or outside, but welds or tack welds. And you will need to be able to transition as you weld depending on what your puddle is doing.
8. Practice some more, its actually fun, if you get the stick welding down, you will transition to mig or tig without any issue.
9. Its your Bronco just keep trying, don't let anyone else touch it unless they are helping. It appears that there are a couple of good tack welds, break out the grinder and post more pics when you have what you think is your first good weld, even if it is on a piece of scrap metal. By looking at the weld we can see if you are running too hot or cold and if you are pulling your metal appropriately. Also if you can, get an auto hood, it makes a huge difference, my cheap ass went 15yrs without one and it is one of the best tools I have. Cheap ones are $100 from harbor freight.

 

[360 4V]

Ok so I need an arc welder that takes 220volts in and I need someone besides myslef to operate it.

I think that a proffessional welder costs $75/hour.

 

[360 4V]

The earlier welds I posted were on my AC 225 stick welder. The pictures posted today were with my 90 amp mig welder.

I am looking at my new welding rods now. I have AWS E6013 1/8" and AWS E6011 3/32".

I do a lot of grinding. I have a Cicago Electric 15-amp 9" angle grinder, a Milwaukee 9 or 11 amp 4-1/2" angle grinder and a Chicago Electric die-grinder. That little die grinder really helps more than anything else when dressing up my booger or birdshit welds.

Now with argon-CO2 costing $75/bottle I save some money by using flux. Should I get a DC stick welder or is AC sufficient?

I have two or three auto darkening welding mask around.

 

[asinor]

My welding is not much better than yours at this point, but it is fun to learn, it just takes time and scrap.

Maverick is right, just keep at it, keep learning, you will have a skill that comes in handy and can save you money in the long run.

 

[sellitall]

To address your gas shielding vs flux shielding question.

• If you switch from gas to flux core wire, you have to reverse the polarity of welder. Some smaller machines can't do this.
• Flux core leaves a messier weld.
• Flux core probably isn't the best for sheet metal, but it can be done.

If your welder isn't set up from the factory to weld with shielding gas switching the polarity will be the easy part. You also need an internal solenoid and all the hoses etc. needed to run the gas through the gun. You may also have to change the liner inside the gun depending on what brand.

As for your welds, they need some help. As some of the others said, these areas that you are welding need to be done by someone with the know how. You can die if those welds break. A stick welder can produce some pretty welds if done by soemone who knows how to use it. You need some practice.

 

[Ranchtruck]

I do a lot of grinding. I have a Cicago Electric 15-amp 9" angle grinder, a Milwaukee 9 or 11 amp 4-1/2" angle grinder and a Chicago Electric die-grinder. That little die grinder really helps more than anything else when dressing up my booger or birdshit welds.

You need to do the grinding first. Clean the metal to bare shiny 1/2" on either side of the weld on both pieces you're joining. Any rust or crud left on the metal will create gas bubbles in your weld and you get volcanos coming up through your bead.

You also need the spot on the frame where you have your ground clamp clipped to be bare shiny metal.

 

[bmc69]

My welding is not much better than yours at this point, but it is fun to learn, it just takes time and scrap.

.

That. You do not 'practice to learn' on life-critical chassis and suspension welds.

 

[maverickconner]

the grinder you need is the 4 1/2", get a flapper wheel so you are not gouging the metal. Also, do not grind off your welds, you should be able to chip off the flux, but leave the weld. Unfort, with the last pics I can not tell what is going on with the weld because you have grinded them off. With welding, you are trying to heat the metal on both sideds and then pull them together. So just getting the rod or the wire on one side hot is not efficient. You are trying to get both sides hot and form a puddle that follows your arc from one peice to the other. Sellitall is right, I absolutly prefer the stick welder on anything over 1/8", kinda the way I grew up, but I also know it will stay.

Do this, you have an Arc welder correct? either way, with your radius arm drop down bracket, make one clean run across the top and post a pic. After you are done, chip the slag off and lets see what you are doing.

 

[maverickconner]

now for those life threatening issues find the center mass and drill a 3/8" hole and place a saftey bolt through and through on the frame--- do this for bot the front and rear piece. That will make some people a little less worried--- and remember folks that the 78 on are all bolted on through a single walled frame.

Keep trying

 

[360 4V]

"you have an Arc welder correct?", MaverickConner.

I have a Lincoln AC225 stick welder and a Lincoln 90-amp DC Mig welder.

"I absolutly prefer the stick welder on anything over 1/8", kinda the way I grew up, but I also know it will stay." MaverickConner.

Are you saying that a good looking stick weld is a good weld while a good looking mig weld may not be a good weld?

Does it matter if I use a Mig or a stick welder?

Why are stick welders used in shipbuilding? Why not a high powered tig welder? Is tig welding for jewelers and gunsmiths and stick welding for structural work?

 

[BUCKNBRONK]

I'm getting brain freeze reading this- Go to ur local Jr collage and take a welding course, u are not going to learn how to weld online. At the very least get some scrap metal and practice for a few days before goobering up that frame any more than u already have.

Is this the rig u started the locker thread about? If it is, u were putting the chicken before the egg...

 

[sellitall]

Are you saying that a good looking stick weld is a good weld while a good looking mig weld may not be a good weld?

Does it matter if I use a Mig or a stick welder?

Why are stick welders used in shipbuilding? Why not a high powered tig welder? Is tig welding for jewelers and gunsmiths and stick welding for structural work?

