Anything welding

Just make sure you dont get too much heat in it at once and warp it. Stitch weld skipping around, allow to cool, then come back for another pass at it and repeat until finished.

 

not just quarter inch, you can warp axle housing when doing axle trusses. All about patience and thinking the process through.

THIS^

 

Yep. Already noticed a tiny amount. She will have SOME slight warping, but I mean VERY slight. What I did was tack both ends, then a couple spots in the middle, then filled it in. I know on the driver's side I will be taking a little more time and stop more often. The front face of the bumper on the passenger's side looks much better. I even took a spot and used my grinder to smooth it out and see what the final edge will look like. Not too bad. I can see I got good penetration.

Right now the biggest problem I have is I think the fault of a cheap helmet. My auto-darkening helmet even on it's lowest setting seems to be too dark. I have a hard time actually SEEING the joint. Twice so far I actually got off line and have an area where I just have this nice weld..... in a bare open area of the metal. Gonna suck grinding THAT down. lmao.

 

Bill, what hood are you using? I bought a cheap prax auto darken with the larger view screen and I can see rather well with it, actually impressed with how long it has lasted.

 

Yeah, that's why I use a high-end autodark hood for the amount I weld. The cheaper ones never seem to work great, among other gripes too(heavy, small viewing area, not enough sensors, etc etc). My Optrel e680 hood goes for around $350-400 and my Miller Digital elite around $300-325.
On that note, send in that free helmet rebate from your welder! The Tweco hood they send out isnt too bad. I tried it out a couple times and for a weekend welder/hobbyist it's certainly sufficient. Plenty of shade adjustment, not too heavy, and sufficient view size.

Rebate


This is the hood they sent with the rebate

Thermadyne Tweco 41001002 Tweco WeldSkill Auto-Darkening Helmet USA

http://www.amazon.com/Thermadyne-41001002-WeldSkill-Auto-Darkening-Helmet/dp/B0042LL1NS

 

1" armor plate warps too

 

Pipeliner with a dark #9 for tig, stick, mig, spray arc(w/tinted safety glasses). Huntsman with # 11 for flux. I don't trust any auto darken anymore

 

I've been thinking about going this route.

 

IMO, it can't be beat. Fried my eye balls twice with Speedglass hoods and a few times with some other brands.

 

I like gold fixed shades, I keep 6-13 around. I have the free one from the rebate on the thermal arch for tacking.

 

It is a cheaper helmet. I just got one that was inexpensive and available so that I could get started. I found out part of the problem was that I missed removing the little protective cover on the INSIDE of the helmet screen. I can see a lot better now, but I would like to see more.

Yeah, I will have to send in the rebate. Nothing beats a free $100 helmet!

 

Do they make any auto darkening gold shaded hoods? Any brand

 

It's actually more like a $25 helmet, I thought the same thing until I saw one at the hardware store under a different brand name, but free is free Gold will help you see much better, though I don't think it will help as much for mig as it does for tig.

Not that I know of.

 

Grind down with a flapper disk. Its so much nicer then a grinding wheel

 

I weld the inside of the pieces, then grind the outside flat with a flap wheel. My bumpers are painted with bedliner epoxy coating with a coarse roller, so the joint is not seen from the outside.

Just don't by the crap Harbor Freight wheels. You gotta spend 8 bucks apiece for the good ones. My favorite brand are the Walter flap disks. They last a long time so I don't mind spending 12 bucks each.

 

12 bucks each!! You are wasting your money paying those prices for flap disks. I buy all my abrasives from http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/servlet/StoreFront by far the best I have used and we use a lot. 4.5" are under $1.79 each and will out last any flap disk on the market.

 

When I was shopping for a helmet I found a Jackson that claimed to have a gold lens. I don't remember what model off the top of my head. I ended up with a Speedglas 9100X. Couldn't be happier with it. I'd buy a gold fixed shade lens and see if the view is worth buying a helmet based on color alone.

 

That aint bad!

 

funny... I've been using those same 4.5's but from another vendor, yet still the same price(via Pirate discount code).
http://www.roarksupply.com/4-1-2-Zirconia-Flap-Discs-p/4-1-fslash-2flapdiscs.htm

 

Yeah i buy all of my stuff from lehigh valley abrasives they have the best prices and everything I have bought from them lasts way longer then other brands.

No problem glad I could help.