Anything welding

Ours is 39" and I'm 5'10", wouldn't have it any lower

 

Him beating the shit out of the clamp, then beating it more, then heating and beating, and finally burning himself (twice) was more relatable than I care to admit.

 

I thought the same thing hahahaha. I watched it and honestly knew that’s what I do anytime something is hot and couldn’t stop laughing lol

 

Noob fabrication question time!

I've got a flatbed frame I'm building out of 2x1x1/8 c-channel. I got it tacked together after spending an eternity squaring it up. Its pretty obvious to me now that the c-channel definitely has a bow in it and its going to drive me nuts if I leave it that way. So...
Idea #1: I could just force it into the place I want it, then weld it, but I feel like I'm just adding a bunch of extra springy strain to the frame that way. Seems quicker, but might give me problems down the road.
Idea #2: Cut all the tack welds, and then bend it straight somehow, then reassemble.

Is Idea #1 as bad as I think it is? Or is there a third option?


Thanks!

 

pics? it really depends on how bent, and how much your design will hold things flat. I wouldn’t worry about internal stress with HR mild steel though.

 

A 6 ft piece has about 1/8" of bow in it. I think the design would definitely be strong enough to keep it in place, I can flex part of it straight with one hand and I'm not particularly strong. I just don't want any surprises.

 

I wouldn’t worry about that one bit for your application. clamp it, tack it all up, check again, and if it looks good it is. post up when it’s all together!

 

Sounds good. This project is a heck of a learning experience and I'm having a blast. Hopefully it turns out well

Thanks!

 

Couple of ratchet straps and some measuring and it squared up real nicely.

Lots left to do, but it's starting to look like something. I'd stand on it, but it's all tack welds.

 

Hey I can contribute again. I welded up an axle truss for someone today. It’ll go on the truck at a later date. He just wanted to get the inside of it painted. Had it all clamped down to keep it from moving around and it worked pretty well. For the sides I just cut some scrap tube to length to slide under it.

 

So if anyone else struggles with mill scale, I tried these:



And this happened:




My mind is blown. It was much faster than a flap disk, and didn't do anything to the underlying shape of the metal.

 

Built a headache rack for my DD/tow rig yesterday. This was a design as you build project with the only criteria that I dont add any height to the truck. I work in parking structures so keeping the truck as low as possible is a necessity. Still have to add bed bars. Still unsure if I should bend some out of 1-1/4 DOM or make some out of square. Thoughts/criticism always appreciated.

 

The bright side:
The work EXTREMELY well on mill scale.

The downside:

It's gotta be flat and easily accessible. Oh and they burn up stupid fast compared to flappys.

 

Yeah that is true. I had them lying around for cleaning the rust off my frame, which they did an amazing job at, but they definitely don't last super long.

Still looking for a good way to clean up weld surfaces that aren't easily accessible. So far its a dremel with one of those little grinding stones on the end.

 

If you have a proper die grinder, a carbide burr cuts a lot faster and usually lasts until you break it. Generally they have 1/4 or 6mm shank though, so that won’t fit a dremel i think.

 

Yeah that sounds right about the dremel. I don't have much of an air compressor so I trend toward the battery powered tools. All of the 18V die grinders seem very large though.

I should probably get one anyway, they seem quite useful.

 

I have a couple carbide burrs made for the dremel that I love. Not cheap though.

 

Snapon makes a set that works really well, but not cheap. You can find them used on eBay in good shape for not too much though.

 

I use a wire cup or wheel on my angle grinder for this. The wire will bend and conform to curved surfaces if you lean into it a little and they’ll do a good job of cleaning off the material without removing the metal itself.

 

Welded the tabs to the plates for the cam tab gussets. Just need to find some time to put them on the truck. Used a multimatic 200, filler was 70S2. Ran 130-145 amps. Tungsten was 3/32 and 1/16 Ceriated (only kind I had) but worked well. Not a fan of lift arc though.