A mig welder is a great machine to use for autos. Stick welding is also good for the thicker metal on autos such as frames, mounts, supports etc.. Alot of guys learned on stick because they had one that has been passed down from grandfather to father and then to son. That's the beauty of them. They are pretty much maintanence free, and only require some appropriate rod and a power source. Though mig is also a very basic machine if you are running gas you will need to refill the tank. How often obviously depends on how much you are welding.

You can use either with very similar results. I'm more partial to mig since it's what I learned on, but if I was going to weld some 1/2 plate I'd be sure to fire up my lincoln buzzbox because it puts out more amps which equals a hotter weld which equals good penetration. You can usually get a prettier weld with mig mainly because it doesn't produce as much slag which makes it easier to see your puddle, but a good welder looks past the pretty and is more interested in seeing penetration in the metal, heat signatures and NO POROSITY (holes in the weld due to inadequate shielding) to name a few.

To build a ship using a tig machine would take ten years, and since it uses shielding gas (argon) it would have to be fabricated indoors. That would be one hell of a hanger. My advice is to become proficient in the two types of welding you are currently using. Consider tig the "advanced welding" class.;D

 

[bmc69]

I'm getting brain freeze reading this-
...

So am I. And I have every weld process machine and cert for same in my shop. In all the years I've been offering free advice on wedling...I'm finally at a total loss here.

 

[sellitall]

So am I. And I have every weld process machine and cert for same in my shop. In all the years I've been offering free advice on wedling...I'm finally at a total loss here.

I've seen WAY worse. At least he's asking questions and willing to learn. Some people think they can do anything without the fundamentals just because.......................well, they are a@#holes.

 

[maverickconner]

I still think he needs to keep trying... if he can't get it after a while, then send it to someone. I give him kudos for at least posting and taking the beating from you guys just because he posted pics of some beginning welds. Try teaching him instead of bad mouthing him,,, I thought that is why we were here to give advice and see what processes have worked in the past. So come on if your not trying to help the guy leave it alone. This is the kid of stuff you see on the jeep sites---

A good looking stick weld will show you that you have pulled the metal from the lateral edges of the bead without gouging it, with no holes in the weld. You will get a rough looking stack of coins only depending on which motion you use and depending on your heat range. Like I said, do not expect it to look like a tig weld, and expect that as you learn the amount of splatter will also go down--- this is were the flapper wheel is your friend.

So 360-
yes a mig weld can be very deceptive in the fact that you can run wire too cold and not get enough amps to pull the two pieces of metal together but run a bead of good melted wire. Your 225amp stick welder is what you need because your little mig is good for sheet metal anything under 1/8" and not on large surface area.

 

[360 4V]

Thanks for all the help. I am not afraid of embarrassment for the sake of constant reality checks.

How about I build a box out of 1/8" steel plate and post pictures of it? I will go grind down my welds on my frame and get it ready for new welds that will arrive later.

 

[360 4V]

"To build a ship using a tig machine would take ten years, and since it uses shielding gas (argon) it would have to be fabricated indoors. That would be one hell of a hanger. My advice is to become proficient in the two types of welding you are currently using." Sellital.

Tig welding will weld tiny metal things that can't be welded with mig flux or stick. It is used by gumsmiths and jewelers.

Is there really any advantage to welding large structural beams with tig rather than stick?

 

[76Broncofromhell]

"To build a ship using a tig machine would take ten years, and since it uses shielding gas (argon) it would have to be fabricated indoors. That would be one hell of a hanger. My advice is to become proficient in the two types of welding you are currently using." Sellital.

Tig welding will weld tiny metal things that can't be welded with mig flux or stick. It is used by gumsmiths and jewelers.

Is there really any advantage to welding large structural beams with tig rather than stick?

I read this thread again and you make my head hurt. Strangely enough, my work is flying me down to San Diego in two weeks in which aforementioned nutkickery will occur.

Stop practicing on your Bronco. Go buy a bunch of scrap steel and practice there. Then you won't be screwing up your truck when you are learning how to weld. Is this a pride issue of not wanting to learn something before you do it?

TIG welders will do almost every kind of welding, although the amount of skill they require is not for the faint of heart nor for the impatient. Your metal with a TIG must be SPOTLESS and I should also mention it takes quite a bit longer than other types of welding and is a lot harder to do out of position.

MIG welders are what most guys have and are the most general purpose for the hobbyist in my opinion. Mine is a Hobart 180, setup on .035 solid wire with 75% Argon / 25% CO2. Don't try to weld over .125" steel with a 110 Volt welder, you are wasting your time.

Flux wire isn't all that bad with a MIG, I have made plenty of outdoor welds with mine using the flux core and had them look halfway decent.

• Flux has reverse polarity (positive ground) and thus has higher penetration.
  
• Solid wire (with shielding gas) is standard polarity and requires more amperage than flux, although has a slightly cleaner weld.

Again, your posts are all over the place, and I (like most other people on this site) have trouble trying to help you.

 

[360 4V]

Ok so my Lincoln Mig 90 amp @ 20% duty cycle is too weak for .125" steel plating. Flux has greater penetration than gas-shielding. In that case I will only use gas-shielding for sheet-metal.

My neighbor has bult trailors for his business as an auctioneer with his Hobart Mig welder on flux-wire. His is more powerful than mine. I think it is something like 180 output-amps.

I am going to build some boxes out of clean steel plating with my stick welder. I will post pictures of them.