Official Tennessee Thread

Honestly thought it would be worse haha

 

yes but @Knoxdavid34 put the fear of God into me haha

 

It’s basically a 140amp hot glue gun for metal. Pull the trigger, turn the dials till your making bacon and start sticking stuff together. @slander didnt even own a welder when he cut his frame off lol

 

Dont be scared. Again it's not anything hard. Just weld the bolt 1/4 inch at I time. I just didnt want you guys to just run a weld around the whole nut in one pass and get pissed when the bolt wont go in. Even if you mess up, grind it off and try again. Nuts and welding wire cost pennies

 

what type of welder? Don't you have to get some kind of special gas too?

 

that's true I guess. I think maybe 3-4 tack welds would be more than enough to hold it on.

 

Either use flux core wire, or, argon "shielding gas". Argon weld quality is arguably better....but flux core is one less "consumable" (cost) Argon shielded welding doesn't do so well if you weld out doors where wind blows the argon away from point of weld. Flux core welding requires cleaner steel from my (limited) experience. (Tends to splatter if there's dirt/rust present.) Either will work. Prettiest welds come via argon and proper conditions.

 

so for a DIYer, flux core since it doesn't require gas?

 

Maybe I'll finally do the tack weld on my steering column too while I've got Zack's help

 

Flux core is great for the kind of stuff we do. Not as pretty but can still look good with a quick flap disk pass, and you save all that gas money. Plus you don't have to worry quite as much about how clean you get the metal beforehand

 

Learn to weld with flux core and upgrade equipment as you get better and/or have more money to invest.

Or else plant a money tree....

Lincoln (as well as other brands) sells kits that include argon tank and lines with the welder itself. That's what I have. Did the "buy once/cry once" thingy...

Also worth mentioning; Welding classes take some of the arc out of the learning curve (pardon the welding pun) It's not impossible to learn by doing, but there's a lot of secrets you can pick up from an experienced instructor. I was able to take mine through local adult education classes at the high school nearby.

 

I use a Hobart Handler 140. Gas shielded wire is way cheaper than flux cored wire so the cost is offset. I just prefer flux core for working in the garage or driveway so that I am not fighting the wind, dirty metal, etc. 75/25 is typical MIG gas...I have a bottle around for like when I built my exo and wanted to cut down on the splatter that I had to protect the body/windows from.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200471413_200471413

 

Can confirm that welding in driveway on a windy day wastes gas. But it makes pretty weld if no wind.

 

Anyone familiar with a smaller shop that can do some aluminum welding in the Nashville area? Looking to fabricate a tube frame

Appreciate the feedback!

 

If you're bored at work here's a good read. A company released a game-changing system that fits 40s without trimming

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ong-travel-ifs-suspension-system-rclt.591033/

 

Not sure what you’re looking for as for a “tube frame” but maybe message @Thirty8special and see if it’s something they’d be interested in.

 

If I fuck it up, I’ll buy ya some new bolts. Lmao.

I wouldn’t try that anyways. I’d be afraid of melting through the bed.

Can be done.

The most expensive part is buying the bottle. Refills are dirt cheap. I think a refill for the 80cu bottle I have is like $25 and it was enough gas to build my trailer ground up. Plus you get much prettier welds.

 

I have lots and lots of questions....

Starting with: why are my pants moving?


Jokes aside; if this works out as great as It looks, it’s a huge game changer. I’d be interested to see the price though. I’m thinking it’ll be near 1x,xxx range for the whole shabang with the rack and new spindles, etc...

 

Yeah it's dope. I bet it's at least $10k.

 

I was editing as you posted lmao.