Anything welding

throw it all in the trash

 

Yup, built the bumper from scratch. Probably $150ish in paint and materials. And $5k ish in welding equipment.
Wrap the corners to ensure a good seal weeld on the first pic.
Slow down on bottom, then speed up when pushing the puddle up and carrying it back to go low again in the second pic.
The last pic, you almost got it! Just watch the puddle, and try to keep it nice and rounded on the backside.
The weld in the first pic actually looks really good. I'm just real OCD about some things, including wrapping corners. Your welds look MUCH better than my first MIG welds.
Keep up the good work. This shit is addictive. I can't bring myself to buy armor, since I can just build it

Bumper I built for my last truck. Really shitty pic/angle. 5" sch 80. Most pipe bumpers use 4" sch 40. I've destroyed 3 peoples Ranch Hand bumpers with my vehicles. 4" Sch 40 is pu$$y $h! t for the primary striking point of a bumper.

 

Yes, throw your truck in the trash. I'll be there shortly to haul to the dump... or my house

 

I used to work a shop that got a contract to do a shit ton of copper nickel pipe. We ALL got super itchy and started having respiratory issues. Have you had any health or comfort issues with it?

 

I am the self-proclaimed grand poobah of the Oklahoma Bumper Car Association.
I hate having to slam on the brakes because some screwhead decides to cut out in front of me. I've totaled everything I've ever hit

 

I used an actual rectangular tube. Cut the angle and then rewelded the bottom portion to keep the nice roundness of the corners of the tube. I cut a notch in the tube before welding the bottom back on so that my frame bracket and shackle mount could be welded directly to each other through the bumer and welded to the bumper itself. (If that made sense)

I can take some specific pics if you want something in particular.

 

Dude, yer pickin' it up pretty fast! That second pic looks pretty good. We've had guys that claim that they are "welders" come and test, and theirs don't look that good. We'd put you to work doin' stands for our pipe assemblies. Doin' great! Keep up the great work

 

Stands a good chance of being tube. If I were you, I would find some square or rectangle tube to build the bumper. Unless you have access to a shear and brake. I used 4x4x.25 on my front bumper

 

Starting a class called "high performance welding" monday at school. Looking forward to really honing my TIG skills.

Also... some weldporn for you guys.

 

Very nice. I really miss working with sheet and plate. Used to do a lot of aerospace and military work at my last job.

 

Possibly. I've cut out rectangle holes in pipe bumpers and inserted a piece of rectangle tube into the hole. I do it for increased air flow, but a light could be inserted if desired.

 

Nevermind. Look at the reciever. You will either have a hitch that is very long in order to allow the pin to clear, or it is plate, and a regular hitch would work. Your dad and I are wrong, I believe. Mine will probably be made with 4x4x.25, but I usually make my own hitches to fit exactly how I want

 

I doubt it's channel or angle. It has a radius on the top as if it has been broke. The radius actually makes it look like 4x4x.25 square tube, but it could have been whittled on to make it like angle or channel. I cut the back side out of some of the square tube on my front bumper to reduce a little weight. If you decide to use plate, I recommend a shear and brake. If you have access to those, then you're golden. If not, and you still use plate, there is a high potential for bowing because of all the welding that'll have to be done.

 

Just make sure to get good seal welds on the tube to keep it from rusting from the inside out.
On a side note, how are your chompers doin'? I had a very minor surgery on my mouth back in my prime, and it SUCKED! I can't imagine the shit you've gone through

 

Bacon Cheeseburger smoothie. Sketch app? Just wing it. I draw it in my noggin, cut it out of cardboard, trace onto steel, and play with fire

 

On my mig setup i just switched to gas
Can i run .30 wire with a .35 tip ?
Or should i stick with .35
I will be welding 1/8" and 14 and 11 gauge steel

Thanks

 

You will need a .030 tip otherwise you might not get good electrical contact from the electrode to the wire

 

thanks....

 

I have always used .035 tips w/ .030 wire, .045 tips w/ .035 wire, and .052 tips w/ .045 wire. I've never had a problem. I prefer to use a larger contact tip to reduce the risk of the wire dragging when the tip becomes a little boogered up, but not bad enough to replace. I do this with MIG, spray arc, self shielded flux, and dual shielded flux. Been doing it for years on anything from armored military trucks to high pressure pipe. .030 wire should be fine for the material thickness listed

 

thank you
saves me from running to the store first thing......