YaY! you should post the patching on yer thread for whichever car yer doing it to. oh! and buy a wire wheel for a drill if you have a drill, it helps for removing slag, and lets you save "elbow grease" 8)
The $89 Welder From Harbor Freight
- Thread starter 85 Cutlass Brougham
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You can follow the rest of the progress HERE: http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=11233&start=60beermonkey9417 said:
I will still post my impressions of the welder in this thread, but the actual process of repairing the battery tray section of a 1979 AMC Spirit will be put there.
As someone that does a lot of welding, on the job and at home, if you're going to butt weld those patches in, practice on some scrap of the same gauge as you're going to be patching with. I have a fluxcore welder with gas capability at home. Without the gas, it's more difficult to weld in patches. What I do is make my patch slightly bigger, then flange it so it fits perfect in the hole. Gives you a little something extra to weld to. Use as little heat as possible and jump your tacks around also. Keep a damp rag on hand to cool the metal after tacking. All of this will help prevent warping, which is a pain to straighten out.85 Cutlass Brougham said:
I am no stranger to welding in rust patches, and have even pieced a wrecked Sentra back together from parts that I salvaged and welded in to fix the structural damage. This will pretty much be all lap joints as I feel that it will be structurally stronger since the battery needs to not fall through. With all the vibrations and weight, I tend to feel that a nicely done butt joint will not be strong enough as the grinding required to finish it would likely thin the metal too much in places.
I actually own another MIG that is broken. This was cheaper than the price of parts, a spool of fresh wire, and gas for that one so I bought it instead. Also, as for that Sentra, it held up very well. I know because I was in a bad accident with it that hit the same part of the front end that I had replaced ( radiator support, battery tray and a little of the upper rail). Everything held together and nothing sheared apart.
I actually own another MIG that is broken. This was cheaper than the price of parts, a spool of fresh wire, and gas for that one so I bought it instead. Also, as for that Sentra, it held up very well. I know because I was in a bad accident with it that hit the same part of the front end that I had replaced ( radiator support, battery tray and a little of the upper rail). Everything held together and nothing sheared apart.
I have to say, don't buy one if you want one after using it. it welds fine, but it is always hot. What does that mean? It means the wire current does not shut off with the trigger. instead, if you touch it to what you are welding when you are setting up, it will arc. Do this enough times and you will go blind. It would probably be OK with an auto darkening helmet, but I would prefer one that is not constant hot ( most MIGs are wired to be hot when the trigger is pulled only). Remember that the cost of a good home MIG is still less than the cost of a trip to the hospital because you hurt your eyes. So, while this may be a cheap alternative, it may not be so cheap in the long run.
After thinking about it, I have decided not to do any more welding with it until I can afford the $50 auto darkening helmet at Harbor Freight in another week or two. I am a bit absent minded as of late, and it is all too easy for me to accidentally spark it when my helmet is not in position. I did manage one fairly crappy plug weld for a brace I was putting in to hold the new battery shelf, but that's about it. So, I will post my further findings next week if I can afford the helmet by then.
I have that helmet and the only thing I don't like about it is the fact that when you are not in the sun it goes out. I found out the hard way when welding under the fenders. No sunlight-no darkening, and you are looking at UV flash. The better helmets have a lithium battery to stay powered up when the sunlight is obscured.
Thanks for the heads up! If that's the case, I think I will just weld in direct sunlight using my old helmet as I can see the work area through it well enough to set up the weld. From what you have said, the solar helmet sounds even more dangerous than the fixed tint ones.Bonnewagon said:
Well, I won't weld without it, just because I like being able to see exactly what I'm doing right up to the point of contact. It's a pain, but I just have to remember not to get the helmet under something that blocks the sun. The good battery powered helmets go for around $100 and I have been lazy not getting one.
Well, your post made me do a bit of research into them. It seems that all helmets that comply with the "ANSI Z87.1" standard ALWAYS protect the operator from the most harmful rays-whether they are in the darkened position or not. You can get temporary flash blindness when the auto darkening ones are not dark, but as long as it is down it should protect you from the UV and IR rays which actually cause retinal damage. I researched the one that Harbor Freight had on it's site, and according to what I saw, it is certified to this spec. Now, you may have a different model, so please don't go by what I say on this matter. I am by no means an expert. I am just regurgitating what I read after a 5 minute Google search.Bonnewagon said:
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