Anything welding

Nice, interesting...see this is why I ask, to learn!

Yeah I use 309 wire, but as far as shielding gas I've only ever used trimix whenever I welded stainless to stainless, or stainless to mild.

 

Said most every salesman pedaling gas .(In public)

The bread and butter of welding distributors.

Hard Goods a necessary evil!

 

The necessary evil is a somewhat jaded view, but it is held by many I agree. I will say the reason most say one type of gas or another is because they know it works, walk ins to a store can sometime have read something on the net and have the inside scoop, and when they buy it and it doesnt work they come back saying you got lumpy gas or you sold them shit wire.

The guys I saw welding it with 100% were department of energy welders, and in 40 years probably the best I ever met. I'm talking stick an ice cube to a door knob welders.

 

yes indeed I know just what you mean.

Then I only dealt with distributors within 200 miles from home.

i just go by the things I have done that worked over the years.

 

The repair panel is 316 or 304 (I forget, but whatever is most weldable, maybe there's an 'L'?) .05" thick welded (poorly) with 308 filler and straight argon. I researched it before starting this, many months ago, and picked the right numbers according to the internets. But then go-go-gadget: poor time management skills and suddenly it's 5 months later and I have no idea where I even put the parts I pulled from this truck much less how to reassemble them, and I'm trying to plan a vacation starting Friday. No joke, I might have lost the steering wheel. It's not in the truck or the garage.

From the receipt on my welding cart, it looks like my original plan was to install the panel with 309 rod, which I bought while picking up my 3rd 120 bottle of argon knowing full well I had never produced a single passable tig joint. But then in a moment of clarity, I gave up on tig and went for 0.023 mig or whatever the common "tiny" size is. I let the sparks fly, then I painted it before consuming myself with work for another month.

Now I'm wondering if I should smear it over with body sealant or just leave it as is.



I'll mention I did a handful of tests with the leftover stainless stock from my failed tig-learning attempt, mig-welding it to pieces of the body sheetmetal I cut out of the truck. First to tune in the mig settings, but then to waste additional time without actually repairing the truck. Did I mention i have terrible time management skills?

I was pretty impressed, the bodywork always failed first, not the actual welds, even on some truly terrible looking joints. The test joints always broke near the seams, in the heat affected zone, but the welds themselves held up. I guess that should be expected because my repair panel is 2x thicker than than the bodywork, and my welds are gigantic piled-up turds of self disappointment, but I was at least bending it with the brake positioned over the thicker material, trying to sever the fused material, but it held.

Of course all my test material came from regions of the truck that had already been pushed past the onset of fatigue cracking, so the whole test was bogus. But the results gave me reasonable confidence in my shitty welds, and at this point I don't even care.

Anyway, is it a good or bad idea to smear body panel sealant over this type of repair?

 

It's done all the time. Don't sweat it.

 

Welders are good guys, pipeline welders can be a little crazy, but good ones impress the shit outta me. I have known all kinds, guys who really didnt know why a weld was doing what it did but had beautiful technique, and guys who had so much knowledge that I learned more from them than I ever was able to give back. I was fortunate that when I started out, I knew enough to know I didnt know enough. LOL I asked a lot of questions and kept my mouth shut for probably 5 years, people love to show you what they do and why they do it. I cant think of more than a handful that were ass hats in the 40 years I was in the field. They might give me suspect advice, but I would go in the next large account and discuss what I saw. Sometimes the guy would poke holes in it, sometimes would say I just never thought about it. I always danced very lightly around suggesting change unless they were doing something that was dangerous. You eventually reach the point where you can walk in just about anywhere and not look stupid, you have seen so much you feel like there isnt anything else to see (friction stir welding snapped me out of that moment). I am sure every trade is the same, at some point you know the answer to something but dont know why you know it. LOL

 

I got nothing on this? I'm learning here.

 

Sweet guys, ima poop in this goop from all sides but the bottom. Never leave your enemy without an escape route, right?

 

Meh.

When I re built my 04, I just used roofing tar.

Still going strong.

 

I would use seam sealer. Being in the wheel well, those joints would most likely see their fair share of mud/dirt/water/etc. And all that stuff will find it’s way into the tiniest opening that may have been over looked. from what you describe, it took you a long time to complete the repair so imagine the task of having to do it again if there was a failure. Ounce of prevention and all that.

I started my welding journey with sheet metal long before I made anything structural. If I had attempted that repair myself, I would have lap joined the panels with a flange and rosette or spot welds every inch or two and then just seam sealed the joint rather that try to weld the entire seam shut. Faster and would have most likely disappeared once painted since that’s how a lot of joints are done in the wheel well anyway. I know h

 

Exactly!

 

Thanks guys!

This thick black caulk totally filled every crevice. Without doubt, this was the way to go.

 

Always make sure to over emphasize the "L" in caulk. I made a few comments in a meeting or two a few years back. Our QA team found a couple of ducts that were missing 1"-2" of caulk on a couple joints. Yep, "one or two inch short of caulk". I didn't even realize what I had said and 30 people started laughing. If you don't emphasize the "L", people will think you are talking about something else.

 

I think what @Gen1FTMFW was trying to say is, "that's what she said".

 

Hey guys, I’m a fairly average hobbyist TIG welder and plan on replacing my catalytic converter soon. Magnaflow offers a universal weld-in CC for about $275 cheaper than their direct-fit bolt in model.

I’d like to be able to save money by purchasing a universal fit magnaflow and then weld some flanges onto either side. My only worry with the process is that since it’s stainless, I’ll need to back-purge the cat while welding. Does anyone know whether Argon will have ill-effects on the brick in the cat? I can’t see it being an issue, but I’d rather listen to someone with experience rather than just HOPE it all goes well.

So glad this thread exists, thank you guys!

 

Argon is a noble gas. It does not react with anything.

Use it with confidence.

 

Just the answer I was hoping for! Thanks so much!

 

Another set of sliders. Been a lil bit since full time work has kept me very busy

 

The only reason you would need to back purge is if your worried about turbulence in your exhaust . Unless your doing it for a practice test weld.

process piping yes indeed .